Somatic Wisdom

Hello, my lovely listeners. As I worked through some insomnia and some feelings of urgency in the past week, I wanted to address an issue that some of us with busy brains struggle with regarding rest.  Some of us have "Ferrari brains with bicycle brakes" like Dr. Ned Hallowell would say. It's actually not very easy to slow ourselves down to get proper rest. Unless we literally hit a wall and burn...

I have been so inspired by the work of Tricia Hersey, creator of the Nap Ministry and author of Rest is Resistance, A Manifesto. She has helped me understand and see through some of the false beliefs we had been taught in this "grind culture" we live in.  This episode is an introduction to some of the ideas she covers and encouragement to explore her work if you need more rest in your life, and ar...

I loved this conversation with my new friend and colleague Patrick Geary , a coach, astrologer, and healer who has given me such insight through a reading he did for me back in November.  We cover experiences with somatic wisdom in terms of burnout and bodily cycles and Patrick shares his more of his back story.  For those who are beginning with the notion of the planetary bodies influencing us, y...

This episode is about my favorite coaching tool, the CliftonStrengths 34 Assessment and Report. I explain how I use it and then walk you through my Top 10 as a sample of what you might discover if you are interested in fully embracing your strenghts with this tool. My Top 10: Relator Input Intellection Learner Empathy Strategic Developer Arranger Maximizer Ideation *** Links:  Embrace Your Strengt...

Happy 2023, Somatic Wisdom listeners!  After allowing myself some generous time off after the holidays for rest and reflection I am back again and looking forward to the next season of Somatic Wisdom. This is a reflection on the past year, along with some review of the five interviews I did and some of the lessons I most enjoyed. If you haven't heard them yet, I think you'll enjoy the content.  EP...

Hello listeners. Izzy was one of the first answering my "call" when I asked for leaders who are seeing different ways of being well at work.  I really enjoyed her perspective, since she's in the I.T. recruiting space, and also has a passion for wellbeing.  We cover topics like the growth mindset, and the notion of work-life flow. We talk about how COVID-19 working at home opened people's eyes to h...

This episode is about releasing what no longer serves us. I talk about something I did with my old journals, and I explain how having a physical ritual can be so cleansing. What cleansing rituals can you use as you look back through the year and consider what you want to leave behind, versus what you want to carry forward?  Resources mentioned in the episode: Coach Brooke Castillo of the Lifecoach...

I am excited to bring you this conversation with my new friend, therapist and Zen practitioner Victoria (Viki) Stith. Viki and I cover topics around anxiety, body-based wisdom, the courage to take risks, and the refusal to harbor thought. We talk about her journey to this work, and some adventures she's had along the way, like the 7-month stint living in France, fulfilling a lifelong dream. We are...

Let's dive into how to improve your stability, and strength. I'm going to help you break down more of this functional education work from soma yoga methodology to give you a place to start. And while you may apply these to movements in your body, you can apply them to your emotional wellbeing as well. This is where the magic often happens for me. The main principles of this work are: Learn to pay...

This episode will air on Thanksgiving Day. It's a perfect time to thank you so much for listening! I'm grateful for you and for your interest in this material.  Today we cover aspects of our body which can translate into aspects of our being, as I let you in on a recent discovery I had while in a 3-day intensive yoga training.  We use an infinity symbol with three different aspects I ask you to im...

I'm bringing you a conversation with Valerie K. Martin, someone who has inspired me with her work.  Valerie has a passion for working with trauma survivors and folks who are seeking a deeper relationship with self, community, and the earth. She also works with couples, and is currently engaged in training to become a certified sex therapist. In addition to founding the Gaia Center for Embodied Hea...

I reflect on being relieved that political season has come to an end (mostly).  Then I dive into the benefits of community and how I was reminded how important this is, especially as I had the privlege of talking with Moira Maybin and Valerie Martin .  Community and connection are valuable to our wellbeing, even if we are introverts. We are wired for connection and we need to reach out when we are...

