You’re Doing Emotions Wrong – A conversation with Raja Selvam on the Key to Emotional Healing (full interview)

In this episode of The Sensing Mind Podcast, I sit down with Raja Selvam, PhD, a clinical psychologist, researcher, and founder of Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP).

Raja has trained in multiple body-oriented modalities, including Somatic Experiencing and Bodynamic and has over 30 years of experience teaching worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling book The Practice of Embodying Emotions: A Method for Improving Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes, now available in 12 languages.

I met Raja at the First International Conference of Bodynamic in Istanbul (2024), where he presented his groundbreaking work on embodiment, emotional processing, and expanded models of consciousness. A special thanks to my friend Hadi Mercher for connecting us and making this conversation possible!

In our conversation, we explored:

🔹 What is Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP)? – A method for deepening emotional embodiment to improve cognitive and behavioural outcomes
🔹 The power of expanding awareness of emotions through the body – Why we defend against emotions and how sensing them in more of our body helps processing the information they contain
🔹 The ‘One Body Problem’ – Why Western psychology limits our understanding of the body and how Eastern traditions offer a broader model
🔹 Beyond the Gross Body – Working with subtle bodies, energetic fields, and awareness in therapeutic practice
🔹 Science, phenomenology, and consciousness – Can awareness be studied scientifically? And what can it tell us about the nature of the self?
🔹 The Four Paths to Self-Realization – How different traditions approach deep self-knowledge and spiritual growth

This is an eye-opening conversation for therapists, coaches, researchers, and anyone curious about the intersection of therapy, psychology, somatics, neuroscience, and spirituality.

📌 Learn More About Raja Selvam & Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP): 🔗 https://integralsomaticpsychology.com/

📌 Learn More About Bodynamic: 🔗 https://www.bodynamic.com/

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