Embodiment Time

In this talk we met with Christine and Lisa to discuss and share some trauma-informed and body-oriented nervous system resources during the COVID 19 pandemic. This talk was recorded during the beginning of the pandemic in April, but still feels pertinent in it’s launch on air in October. Some of the topics covered: - The importance of orienting towards resources during challenging times. - From hyper-productivity to stop, and how much that reveals our cultural rushing. - Sheltering at home as a holding container. - Seeing how society is revealing where people are in terms of nervous system states: fight, flight, freeze and appease. - The raising of responses to these events: conspiracy theories, feelings of being at loss, overwhelm, not knowing how to deal with this “invisible” emergency. - What is it to function in a world that doesn’t support a healthy nervous system? The body is having a “neuroceptive” response and the way back to regulation is in the body. - Polyvagal Theory and the difference in the stat

In this talk, Kaila June begins sharing her story, how she grew up in her mom’s dance studio and how much influence that environment had in her life and career choices. She talks about her experience traveling with “La Caravana Arcoiris para la Paz” through South America, we talk about folklore dances and their relevance.. She shares her explorations of trauma via dance and art and how movement and embodiment affect the way we learn, behave, our memory, the intergenerational effects, etc. She goes through her bio revealing the progression that brought her towards developing the Somakinese School. We talked about the skills of teaching and the difference, nuances, pros and cons of structure vs organic sessions, of being externally oriented vs being internally oriented and of safety and threat in movement experiences. Kaila June, MS, is the founder of SomaKinese School, a virtual platform for movement teachers offering educational programs inspired by embodied movement science.  As a dance-artist, Registered So

In this talk, Matthew Remski and I discuss many of the multilayered abuse issues in the modern postural yoga scene, as well as in other high demand groups that he covers in his book “Practice and All Is Coming”. We talk about the inheritance of intergenerational trauma, trauma bonding, corporal punishment, somatic dominance, and the slippery subject of cult dinamics that leads to disorganized attachment, dissociation and to physical and sexual abuse. We spend some time at the end looking at some sulutions to all these problems, like the model of PRISM, and concepts like personal agency, scope of practice, and the current conversation about licensing and regulating Yoga. Trigger warning: this conversation covers many uncomfortable discussions about abuse. Matthew Remski is an author, teacher, ayurvedic consultant and cultural critic. He has published 10 books, including “Practice and All Is Coming. Abuse, Cult Dynamics, and Healing in Yoga and Beyond”, that includes all of the topics we cover in this talk. Mat

In this talk, Mark talks about the failures of the modern postural yoga and how he used the opportunity to turn criticism into action by creating the Embodied Yoga Principles. We talked about guru abuse, cultural differences, trauma, and how these themes can be explored via multidisciplinary somatic practices. We talk about the issue of living in a visual culture, in terms of pursuing posture as the end goal, about relationships in terms of attachment, Mark shares his approach in the Embodied Facilitator Course, expanding the skills set and also we discuss the subject of technology, social media and the pros and contras of using it. We end our talk with Marc guiding us into a very grounding somatic practice. Mark is an embodiment specialist, the creator and host of the Embodiment Podcast, the director and co-lead trainer of the Embodied Facilitator Course, the Embodied Yoga Principles and the Embodiment Conference. He has been working extensively in connecting the dots across diverse fields like martial arts

In this talk, Abby takes us in the fascinating evolution of her personal movement journey, from external and structured, towards her current approach. In the telling of her own story and how she went through Personal Training, Ashtanga Yoga, Body Competitions, Kettlebell Competition, MovNat and Nutritious Movement, the integration of all the pieces of her Sustainable Movement approach start to build up and make a clear picture. We talked about the way kids move vs the structured movement of the gym, about the obsession with the series in the Ashtanga practice, about Body and KB Competitions and how having an external goal can affect us, and we also talked about MovNat and the work of Katy Bowman and how they deeply influenced the development of her Sustainable Movement Business. She also talked about autism and other sensory processing issues and the importance of developing spaces that are accessible for this population’s abilities. Abby is a Nutritious Movement Certified Restorative Exercise Specialist, NAS

