Dr. John Churchill spent 15 years training and teaching “Great Seal” meditation in an Indo-Tibetan lineage and is a founding member of the Integral Institute led by the well-known philosopher, Ken Wilber. Over the last 25 years, John has developed his style of practice — an integrated Fourth Turning path — that weaves together somatically based contemplative practices that integrate psychodynamic healing, adult development, and meditation.  This was an incredible conversation that touched on how 'trauma fuses our awareness to our attentional system', his views on how to integrate plant medicines and psychedelics into this work and what he calls the 'fundamental interior science breakthroughs'.🫁  Apply for Nervous System MasteryThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed protocols to cultivate calm and emotional regulation. Our third cohort will be running in Spring, 2023 ~ and applications are currently open until April 1st. We've had over 400 students complete this training, and many have said that it has been the most impactful thing they've ever done for their personal growth ~ so if you're intrigued at all, you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at nsmastery.com🔗 Official Show Notes🧘  Learn more about John's 250hr Planetary Dharma meditation training via Samadhi Integral✨  Work with John and Nicole on their upcoming psychedelic dharma program

This is a slightly different type of episode — in which my friend Christofer interviewed me for his superb DO EXPLAIN Podcast. I enjoyed the conversation so much that I decided it was worth releasing here as well. This is one of the deepest dives I've done on all things related to emotional fluidity, and various modalities for working with somatics and finding wholeness. Christofer was such a superb conversational partner and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.🔗 Official Links🎙️  Subscribe to Christofer's awesome podcast Do Explain🫁  Learn more about Nervous System Mastery💬  Follow Christofer on Twitter

My brother Alex Olshonsky ~ aka. "Olo" ~ is a dear friend. We've spent time together in Guatemala, and he is fast becoming one of the most prominent voices on addiction and the psychedelic renaissance.  We dive into Olo's personal story of breaking free from his proclivity to taking a cocktail of narcotics whilst working in high-growth tech startups ~ and his powerful journey navigating his addiction.We discuss concerns, risks & hopes for the rise of entheogens ~ what he learned from spending time with the Shipibo indigenous lineages, how we both got a little 'messed up' from studying post-modernist philosophy, navigating the 'woke, anti-woke culture wars' his definition of false urgency + socially acceptable addictions, unpacking the modality of Hakomi ~ a lesser-known method of somatic psychology & much more.~~🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to you by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed protocols to cultivate calm and emotional regulation.Our third cohort will be running in Spring, 2023 ~ and early bird applications are open. My sense is that if this conversation resonates with you then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort.This curriculum represents my attempt to distill everything that I've learned in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing & previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tap into deeper states of joy, clarity, and confidence in their lives.We've had over 400 students complete this training and many have said that it has been the most impactful thing they've ever done for their personal growth ~ so if you're intrigued at all you can find more details and apply to join the Spring cohort over at nsmastery.com.~~🔗 Official Links📝  Alex's Writing & Coaching ~ Deep Fix💬  Find Alex on Twitter 🍵  Natura Care Program ~ link

Today's guest is Daniel—who goes by the name of 'Grimhood' on Twitter. I've been a subscriber to his Patreon account for a while and was so impressed with his immensely well-researched and in-depth that blended his knowledge of pharmacology with indigenous systems of medicine.In this conversation, we unpack a handful of these protocols that he shares, including a deep dive on all things Magnesium, why so many of us are deficient in it, why you're almost certainly not getting enough and how to dose correctly. Then we dive into his protocol for dealing with OCD and anxiety, the importance of seeing sunrise and sunset daily to set the circadian rhythm and much more.Just a heads up that this episode does get into the weeds with a lot of detail, but if you'd like the summary of Daniel's protocols, I recommend finding his Patreon page linked in the show notes and finding his in-depth resources there.🔗 Links💊  Find Grimhood on Patreon💬  Follow Grimhood on Twitter @Grimhood🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week Bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed Protocols to Cultivate Greater Agency Over Your Physical, Mental & Emotional State. The 2023 cohort will be running in April. My sense is that if this conversation resonates with you, then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort.This NSM curriculum represents my attempt to distil everything that I've learnt in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing & previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tap into deeper states of joy, clarity and confidence in their lives.We've already had over 300 alumni, and places will be limited ~ so if you're intrigued at all, you can find more details and apply to join next year's cohort over at nsmastery.com

Today's guest is Erwan Le Corre. Erwan is many things, including the founder of MovNat ~ which is a synthesis of his passion for physical competency with his love of movement in nature. More recently, Erwan also became a US national static breath hold record holder.In this conversation, we talk about what he describes as the challenges of 'Hamster fitness' & movement poverty predicament and some of his ideas for what he describes quite brilliantly as Human Zoo counter-measures. We also dive into (pun not intended) some of the benefits of practising breath-holding, increasing your CO2 tolerance ~ and how he can hold his breath for over 8 minutes.🔗 Official Links🫁  Erwan's latest Breath hold work training program📸  Erwan on Instagram @erwanlecorre 🌳  Learn more about his MovNat training💬  Connect with Erwan on Twitter @erwanlecorre 🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed Protocols to Cultivate Greater Agency Over Your Physical, Mental & Emotional State. The 2022 cohort will be running this November ~ and applications are now officially open until midnight on October 29th. My sense is that if this conversation resonates with you then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort.We've already had over 250 applications, and places will be limited ~ so if you're intrigued at all you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at nsmastery.com

