Holistic Life Navigation

Paula Engebretson joins Luis today in this interesting discussion between medication, holistic nutrition, and somatics. We often get the question if you can do this work while taking meds. Paula teaches us that the answer is individual and, for her, was YES! She explains how she lived with symptoms of ADHD and stress for decades before getting her official diagnosis, getting medicated, and then di...

In this episode, Luis explores why without overcouplings, comparisons are actually benign and without meaning -- they are just observations. He shares his own experiences with comparisons and body image as well as explains what "your truth is my myth" means to him and how it became a practice in helping him have to capacity to be with differences. For more information about Luis's w...

In this episode, we welcome an incredible teacher of Luis, Byron Katie. She is a speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work." Byron and Luis muse on what it means to relate to the ego and to our thoughts rather than trying to beat the ego or suppress our thoughts, i.e. what it means to be in a place of curiosity rather than judgement. The Work was born dir...

In this episode, Luis shares how changing his perspective of trauma changed his life and how we was able to relate to others. We often over-couple trauma with the event itself -- but trauma is how our bodies respond to that event. When we come to see trauma as the force or reverberation that moves through our body, propelling us to survive threatening and/or overwhelming situations, we can pivot f...

This episode is an excerpt from our live session that took place last Tuesday. Luis had designed a 3 week email series about the process of Wintering, which is when we let our bodies retreat from progress and nurture our capacity through rest. In this live session we have 300+ people practicing, sharing, and weaving with us around this practice and subject. We learn a lot about rest, our resistanc...

In this episode, we welcome back Lorcan MacGiolla Bhrighde and Helen Henderson, collaborators on Indigenous Ireland . In this episode, Luis, Lorcan, and Helen discuss what it means not just to decolonize, i.e. remove constructs of colonization, but to re-indigenize their lives, i.e. reintegrate elements of their indigeneity. The three of them share how immersing themselves in indigenous languages...

In this episode, Luis is joined by Erica Hornthal, known as "The Therapist Who Moves You", is a board-certified dance/movement therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor. Luis and Erica explore the misconceptions of dance and dance therapy and Erica shares how she came to define "Dance Movement Therapy" based on her own experiences rather than what text books say. T...

In this episode, Luis and Camille dig into the pros and cons of political correctness. Camille shares why she personally does not strive to be politically correct but instead seeks to understand. Luis and Camille also share their own experiences with safe spaces vs brave spaces, what it means to have a conversation vs. a debate, expanding capacity for conflict, and finding the beauty in rupture. F...

 We welcome back the entire HLN team in an episode where Luis, Marika, and Camille explore several things that can trigger us including: Attuning to joy and/or the now Releasing the Story Experimentation, Mystery & Ambiguity Empathy & Understanding Rupture They share their own experiences with these triggers, what they witnessed in others, and their own practices for expanding their capaci...

In this episode, Luis explores what it means to dis-identify with our thoughts and sensations. Many of us have come to believe, "I think, therefore I am." As such, we can become overwhelmed by the millions of thoughts that invade our by everyday. But what would it mean to relate to a thought rather than to identify with it? Luis discusses the practice of witnessing our thoughts from a pl...

We welcome back the entire HLN team as they explore what it means to break the rules. In previous episodes, we've explored cultivating disobedience. In this episode, we hear from Luis, Marika, and Camille how they built the capacity to break the rules, i.e. do what they aren't "supposed to", and how doing so has impacted their lives. They share with us how they released their s...

Luis welcomes Daniel Mate to the podcast to speak about the book he co-authored with his dad, Gabor Mate, titled The Myth Of Normal . They speak about: how writing the book invited repair for Gabor's and Daniel's relationship how Daniel practices uncoupling to have a good relationship with his father how identity and behavior or two different things how personality is often born from a t...

The episode is actually a recording of a live, virtual event Luis hosted for the HLN Membership and Course participants. HLN members and students often ask "How can I feel safe, calm or peaceful in a word that is dangerous or where there are so many horrific things happening?" In the wake of the US Supreme Court's over-turning of Roe v. Wade (as well as a recent shooting and the out...