In this conversation, we go with Carrie in a journey through her cultivation of resiliency and synthesis, how she became fascinated with experimental movement, movement analisis and Iyengar Yoga, and the way her work evolved from there. We discussed her relationship with the Iyengar Yoga system, the assessment process in Iyengar Yoga, the vast complexities of the guru-based lineage, the intense, abusive and traumatic experiences that people went through studying in Pune with the Iyengar family, and how they were handled and digested by her and other people in the Iyengar community. We talked about the importance of giving people permission to explore movement to gain autonomy in their body, instead of following an external authority, and how her Yoga teaching style has evolved primarily in this direction. She also reflects on how much change she has noticed in her students across the world, and how social media and information have increased and intensify this change. Carrie Owerko has been teaching yoga and

In this talk Nityda discusses the importance of movement for healing and her integration process of Yoga and Social Work. She talks about Yoga philosophy, the influence of African spirituality, and the need to develop skills in action for social justice. We discuss some of the ways in which patriarchy and white supremacy have influenced us and what can we do individually and collectively to heal what is unconscious, with one of the main issues being the lack of inclusivity in the yoga world, with language as a big barrier, and how to minimize the teacher’s position of power in the classroom. We both agree that we require more and more trauma-informed, healing-centered spaces for marginalized groups that need it the most, and she mentions colonization as one of the biggest issue, how descendants of colonizers have a lot of shame and trauma being associated as the oppressor, and how the guru figure arises and is protected by its followers. Nityda is a licensed somatic psychotherapist, yoga teacher, trauma speci

Here is part 2 of my talk with Yasmin Lambat.   Some of the topics we covered in this talk:   Working with our physiology. Somatic Exploration to tap into the inner wisdom. Patterns in the body and the folding of our fascial fabric.   How Yoga & Pilates experiences led her to pandiculation.   Moving from the heart, intuitive movements focused on self-nurturing to calm the nervous system with “Body Yawn” Therapy.    Nervous system regulation. Going beyond SNS/PNS and the effects of hyper-arousal on the body. Discovering the "calm state".    How care & compassion help creating a “safe” state, and how refocusing her work with her clients as an “invitation to explore” has been more effective for individual expression.   We talked about iRest Yoga Nidra, the work of Richard Miller and Steven Levin’s work with Biotensegrity, exploring biotensegrity as interdependency of the WHOLE body.    Interoception & Exteroception Awareness. How the environment affects the nervous system. Effectiveness of body sensi

Some of the topics we covered in this talk: Yasmin's journey of discovery of the Body, from her transition from the Fitness Industry to her development of Interoception and Somatic Movement via Polestar Pilates and Elizabeth Bussey. Her encounter with Tom Myers, the influence of the work of Dr Ian Weinberg and Robert Schleip. The core and the diaphragm, mecanoreceptors and fascia. The Insula, empathy and how to use motion to heal emotion. Distress interoception, Vagal tone and the Polyvagal theory of Stephen Porges. Pandiculation, tension vs intensity and the model of Biotensegrity. The Calm Response and how to create it in our life, classes and society.   Some of the people mentioned in this talk: Elizabeth Bussey Ian Weinberg MD Robert Schleip PHD   Yasmin is a Registered Somatic Educator with ISMETA, an Inner guidance Coach, and the creator of BodySensing Body Yawn Somatic Fascial Unwinding™. She has a fascination for fascia, biotensegrity and the body as designed by nature, it’s ability to self-heail and

Some of the topics covered in this talk with Laurel: The story behind her pedagogic skills, growing up surrounded by teachers and conversations around pedagogy, and her teaching experience previous to yoga. Her critical thinking process and her yoga training journey through Yoga Works and Yoga Tune Up®. The difference in between Yoga Works and the guru-based model of Iyengar Yoga, and about the horizontal vs the vertical model of apprenticeship. The challenges of training new yoga teachers and the culture of yoga in India, in the West, and how to honor yoga while using it in a way that feels relevant to the people we are sharing it with. Kinesiopathologizing, in contrast to Movement Optimism, from the lens of Dr. Greg Lehman.  The mistake that movement specialists make in terms of trying to fix posture, vs exposing people to a variety of movement. Reflections about the state of the vast majority of yoga teachers around right and wrong posture and movement. Yoga teacher scope of practice. Reflections about the

