Brain Shaman

Ludovica Labruna is the CEO of Magnetic Tides, a company developing a new method of non-invasive brain stimulation called kTMP (kilohertz transcranial magnetic perturbation). This technology and company were birthed out of the Cognition and Action Lab at UC Berkeley. Today you will learn all about kTMP, as well as other non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods such as TMS and tES. This is an exciting conversation that serves as a nice introduction to NIBS and the future of brain health technology.Learn more:   Magnetic Tides:  magnetictides.com  Cognition and Action (Ivry) Lab: ivrylab.berkeley.eduPEOPLE - Christina Merrick  - Daniel Sheltraw - Michael Nitsche - Nolan Williams - Richard Ivry

This is a conversation with Rich Goldsand, a Feldenkrais practitioner who has been working with athletes, children, and a range of clients all over the world for over 30 years. We talk about how to use movement, novelty, and principles from tensegrity as tools for understanding and changing our self and habits. Through such, we can find points of intersection within our self, body, and life that open up awareness, learning, connection, freedom, possibility, and more.  ** Connect with Rich at: www.feldenkrais-goldsand.netJoin the FREE online course (October 26th, 17:00 Pacific time): www.learnitlive.com/Class/Opposing-Forces-working-together-/23575**Here are some of the questions we explore in this episode:How does embodiment impact learning and improvement?How can we know and change our habits?Why is movement such a powerful tool for self-awareness and change?How much effort should you put into your actions and movements?How can you change your perception of effort?What are the limits of abstract theoretical knowledge and what role does our direct concrete personal experience play in our education?How does novelty (in movement, sensory experience, etc.) and change to increase learning, neuroplasticity, and self-understanding?How can we change our sensory input (e.g. through our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.) to change our habits in thinking, perceiving, feeling, and action?How can you change yourself and learn new perspectives of yourself by changing how you move and take in the world?Why are mistakes, errors, and novel movements so important for learning?What is the difference between choice and compulsion?What is biotensegrity and how can we use it for habit awareness & change?How can we use opposing movements to increase both our internal and external experience of ourselves?What is the connection between existentialism and Feldenkrais?What are the different kinds of discomfort, and do we need it?How can you use Feldenkrais to improve athletic performance?How can you use Feldenkrais to prevent or reverse aging?What is it about pools or swimming that opens people up socially?How can you use a foam roller to improve how you play a musical instrument or sport?RESOURCESBOOKS - Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre - Outlive by Peter AttiaPEOPLE - Alan Questel - Anat Baniel - Clayton Kershaw - Dick Fosbury - Jean-Paul Sartre - Michael Jordan - Moshe Feldenkrais - Peter Attia - Russell DelmanCONNECT & LEARN MORE  Rich Goldsand's website: www.feldenkrais-goldsand.net  upcoming online course: www.learnitlive.com/Class/Opposing-Forces-working-together-/23575

William Porter is the author of Alcohol Explained. Today we talk about alcohol and how it affects the brain, body, and our lives. We discuss the benefits of living an alcohol-free life and answer questions such as the following:What is drunkenness? What's happening in the brain?What role does homeostasis play in our drinking?What is a hangover?How does alcohol affect sleep? Is moderation an okay strategy?What beliefs about alcohol are holding us back?How can we learn to have positive experiences without alcohol?How does socializing contribute to our alcohol buzz / drunkenness?Does alcohol really help us connect with others?Why do get so emotional (angry, violent, sad, etc.) when drinking?What are the long-term health risks of drinking alcohol?How does alcohol impact the memory centers in our brain?What are blackouts?What caused William to quit drinking?What can you expect in the first days and weeks after quitting alcohol?How does alcohol affect appetite?How can you overcome your cravings for alcohol (or anything)?How does 'fading affect bias' play a role in our drinking habits?What new possibilities can abstinence from alcohol open up?How can you have a social life without alcohol?What are some differences between British and American drinking cultures?Why do people smoke cigarettes (or take other drugs) more when drinking alcohol?How is the process of quitting alcohol different from (and similar to) that of quitting smoking?How can we minimize the damaging effects of alcohol?How does an alcohol-free life increase our freedom and range of possibilities?What is addiction?What are the long-term benefits of quitting alcohol?LEARN MORE or CONNECT WITH WILLIAM: website: www.alcoholexplained.com Instagram: @alcoholexplained His other books include: Alcohol Explained 2, Nicotine Explained, Diet and Fitness Explained, and more.

Today is my birthday and I am spending it with no one but you. This is a glimpse into how I like to spend my birthdays. It is my philosophy of birthdays and life. My hope is that you can use this to help create a happier birthday for yourself this year too. And thank you for celebrating mine with me. 

This is a Feldenkrais lesson with Jeffrey Schwinghammer, followed by a quick post-lesson reflection. ** - Jeffrey's podcast - Expand Your Ability- Website: www.expandyourability.com** MORE RESOURCES - Feldenkrais Method official website: feldenkrais.com - Awareness Through Movement (book)And if you still can't get enough Feldenkrais, feel free to rewind to episodes 42 and 43 with Paul Pui Wo Lee. 