In this episode, Luis is joined by Fritzi Horstman, the Founder and Executive Director of Compassion Prison Project. In this episode, Luis and Fritzi explore what a trauma-informed justice system might look like and why it is urgent to bring humanity and compassion to those living behind bars and these acts will help transform our society. They discuss the connection between vulnerability and acco...

In this episode, Luis explores why building capacity for pleaser is a critical yet often over-looked part of trauma-healing. Pleasure, joy, peace, etc. are an excellent resource when trying to heal our trauma. They are the counter-vortex, i.e. they provide the resourcing our bodies need to be with sensations that are more constricting. However, it can be very difficult and overwhelming for a traum...

We welcome back the entire HLN team in this freestyle episode! Luis, Marika, and Camille explore a myriad of topics, including: The role of media  Navigating Politics  Judgement vs. Curiosity Capacity & Time Death as a Teacher Dissociation vs. Detachment Also, we learn about yet another job Luis had in his past! For more information about Holistic Life Navigation, visit: https://www.holisticli...

In this episode, Luis explores why attuning to the present moment isn't about bypassing but rather it is about inviting everything in. We can often bypass the beauty or calm of the present moment because our bodies are responding to a remembered past or an anticipated future. However, by allowing our bodies to feel the absence of threat, it actually provides our bodies the resourcing to respo...

In this episode, Luis is joined by his brother-friend, Steve Rasovsky. Both Luis and Steve have had COVID and found a lot of wisdom in their experience. Fundamentally, COVID offered them both an invitation into the slowness an authenticity of their bodies because their flight response was physically inaccessible. Please note that neither Luis or Steve are medical practitioners and this episode isn...

In this episode, Luis explores why we often procrastinate and how procrastination is a form of freeze response. We procrastinate, or go into freeze response, when our bodies experience overwhelm. However, rather than relating to that overwhelm, we often to to a place of judgement and shame: "Why am I so lazy?" "Why can't I get my life together?" "Why am I so irrespons...

In this episode, we welcome back James-Olivia! This episode is a bit of an ADHD masterpiece where James-Olivia and Luis explore a plethora of topics, including:  Our attachment to stories about others The freedom to both follow and break the rules and shift with time Decolonizing Marriage & Individuating How to be free around those who don't recognize their own freedom Belonging & Spi...

In this episode, Luis explores why we often feel compelled to justify or rationalize our boundaries with others by creating a negative story about them rather than just accepting our inner knowing or our body's response as enough. This negative stories we create and repeat about others serves as the proof we need for our boundaries, but does it truly serve us? Does the story create peace or p...

In this episode, Luis is joined by Dr. Aimie Aigian, MD MS MPH. She is the leading medical expert on how life experiences get stored in the body and restoring the body to its best state of health through her signature model and methodology, The Biology of Trauma . Dr. Aimie shares with us how she came to observe and personally experience that the mind and the body are all one, inter-related system...

In this episode, Luis explores how and why we often force ourselves to be with or doings for other people simply because we love them. We often over-couple love with action, i.e. if we love someone, we should do things for them and if we don't do those things, our love is in question. With this overcoupling, love can move us to bypass our own boundaries which ultimately result in resentment t...

In this episode, we learn more abut Marika Malaea, the Operations Manager of Holistic Life Navigation. Marika generously shares with us pieces of her own healing journey, including being adopted by a family of a different culture, the pressures and desire to conform to a Eurocentric standard of beauty, and how once she was able to be embodied, it actually did not feel good. She also shares with us...

In this episode, Luis explores how being an empath can be a trauma response. Very rarely do we think about being a empath through the lens of joy. Instead, empaths often describe how they are overwhelmed by the pain, hurt, and suffering of others. Luis shares how recognizing and relating to a trauma response in conjunction with leveraging the practice of self-attunement can allow empaths to pendul...