Chris Sparks is a one-of-a-kind human; he's a retired professional poker pro who was once ranked one of the top 20 players in the world.But in recent years, he has applied himself to coaching and running workshops on decision-making, systems thinking, and peak performance. And as you'll hear in this conversation, he is not only brilliant but also wise. Before we hit record, I said to Chris let's record a masterclass in mindset for staying calm and making good decisions in high-stress environments ~ and he didn't really disappoint.Our conversation ranged from talking about tools he used to stay calm or shift his state during high-stakes poker games and how he eliminated mental distractions in critical moments. He shared some meta-principles that he learnt through poker but applies to life more broadly—as well as how his approach and philosophy around productivity have shifted over the years.I deeply enjoyed this conversation with Chris, and I have a sense that you will too. I'll also mention that Chris has what he calls a 'performance assessment', which I've linked in the show notes ~ that provides a series of excellent questions to reflect on.🔗 LINKS📝 Take the Forcing Function Self-Assessment💬  Find Chris on Twitter @SparksRemarks🎙️  Listen to Chris' Podcast👨‍🎓  Signup for Chris' Feb 2023 course on 'Team Performance Training'🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week Bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed Protocols to Cultivate Greater Agency Over Your Physical, Mental & Emotional State. The 2022 cohort will be running this November ~ and applications are now officially open until midnight on October 28th. My sense is that if this conversation resonates with you, then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort.This NSM curriculum represents my attempt to distil everything that I've learnt in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing & previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tap into deeper states of joy, clarity and confidence in their lives.We've already had over 250 applications, and places will be limited ~ so if you're intrigued at all, you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at nsmastery.com

Aaron is a pioneering manual therapist and movement coach, founder and creator of the Align Method. I'm currently looking at Aaron's book (The Align Method) & it's one of the books that has most impacted my relationship with not just fitness and movement, but a new philosophy of seeing the world as a playground and the fact that I'm recording this whilst squatting ~ is in part thanks to the wisdom and research that he shares.This is one hell of a fun conversation packed with big ideas and super practical takeaways ~ we range from talking about the value of play and emotional fluidity ~ to post-ejaculatory experiences and a mini-masterclass in how to leverage your physiology & posture to change how you feel.“I believe the way to obtain true, optimal health is through aligning our mind, body, and movement. The fundamentals are simple and I’m here to help.” – Aaron Alexander~~~🔗  Resources & Links to Aaron's Work👋  Follow Aaron over on Instagram @alignpodcast🎙️  Listen to his phenomenal podcast 'Align Podcast'📚  Grab a copy of Aaron's book The Align Method👨‍🎓  Explore Aaron's upcoming 6-week course~~~🫁 Episode Sponsor // Nervous System MasteryThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to you by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed Protocols to Cultivate Greater Agency Over Your Physical, Mental & Emotional State. The 2022 cohort will be running this November ~, and my sense is that if this conversation resonates with you, then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort. This NSM curriculum represents my attempt to distil everything that I've learnt in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing & previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tap into deeper states of joy, clarity and confidence in their lives.So, with all that said, I'm proud of the way this is coming together ~ and it's also by far the best way you can help to support this podcast ~ so if you're intrigued at all you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at >> nsmastery.com << “Nervous System Mastery is the most powerful thing I've ever done for personal growth. I had previously explored breathwork, meditation, therapy, and other approaches, but always felt like something was missing..." – Sam Sager, NSM Alumni~~~~~~

It's always fun to have conversations with friends and this one, in particular, has been several years in the making. If you're interested in meditation, breathwork or getting more done with more joy then this episode is a must-listen. Some of the themes we unpack include: what it means to 'expand your awareness', exploring the space and freedom between stimulus + response, what it means practically to 'escape grind mode' and what we both mean when we talk about increasing our sense of 'aliveness'.~~~~~~🔗  Resources & Links👋  Follow Michael over on Twitter @m_ashcroft👨‍🎓  Learn more about Michael's Course at expandingawareness.org✍️  Read Michael's Essays on Every~~~~~~🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is brought to you by the one and only 'Nervous System Mastery' ~ which is my flagship 5-week bootcamp designed to equip you with evidence-backed Protocols to Cultivate Greater Agency Over Your Physical, Mental & Emotional State.  The 2022 cohort will be running this November ~, and my sense is that if this conversation resonates with you then you'd likely be a great fit for our upcoming cohort. This NSM curriculum represents my attempt to distil everything that I've learnt in recent years about how to create the conditions for our nervous system's flourishing & previous students have shared how partaking not only improved their sleep and quality of relationships but also tap into deeper states of joy, clarity and confidence in their lives.So, with all that said, I'm proud of the way this is coming together ~ and it's also by far the best way you can help to support this podcast ~ so if you're intrigued at all you can find more details and apply to join this year's cohort over at >> nsmastery.com << “Nervous System Mastery is the most powerful thing I've ever done for personal growth. I had previously explored breathwork, meditation, therapy, and other approaches, but always felt like something was missing..." – Sam Sager, NSM Alumni

