Embodiment Matters Podcast

In this episode (our longest yet, and worth every minute!) we have the great pleasure to speak to the inimitable Stephen Jenkinson.  Stephen is a teacher, author, storyteller, spiritual activist, farmer and founder of the Orphan Wisdom School. In this conversation, we explore topics such as how to strengthen your "wonder muscle," what it means to be a good ancestor, the importance of dwelling in not-knowing, what learning actually is, the etymology of the word "belonging," the importance of rites of passage and the need for wise elders, becoming permeable and letting the world soften our edges, the simultaneity of longing and peace of mind, living with a broken heart, and more.   The conversation closes with Stephen reading a wonderful story from his new book, Come of Age: The Case For Elderhood in a Time of Trouble.

In this episode we talk with Don & Diane St.John. Diane is a somatic counselor, coach and Continuum Teacher. Don is a somatic-relational psychotherapist, Continuum Teacher and author. We explore many topics related to embodiment and relationships. We speak about growing a somatic practice, about cultivating spaciousness, about investing in your own embodied awareness (you have to want to!.) We explore how being more fully embodied impacts our relationships. We speak about the importance of becoming intimate with both self and other and about the necessity of growing our capacity to pay attention in a layered way. We explore ways to take this information into your own relationships, while emphasizing the importance of not “fixing” self or others. We talk about how to be present with our own discomforts and those of others, how to meet reactivity with embodied presence and kindness, about the importance of repair, and the importance of feeling our love and affection in an embodied way. Don and Diane offer a beautiful list of qualities to adopt and qualities to avoid in healthy relationships. We speak about the importance of tracking reactivity, of being a safe place for someone else to share themselves, and about the importance of vulnerability and how it’s connected with a willingness to feel what’s present in our bodies. We speak about the importance of not pathologizing ourselves and each other, and so much more. We hope you enjoy!

Chandler Stevens is a somatic coach. He’s developing and organizing a body of work known as Ecosomatics, which revolves around the connections between body, mind, and environment.    In his private coaching practice he focuses on helping environmentally-conscious entrepreneurs get out of chronic pain and restore deep connection of body/mind so that they can tackle our world's biggest problems. In this conversation Chandler and Carl talk about many topics, including functional fitness and natural movement, movement habits and coaching, and the connection of embodiment work and the environment.

In this conversation we speak with Dr. Don St John. Don is a psychotherapist, Hellerwork trainer, and Continuum Practitioner (among many other things,) and he wrote "Healing The Wounds of Childhood: A Psychologist's Journey and Discoveries From Wretched Beginnings to a Thriving Life." Don and his wife, Diane, live and teach in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our conversation stretched through many rich terrains: exploring what it means to embody resilience, how the quality of our tissues reflects our relationship with life,  how valuable our embodiment work is for healing and repairing disconnections from early childhood, and much, much more. 

In this episode, we speak with the brilliant Bayo Akomolafe about embodiment, non-binary thinking, thoughts on the future of our world, activism, indigeneity, entanglement, and so much more. You're in for a treat! 

In this episode, Erin speaks with Dr. Leny Strobel about her decades of work in decolonization,  as a Philipino-American, as well as in her role as a "settler" in her home in Northern California, and how it all connects with being embodied. We explore issues of race, of choosing to live small, of how to become indigenous to the place on earth we inhabit, and so much more. Leny is truly a wise elder and her kind heart, spacious awareness, and deep integrity, developed over many decades of deep exploration, are a gift. I hope you enjoy the episode. 

In this episode we speak with Francis about what it means to live a soulful life, about the importance and value of grief, and about the challenges we face living in a culture fixated on constant ascension, growth, and improvement. We also explore how human beings are, by nature, ritually articulate, and discuss the value of rituals and of connecting with what Francis calls "primary satisfactions," the ways that the human soul has been nourished for thousands of years. We also talk about the longing to "do it right," the tenuousness of our sense of belonging which gives rise to such a longing, and the difference between taking healthy risks and living calculated lives. We trust you'll enjoy it! 

In this episode, Erin speaks with Lara Veleda Vesta, creator of The Wild Soul School and author of the Moon Divas Guidebook. In our conversation, we explore many powerful topics including embodiment, Lara’s journey navigating life with chronic illness, the importance of growing relationship with our ancestors, and so much more. 

In this episode, Erin speaks with Kinde Nebeker, founder of New Moon Rites of Passage about embodiment, about the importance of modern rites of passage, about the great joy inherent in tending grief, about Kinde’s great optimism in the way the world is shifting, and about the connection between the quality of our relationship with our bodies and how it relates with our relationship with Earth, plus much more.

In this episode, we speak with Philip Shepherd, author of New Self, New World and Radical Wholeness about his reflections on embodiment and why it matters. After Philip guides us into a brief practice of experiencing our embodied selves (not from our heads), we dive into exploring many topics, including his enlivening definition of intelligence as “grounded sensitivity,” about growing what he calls “axial consciousness,” about our “headist” modern culture, and much more.