In this podcast, Sonali begins talking about her "pick your platform and raise your voice" mentorship program that she has been offering to support women of color. We talked about the importance of honoring the first nations that habitated the land where we live and do business in, she also talks about her TEDx talk about this being the time for women of color to speak their truth and for the dominant race to unspeak, or speak less to activate their sacred hearing. Sonali talked about her experience with Yoga as a comodified practice, also she mentions the importance of unmelting the cultures and returning to our roots to find deeper meaning. We talk about white privilege and how the system where we are is designed to help white people succeed, and how their privilege can help them serve those people of color and black that the system is not set up for. She says the sooner white people look at those parts of themselves with authenticity, the better. We talked about white passing women, birracial and multirrac

Erin Jade is a Yoga and Movement Teacher, Massage Therapist and Applied Neurology Educator with a mission to spread brain-based perspectives into the world of Yoga and Movement via online courses and a monthly membership. Her writings about the business of teaching yoga and challenges of transitioning into other modalities inspired her serialized audiobook as a podcast The Whole Beautiful. In this conversation Erin takes us in her personal story growing up, teaching Yoga and as a Massage Therapist and transitioning into Brain-Based Education. The struggles, the realizations, the relevance of neurology in our modern movement landscape, the importance of training the visual and vestibular systems, and the potential of training neurologically for athletes, adults and beyond that, for children. We talked about plank and the core, diastasis recti, and the love for movement beyond labels. Erin introduces us to body and brain maps, and pain science. We talk about FRC and Z health and the importance of range of motio

In this episode, Trina Altman talks about her beginnings in Yoga and Pilates, her trip to India, how she created Pilates Deconstructed® and Yoga Deconstructed®. We also discuss the state of Yoga, how much it has evolved through exposure to social media, about the importance of connecting and sharing opinions and of evolving beyond the black and white perspective. We discussed her interdisciplinary approach, the importance of practicing a variety of movements and learning from teachers that encompass the big picture. I asked her what does yoga postures mean to her, and we talked about Matthew Remsky's new book and the subject of abuse in the yoga world. Books discussed in the talk: Explain Pain. David Butler & G. Lorimer Moseley Mindful Movement: The Evolution of the Somatic Arts and Conscious Action. Martha Eddy Practice and all is coming. Matthew Remski

Noelle is a great mover, a deep thinker and an explorer of the human condition from her perspective as woman, mother and teacher. This conversation went through many relevant subjects for Yoga Teachers and Movement Educators, as much as for anybody wanting to learn more about movement reeducation, natural movement, training smart, NLP and mindset. Follow Noelle's journey in Instagram at @noelleofthewild and through her soon to be developed website: rebelnomads Some of the topics covered in this talk is her journey growing up, her current life in a boat a mile away from shore parenting two girls, training with a mace, her whole yoga and movement journey, and how she dares to be honest and expose real issues in a world that wants to hide them. Some of the books and people mentioned here are: Blue mind. Wallace J. Nichols The Polyvagal Theory. Stephen Porges Braiding Sweet Grass. Robin Wall Kimmerer Jill Miller Hunter Fitness   instagram links for mace training: @steelmaceexercises @steelmaceflow.leo.savage @

Sarah is a deep thinker and a mature and grounded Yoga Teacher based in Philadelphia specialized in adaptive yoga and classes that help people slow down in these times of increased acceleration. We had a great and diverse conversation that went from travels around the world, writers block, formal yoga practice and paying attention to that which has been obscured, The Roll Model and the Coregeous ball, yes or not to headstand, SAID principle, FRC and being in control, practicing surrendering, from surviving to thriving, social media implications, being raised in a liberal environment and working with traumatic brain injuries. sarahkowalski.com 20 Questions For 2018 A Guide to Better Movement. Todd Hargrove Donna Farhi: Post-Lineage Pedagogy   Other people mentioned: Trina Altman Jules Mitchell Laurel Beversdorf Andreo Spina Seth Godin