This is an interview with Jeffrey Schwinghammer. He is a filmmaker, podcaster, and Feldenkrais teacher. We discuss how to use movement to change the way we sense, think, and feel about ourselves, our possibilities, and the world. It is never too late to learn, grow, or overcome old habits and patterns. This is an episode about self-improvement, learning, self-awareness, and growth, using movement as our primary tool. Some topics we discuss include: changing your self-image, increasing awareness of how you do things, moving with greater ease and efficiency, leveraging the power of your skeleton, utilizing your muscles more efficiently, stopping inhibiting your movements and prematurely blocking off possibilities, becoming more embodied and whole, peacefully navigating the "shoulds" in life, bringing yourself back to safety, becoming more gentle with yourself, letting go of perfection, letting yourself just do the work that fits your current abilities, enhancing your creativity, becoming a better listener, embracing self-education, finding the flexibility to remove your social mask, nurturing your own unique individual needs and dreams (and not just those of society), learning how to walk, sit, and move in general, redefining what it means to be healthy, growing as a podcaster, filmmaker, and/or artist, and improving your skills and accelerating your learning at any age.  Through movement, you can gain awareness. And through awareness, you can improve that movement. And that is how you can change anything in your life and "expand your abilities." **Check out Jeffrey's podcast - Expand Your AbilityVisit his website: www.expandyourability.com**RESOURCESBOOKS - Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty EdwardsMOVIES - Jurassic ParkPEOPLE - Alice Boyd - Carol Dweck - Moshe FeldenkraisConnect with Jeffrey Schwinghammer: - website: www.expandyourability.com- podcast: Expand Your Ability (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)

Here are 10 kinds of actions we can take to switch between a focused-energized state to a calm-relaxed state. The behavioral tools discussed in this episode include:inhale & exhaleright nostril & left nostril breathingnear/narrow & far/wide viewinghot & coldlight & darkhead up & head downsound & silencemovement & stillnessopen mouth & closed mouthopen body & closed body

This is a conversation with Feldenkrais practioner and dance coach, Paul Pui Wo Lee. We talk about Feldenkrais and how it can be a kind of gateway into new possibilities -  new ways to dance, make art, love, connect, think, feel, sense, move, and be. I reflect on my first Feldenkrais experience (episode 40) and how it changed my self-image, confidence, thinking, perception, and even my voice. Feldenkrais is not just about movement. It is about discovering new possibilities for how live as a human being in this world, both alone and with others. It is about re-learning how to move, think, sense, and feel in more free and natural ways. It is an unlocking of old habits and patterns and unleashing of new possibilities for action, art, and identity. It is a tool for resurrecting the homo sapien, restoring human dignity, re-opening in your body and brain a world of endless options and possibilities, a feeling of "I can." Some of the topics we discuss include: dance, art, learning, memory, culture, society, self-image, falling, and making mistakes. -  Paul's website:  www.paulsfeldenkraisprojects.com - Instagram: @paul_moves - 13 free bonus lessons with Paul (on YouTube): The Wisdom of the Feet - Feldenkrais Lessons with Paul Pui Wo LeeRESOURCESBOOKSBody and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation, and Learning by Moshé FeldenkraisThe Brain that Changes Itself by Norman DoidgeThe Brain's Way of Healing by Norman DoidgePEOPLEMarie KaaeMoshé FeldenkraisNastya MadstateNorman DoidgeRuPaulTo learn more about Feldenkrais, you can visit the Movement and Creativity Library or google "Feldenkrais" and find a provider near you.

Paul Pui Wo Lee is a dancer and Feldenkrais practitioner. And today he's about to give me my first Feldenkrais (Awareness Through Movement) lesson. This is an action-based episode, an audio-guided experience - learning through doing. So, lie down, listen in, and slowly gain self and bodily awareness through movement. The post-lesson reflections and interview will be in the next episode (coming soon!)Connect with or book a private lesson with Paul: www.paulsfeldenkraisprojects.comInstagram: paul_movesMORE lessons from Paul (on YouTube) here.

My brother Jason joins the podcast. We talk about how to optimize our communication and connection with all of life - birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and the wider animal kingdom and human species. We discuss art, music, women, beauty, attraction, design, and how to be the best you. Homelessness is also a theme that runs in the background, as that is the world that my brother is living in. Learn about what it's like to be without a home, dancing on the border between nature and society, feeling and rationality, animal and man.  By experiencing things from such a raw and wide-open perspective, you can begin to rethink your ideas of success, money, beauty, friendship, love, possibility, good and evil, happiness, and what it means to be a homo sapien living in this modern world. Reconnect and play with the vast world of creatures inside of and around you, and re-enter life.  Wake up from the hypnotic trance of society, merge deeper into your authentic self, full of deeper relationships and a deeper connection with everything around you.