Body First,
Brain Second


A Program for Reclaiming Your Nervous System After Trauma

Body First is a healing approach that prioritizes nervous system safety before analysis or problem-solving. When the body is supported, emotions can move and the mind can make sense of what’s happening—without overwhelm or shutdown.

If your body is holding what your mind can't process, then this is for you.

Body First, Brain Second is a healing program for people who have learned to survive disconnection and are now seeking a way back to themselves.

This program is designed for marginalized communities, individuals navigating life transitions, and those carrying personal, professional, mental, and emotional stress shaped by cumulative trauma. Many participants arrive having tried different forms of healing offered in isolation—therapy, somatic work, community spaces—without ever having them integrated in a way that allows for deeper, embodied change.

At its core, this program teaches people how to reconnect with themselves after trauma by starting with the body. Healing is approached as a nervous system process, not an intellectual one. Regulation, safety, and awareness are cultivated first, creating the conditions for insight, repair, and sustainable change.

Program supported by:

How does this program work? 

Nervous System Regulation

Trauma research shows the body keeps the score, not the mind! Which is why we prioritize nervous system regulation before cognitive processing, giving you the foundation to actually heal and thrive.

Nature Activities

Nature adventures reconnect you to the earth's natural regulation forest bathing, grounding practices, and outdoor movement remind your body what calm actually feels like.

Herbal Tea and Aromatherapy

Herbal teas and aromatherapy are offered as grounding practices that support nervous system regulation through sensory engagement. When the body receives cues of safety and care, it becomes easier to rest, release tension, and reconnect with the present moment.

Play

Play is how we reconnect with the inner child who needs healing too. Because that's where our stories often begin, we make space for joy and fun as part of the healing process.

Shared Meals

Eating in safe community activates your ventral vagal system (the part of your nervous system that says 'I belong here') shared meals are nervous system medicine. Meals served by local chefs.

Somatic Practices

Your body holds what your mind can't process, which is why we use Yoga Nidra, Sound Healing, and Trauma Release Exercises to help you physically release stress, tension, and survival patterns.

Service

Service is essential because healing isn't complete until we give back. By connecting with those in need, service becomes medicine for both you and your community.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy offers you a private container for processing personal experiences, ensuring you have support for whatever arises in your healing.

Frequently Asked Questions

    • 9-week facilitated group program includes:

    • Yoga

    • Tension & Trauma Release Exercise (TRE)

    • Sound Therapy

    • Nervous system education and integration

    • Nature-based activities and restorative play

    • Aromatherapy

    • Herbal teas

    • Chef-prepared communal meals

    • Four structured therapy sessions with a licensed mental health professional

    • Program materials and guided support

  • This program is great for people who are suffering from:

    • Life Transitions & Personal Stressors

    • Divorce, separation, or relationship dissolution

    • Grief, loss, and bereavement

    • Postpartum anxiety or depression

    • Caregiver stress

    • Major role transitions (career changes, relocation, identity shifts)

    • Trauma & Chronic Stress Exposure

    • Complex PTSD or PTSD

    • Narcissistic or emotionally abusive relationships

    • Religious trauma

    • Childhood adversity (including adult children of alcoholics)

    • Incarceration or reentry-related stress (formerly incarcerated individuals)

    • Chronic exposure to unsafe or destabilizing environments

    • Mental & Emotional Health Issues

    • Chronic anxiety or depression

    • Emotional dysregulation

    • Attachment wounds or relational stress

    • Codependency patterns

    • Difficulty maintaining relationships

    • Unexplained physical or psychosomatic symptoms

    It’s especially important for people existing within marginalized communities:

    • Black women

    • BIPOC communities

    • LGBTQ+ individuals

    • Immigrant populations

    • Corporate and finance professionals

    • Healthcare workers and clinicians

    • Mental health therapists and social workers

    • Educators and academic professionals

    • Community leaders, organizers, and activists

  • What makes this program distinct is its integration. Individual therapy is woven into a communal healing space, allowing participants to practice regulation, connection, and new relational patterns in real time—rather than in isolation. Healing is not treated as a private task to be carried alone, but as something that can be supported and strengthened in community.

    This is not a quick intervention or a single modality. It is a structured, intentional process that brings multiple approaches together—honoring both individual care and collective healing—so participants can build capacity that carries into work, relationships, home, and daily life.

Meet the Team

  • Shimekia Williams, LCPC

    Program Founder and Therapist

    With a vision rooted in transformation, the founder of Body First, Brain Second blends intuitive insight with grounded, real-world experience. She believes lasting change doesn't start in the mind, it starts in the body. And that philosophy shapes everything she creates

  • Meagé Clements, LCSW-C, NASM-CPT

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    She specializes in supporting individuals navigating relationship trauma, estranged family dynamics, social anxiety, work-related stress, burnout, and holistic wellness challenges. Her approach blends trauma-informed education, nervous system regulation, and holistic movement to foster emotional healing, body trust, and resilience.

  • Nomita Khatri

    Tension & Trauma Release Exercises®

    Creates spaces where people feel safe to let go. She reads the room with care, tunes into what's unspoken, and guides each person toward the release they didn't realize they were holding onto.

  • Michele Blu

    Certified Yoga Instructor

    She is a devoted yoga practitioner and certified instructor specializing in Power, Hatha, and Kemetic Yoga. Her approach blends disciplined asana practice, yogic philosophy, and culturally rooted wisdom to support holistic wellness, nervous system balance, and embodied self-awareness. She creates spaces that cultivate strength, alignment, healing, and spiritual connection.

  • Crystal Ridgeway

    Culinary Wellness Chef

    Founder of Stuffed Catering (est. 2018), Crystal brings eight years of culinary expertise to the program. She designs nourishing, beautifully crafted meals that support both enjoyment and wellbeing.

Program Payment Options

  • $1,200

    This rate reflects the full scope of facilitation, clinical support, space, materials, food, and care coordination.

    Includes:

    • 9-week facilitated group program

    • Somatic practices (yoga, sound healing, TRE, grounding movement)

    • Nervous system education and integration

    • Nature-based activities and restorative play

    • Aromatherapy, herbal teas, and thoughtfully curated grounding meals

    • Four structured therapy sessions with a licensed mental health professional

    • Program materials and guided support

  • $800-$1,200

    We recognize that systemic inequities, caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, and life transitions can limit access to healing spaces. A limited number of sliding-scale spots are available per cohort for participants who experience structural barriers to care, including (but not limited to):

    • Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

    • Queer, Trans, and Gender-Expansive individuals

    • Disabled and/or Neurodivergent individuals

    • Immigrants and formerly incarcerated individuals

    • Those living with chronic illness

    • Individuals navigating burnout, grief, divorce, postpartum transitions, or religious trauma

    • People working in justice-oriented, nonprofit, or community-based roles

  • $350

    We reserve 2 community-sponsored seats in each cohort for participants who would otherwise be unable to access this program. Includes the full scope of facilitation, clinical support, space, materials, food, and care coordination that is included in the Full Program.

    If you’re interested in applying for these seats, contact us.

    Interested in sponsoring a community seat? Donate here!

  • Contact Us for Rates

    These packages would include:

    • Program design and facilitation

    • Somatic and wellness practitioners

    • Clinical support integration

    • Materials, supplies, and coordination

    • Planning, logistics, and post-program wrap-up

  • The following insurances are accepted: Aetna, United Health, and Carefirst.

Ready to dive in? Click here for our intake form.