Holistic Life Navigation

In this episode I speak about the spontaneous healing that I began to experience from playing music as a teenager. Looking back, I can see how I was co-regulating and creating safety within myself. I describe it in this episode & offer a song of mine for your own nervous system to experience and relate to.To sign up for my next 6-week course, please visit: http://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Join Luis for a three-day in-person workshop connecting whole foods nutrition, somatic wisdom, and stress recovery at Kripalu. You can read more about, and register, here. Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Sometimes we don't have the physical capacity to handle the things we desire. Relationships, money, jobs, even feeling joy - these seemingly beautiful experiences can overwhelm our nervous systems and bodies depending on our trauma histories & present-moment capacity.This episode explores the difference between capacity and desire through 2 exercises that show you how your body responds to the things you think you want as well as how to tune into what your actual capacity is right now.For more information on my work, please visit https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, I navigate how we lose our bodies when we grasp at the mind. I'm inspired by my friend & colleague James-Olivia Chu Hillman who wrote about this concept through their lens and experience. I share this here, as well as my own experience with this phenomenon.To sign up for my next course, please visit: http://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Bill Riddick is a therapist & facilitator of the Charrette Process. In 1971, he played  a pivotal role in desegregating the school district in Durham, NC. During this particular charrette, he paired together a black civil rights activist with a white KKK leader. The result was profound.What he teaches me in this episode is that conflict heals through understanding & respect. Sharing information, curiosity, expressing feelings, and learning about those who oppose you can actually transform conflict into relationship.He is portrayed in the film The Best Of Enemies, which is how I learned about him. I hope you get as much from this interview as I did.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Join Luis for a three-day in-person workshop connecting whole foods nutrition, somatic wisdom, and stress recovery at Kripalu. You can read more about, and register, here. Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, I navigate the roots of comfort food. What drives our  body's desire to eat heavy, emotionally satisfying foods? I was inspired to talk about this after I heard Rupaul & Michell Visage talking on What's The Tee about why kale doesn't comfort them like a fried sandwich does.There's a biology behind our food habits and it relates to trauma. How adrenalized we are (or are not) affects which foods we move toward.When we understand the roots to these cravings, we get in touch with the unconscious parts of ourselves that drive many of our behaviors. Once in touch with them, we can begin relating to them and connecting to them.Our own connection to these parts creates a safety within us and then certain foods and substances become obsolete.To sign up for my 6-week course, visit: http://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Meenadchi joins me today to discuss Non-Violent Communication. It's an incredible method designed by Marshall Rothenburg & it helps us identify our needs, emotions, and requests so we can be clear in our relationships.I, personally, hit a wall with NVC because I didn't find it to be trauma-informed enough for me. This is where Meenadchi comes in. They teach and lead NVC workshops through the lens of somatic embodiment, trauma awareness, and decolonial culture. In addition, they're the only practitioner I've ever met who holds sessions for expanding one's capacity for joy. Amazing!You can buy their book, or sign up for a future workshop, by visiting https://www.traumainformednvc.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Join Luis for a three-day in-person workshop connecting whole foods nutrition, somatic wisdom, and stress recovery at Kripalu. You can read more about, and register, here. Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode I navigate the states of duty & desire. I talk about noticing which traditions and habits we've inherited and upheld from a sense of duty & which we've inherited and upheld from a sense of desire.I also include a short exercise around feeling the now &  noticing the difference between how now  feels compared to the duty we're dreading.To sign up for my next 6-week course, please visit http://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Understanding that trauma is a biology,  not a mindset, is what makes somatic therapy so unique and beautiful. Traditional talk therapies tend to focus on the events and identifying how we think and feel about them, but they don't ask us where we feel the events.Trauma is not the event itself, it's the response to the event. I welcome Dr. Abi Blakeslee to my podcast to share her wisdom and insight around the biology of trauma and how that physical state of threat transforms into vitality through the practices of Somatic Experiencing.For more information on Abi's work, please visit: https://www.abiblakeslee.com.To work with a somatic therapist, visit: https://traumahealing.org/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Join Luis for a three-day in-person workshop connecting whole foods nutrition, somatic wisdom, and stress recovery at Kripalu. You can read more about, and register, here. Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, I discuss the somatic experience of depression. Something we see as a fixed state may just be a part of us asking for a break, needing rest, and wanting to recover from overwhelm.I discuss the practice of seeing sensations as beings inside of us. Getting to know them, asking them questions, and letting them show you how they want to be related to. This means there's nothing wrong with us and we're not flawed - we're just responding to things in a healthy way.Notice what comes up with you and share it with a friend who may benefit from this practice.Join my next course: www.holisticlifenavigation.comYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

This episode explores the many nuances and layers around cultural trauma. The reverberations of it. How colonialism works itself into our language, then our values, and then our realities.This is a powerful discussion about a man who reflected on his own internalized racism and colonialism. He talks about how teenagers in Zimbabwe rebel against their own culture, in hopes to be more "Black American" and "civilized".Tapi opened Tapi Tapi Ice Cream in Cape Town, South Africa to teach people,  native and non-native to Africa, about indigenous African culture. He blends forgotten native foods & spices into ice cream. It has become a vehicle to reconnect people to their roots & to the roots of African culture.For more information on Tapi, please visit: https://www.tapitapi.co.za/ and you can see his work on Instagram @_tapi_tapiYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/food-therapy-supporting-adhd-with-nutrition Join Luis for a three-day in-person workshop connecting whole foods nutrition, somatic wisdom, and stress recovery at Kripalu. You can read more about, and register, here. Sign up for our 6-month Embodied Relationships group, beginning in October: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/relationship-groupUse the discount code QJSVR73G to save 10% if you register before August 31st.----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/ Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com