This episode is on the energetic cycles we experience in a day. I recorded in the evening, at a time I'm much less focused. I want to keep it real in letting you peak behind the curtain in terms of a less energetic time for me. My focus med has worn off, and even reading a script and sticking to the plan feels harder. A recent medicine shortage put me into a bit of a tailspin. Thankfully, I didn't...

This episode covers a disruption to my current work situation due to a staffing shortage at my husband's organization, and a rant about the Supreme Court's  political disruption to women's rights where I am asking for your support.  While the personal situation is not the biggest disruption we have endured in the past few years, it did make me angry. I didn't like the policy or the process of my h...

My NIA teacher Beth Giles was kind enough to have a conversation with me about her practice, her teaching and what NIA means to her. We shared our joyful experiences with this practice, which includes several dance forms, movements from martial arts, and from yoga. With its upbeat music and world rhythms, NIA is an accessible practice for many bodies. I even find that sometimes, when my body calls...

In this episode I include a short somatics practice to release tension and then a short "bodyful" meditation for when you need a practice to ground and settle yourself and to tune into your internal wisdom. We move through the arch & flatten, a basic somatic tension release, along with some shoulder releases to allow our bodies to be comfortable to settle into a brief meditation.  Use this as a pr...

This short bonus episode is a grounding practice for whenever you need calming and centering before any next action step where you may be feeling a little tense or anxious.  The goal of the practice is to settle your nervous system so you can better access your inner wisdom. This can be used at any time, and I use it (or a similar guided practices) before my clients begin their coaching sessions. ...

I begin the episode by reflecting on what I learned from Dr. Ashley White on Responsive Eating and how I've named my hunger an "inner Calvin" after one of my cats, who is very food-motivated.  The rest of the episode focuses on a few different ways to practice of meditation, especially if you have a restless mind or body. For some of us being seated without moving on a cushion feels more torturous...

 I know you will love this conversation with Dr. Ashley White, MD, creator of the Responsive Eating™ methodology.  Ashley White is a leader in challenging diet dogma. Her work with Responsive Eating ™ encourages a critical shift in how we eat and understand our appetites.    As a trusted coach, doctor, educator, and parent, Dr. Ashley White's mission is to use her signature methodology of Responsi...

This episode explores my story as far as the food and body image struggles I developed in my early teens and that am still journeying to understand. Since I'll be hosting my first guest (Dr. Ashley White, creator of Responsive Eating) in episode 24, I wanted to explore this topic that feels a little vulnerable to me, but is also something that I believe clients and listeners can benefit from heari...

Do you engage in procrasti-learning?  I define this as inputting new knowledge to delay taking action or practicing a new skill.  It can feel vulnerable to do the hard things, so it is natural for us to consume rather than to create.  But this won't help us reach our goal. So I offer six strategies to interrupt this habit if it's one you share with me:  In summary: my favorite ways to to avoid bei...

Today's episode is a reinforcement of the ideas of somatic practice, and building upon those with wisdom from a prominent spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle.   I recently reviewed some material from Tolle's A New Earth book . If you are interested in the flowering and deepening of human consciousness, you may want to check out the 10-part series that opens his podcast Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachi...

This is the final episode of my three part series on the Somatics of Confidence.  Putting together what we learned in episodes 18 and 19, this episode concludes with a few postures that can help you physically build your confidence, and a practice I love to help get me pumped up for a big event.  Resources mentioned in the episode: Frans Johannson's The Medici Effect Kelly McGonigal's Ted Talk on...

How is your confidence? Do you need a little more ease in your body when you face an important challenge?  Please listen to episodes 17 & 18 to learn more about the foundations for this practice. Then learn about how the sympathetic and parasympathetic sides of our nervous system regulate our bodies. We will practice some shoulder releases and some side body releases to help relax us and to get a...

In this episode I cover why confidence is important, including some recommendations from a great book on this topic, The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance - What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.   I come back to a practice I covered in Episode 3 of this podcast, breath awareness. This moves us from our over-thinking brain back into our body.   Then I walk us...