In this episode, Edward Dangerfield and I do a deep dive on a new modality of breathwork, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Facilitated Breath Repatterning ~ or FBR for short ~ will be globally recognised in 4-5 years' time and that the research that is beginning here in Bali will go on to make some significant discoveries about the connection between breathing patterns + patterns of behaviour.As you'll hear in this conversation, what I believe is truly unique about this mode of breathwork ~ is that it is both scientific in its approach, involving the practitioner 'reading the breath' of the client, and then making facilitations that often elicit profound shifts. I'll also add that my capacity to hold myself through intense experiences and feel comfortable expressing emotions has been transformed by this work. Since recording the initial conversation with Ed (link) I completed a 400hr training with him and the team here in Bali. But despite having literally hundreds of hours of conversations with him, I learnt so many new things myself from this conversation. ~~~~~~Some of the highlights were:🕵️‍♂️    Ed describes what I consider to be his superpower for paying attention to subtle cues that he's noticing and tracking in clients ~ like a real-life Sherlock Holmes ~ everything from their posture to their tone of voice and the words they choose ~ which then allows him to make generally highly accurate hypotheses about their breathing patterns and how this shows up in their lives.🫁 He walks us through an imaginary breath translation ~ so that you as a listener will get a sense for this art of reading and interpreting the language of breath. I also loved hearing him articulate the connection between capacity for dynamic breathing and dynamic thinking ~ the very tangible effects on health and lived experience of having Maladaptive breathing patterns.🚀  And finally some of his bold ideas for the broader impact that this emerging modality of FBR might have ~ running large-scale studies, working with leaders of organisations to move them from moving overachievers to high achievers & an idea to design a breathwork-specific wearable device that could enable self-guided journeys to be run safely.~~~~~~🫁 Episode Sponsor // NSMThis episode of Curious Humans is once again sponsored by Nervous System Mastery ~ and the second experimental cohort that I will be running later this year. If you are even curious enough about this work to begin listening to a podcast episode titled 'New Frontiers of Breathwork' ~ then my sense is that you would be a great fit for the upcoming cohort of Nervous System Mastery that I'll be running in the Autumn (or Fall as Americans like to say) later this year. This is where I'm pouring the majority of my creative energy these days and I'm proud of the way it's coming together.  You can find more details about the unique curriculum here >> nsmastery.com << “Nervous System Mastery is the most powerful thing I've ever done for personal growth. I had previously explored breathwork, meditation, therapy, and other approaches, but always felt like something was missing..." – Sam Sager, NSM Alumni~~~~~~🔗  Resources & Links 🎙️  Listen to my first conversation with Ed back in 2019 (link)📚  'Nurturing Resilience' by Kathy Kain (link)📸  Ed's Instagram: @edwarddangerfield🖥️  Breathwork Bali Website (link)🎙️  Related conversation on Functional Breathwork with Conni Biesalski (link)🌎  Recommended International Breathwork PractitionersSF/Bay Area – Jonny Miller (link)Bali – Multiple Practitioners (link)London – Jamie Clements (link)

🎙️  Episode OverviewYou might have come across Eric through his award-winning podcast ‘The One You Feed’ where he has interviewed hundreds of the wisest and most inspiring humans on the planet.He's also a father, serial entrepreneur, behaviour coach, and author on a quest to understand how we might live more intentional lives.And we get into the impact that these conversations has had on his life and perspective over the last decade, but we begin with the chapters of his life before the podcast — at age 24 Eric was living out the back of a van, spending $300 a day on his heroin addiction and up to 50 years in jail.We dive into this transformational journey of recovery—the gifts and challenges inherent in the AA program as well as his thoughts on what created the conditions for both his addiction and the sobriety that followed.It was interesting to see how Eric and I share a mutual fascination for questions around how to take insights and apply them to everyday life—and the parallels between the Spiritual Habits group program that Eric hosts with the work that I’ve been involved with around resilience and researching the nervous system.🫁  Episode Sponsor // Nervous System MasteryThis podcast has its first official sponsor — it’s a 5-week program called Nervous System Mastery designed and hosted by myself. The course is designed to share research-backed protocols to cultivate calm, agency + resilience in everyday life. We've had incredible feedback from the first version that ran in October last year, one previous student wrote to me and said: “Nervous system mastery was supportive, grounding, expansive, interesting, delivered with integrity and true passion. Science + practical evidence.”Building and teaching this course is now my primary obsession and the income that comes from this course, directly enables me to put my time & money into these episodes. If this sounds interesting at all, you can find more details here >> nsmastery.com << 🔗  Show Notes + Links🎙️   Subscribe to the 'One You Feed' podcast on Spotify👨‍🎓   Learn more about Eric's 8-week Spiritual Habits Program🖥️   Watch his superb TEDx talk on the battle of changing your behaviour