Greg & Michael on Embodied Recovery: Healing Addiction, Trauma & the Inner Child

When recovery becomes more than just staying sober — when it becomes embodied, lived, and deeply felt — everything changes. In Part 1 of this powerful two-part conversation, G-Rex and Dirty Skittles sit down with Greg Vorst and Michael Nolan to unpack addiction, inner child healing, breathwork, and what real transformation actually looks like.

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads — a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health) and 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast) with over 2 million downloads and counting — continues its mission to normalize unfiltered conversations about mental health, trauma, and emotional survival.

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Help Us Bring This Award Home

We’re incredibly honored to share that Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads has been shortlisted for the Podcast Awards – Best Mental Health Podcast.

If this show has ever made you feel seen, less alone, or helped you understand your mental health a little better, we’d be grateful for your vote.

Voting is quick and easy:

• You do not need to sign up for Patreon
• Once you hit submit, your vote is sent

Vote here: https://shorturl.at/mpReA

Winners will be announced on February 28th, 2026. Thank you for being part of this community and helping us break stigma one conversation at a time.

 

“You don’t have to believe everything you think.” — Greg & Michael

Episode Description

In this first half of our conversation, Greg Vorst and Michael Nolan, co-founders of Embodied Recovery in Northern California, share how their personal journeys through addiction, anxiety, trauma, and spiritual crisis led them to build a treatment center rooted in lived experience — not just theory.

Michael opens up about entering treatment at 20 and the humility of 12-step recovery. Greg shares his unexpected transition from opera singer to therapist after a failed surgery triggered years of physical and emotional suffering. Together, they unpack the wounded healer model and why authentic recovery requires more than clinical knowledge — it requires doing your own work.

We talk about codependency, emotional regulation, nervous system healing, and the Korean Taoist breathwork practice SunDo — a cornerstone of their daily lives and programming. This episode dives deep into inner child work, identity, validation, and the courage it takes to stop performing and start living.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re surviving instead of embodying your life, this conversation will hit home.

Keywords: Greg Vorst, Michael Nolan, Embodied Recovery, addiction recovery, trauma healing, inner child work, breathwork, SunDo meditation, codependency recovery, 12-step program, mental health podcast, anxiety recovery, nervous system regulation, emotional healing

Meet Our Guests — Greg Vorst & Michael Nolan

Greg Vorst, LMFT is Co-Founder and CEO of Embodied Recovery in Los Gatos, California. Drawing from psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems, humanistic psychology, and Korean Taoist breathwork (SunDo), Greg helps clients transform addiction and trauma into embodied living and spiritual growth. His personal healing journey began after a failed surgery left him in prolonged suffering, ultimately guiding him into therapy, inner child work, and decades of spiritual practice.

Website: https://www.embodiedrecovery.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodiedrecoverycenters/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embodiedrecoverycenters YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@embodiedrecoverycenters

Michael Nolan, CADC-II, ICADC is Co-Founder and COO of Embodied Recovery. Sober since August 8, 2007, Michael’s recovery began in Alcoholics Anonymous and evolved into a life of service. Through years of addiction counseling and deep personal work, he now supports clients in integrating accountability, humility, and embodied peace into their recovery journey.

Key Takeaways

• Recovery is not just about abstinence — it’s about embodiment.
• You don’t have to believe every thought that runs through your mind.
• Codependency drains helpers faster than addiction drains users.
• Inner child work isn’t optional — it’s foundational.
• Daily practices create lasting emotional regulation.
• Healing requires accountability AND compassion.

Actionable Items

• Try box breathing or diaphragmatic breathing when anxiety spikes.
• Notice one self-critical thought today and practice not attaching to it.
• Identify one daily practice (gratitude, breathwork, journaling) and commit to it for 30 days.

References Mentioned

Embodied Recovery — https://www.embodiedrecovery.com/ Melos Center (Nonprofit Partner) — https://meloscenter.org Alcoholics Anonymous — https://www.aa.org/ NAMI — https://www.nami.org/ SAMHSA — https://www.samhsa.gov/

Important Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome + how Greg & Michael met
• 09:00 – Michael’s early addiction and entering treatment
• 16:00 – Greg’s spiritual crisis and opera-to-therapy journey
• 25:00 – Codependency and the wounded healer
• 35:00 – SunDo breathwork and nervous system regulation
• 45:00 – Inner child work and reclaiming authenticity

Closing CTA

Subscribe, Rate, and Review! Remember to subscribe for more inspiring stories. Rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, or visit our Website: https://goesoninourheads.net/add-your-podcast-reviews

 

#MentalHealthPodcast #MentalHealthAwareness #Grex #DirtySkittles #Podmatch #AddictionRecovery #TraumaHealing #InnerChildWork #EmbodiedRecovery #CodependencyHealing #12StepRecovery #AnxietyRecovery #BreathworkHealing #NervousSystemRegulation #EmotionalWellness #SobrietyJourney #HealingIsPossible #RecoveryCommunity #MentalHealthMatters

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