The Ecosomatics Podcast

Jay Fields, M.A. E-RYT is a somatic educator, therapeutic coach and author who has taught embodied self-awareness practices to individuals and organizations for 19 years. Her approach to helping people have their own back at work and in life is grounded, playful, empathic and intelligent. Jay received her BA in Psychosocial Health and Human Movement from the College of William and Mary and her masters in Integral Transformative Education from Prescott College. She is the author of the book Teaching People, Not Poses and is on the board for The School of Lost Borders. When not working with clients or facilitating trainings, you can find Jay riding her motorcycle in the mountains outside of Ojai, California where she lives.

I absolutely loved this conversation. Andrea Olsen does incredible work exploring dance, embodiment, and our relationship to the world around us. Andrea Olsen, dance artist, author, and educator, is a Professor Emerita of Dance at Middlebury College, and a certified teacher of Holden QiGong and Embodyoga®. She is author of a triad of books on the body: Bodystories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy, Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide, and The Place of Dance: A Somatic Guide to Dancing and Dance Making with colleague Caryn McHose, and numerous articles and chapters in anthologies. Recent projects include continuing the Body and Earth: Seven Web-Based Somatic Excursions film project with Scotty Hardwig and Caryn McHose (http://body-earth.org), co-hosting the first-ever arts series at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA with Tangut Degfay '18 (http://go.miis.edu/arts18), and facilitating an Embodied Intelligence series of films and lectures with colleague Nükhet Kardam (http://sites.middlebury.edu/embody/). She is currently touring a new dance with text, Awakening Grace: Six Somatic Tools and will be a Fulbright Specialist at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore in April, 2019 (http://andrea-olsen.com).

In this episode I talk with Don Hanlon Johnson about environment, ethics, and embodiment. He's one of the original thinkers in the field and the founder of the first graduate program in Somatics. In a practice like this it's wise to know your roots. For somatics & embodiment, Don is right there.

Research shows that EQ, or emotional intelligence, sets apart the successful and satisfied from the frustrated and struggling. But few people realize that our emotional and social intelligence emerge out of our somatic intelligence. Our capacity for courage, vision, resilience, connection, and leadership all have neurobiological roots. That's great news, because it gives us a concrete path to train ourselves to embody vital life skills, such as a powerful presence, grace under pressure, and the ability to inspire others and resolve conflict. Just as we can build bigger biceps by lifting weights, we can train for greater resilience, better communication, and more influential leadership by tapping the wisdom of the body. These are skills that every body needs.

In this episode I talk with Adrian Bejan. Adrian Bejan received the Benjamin Franklin Medal for "Thermodynamics and constructal theory," which predicts natural design and its evolution in engineering, scientific, and social systems. His degrees are from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.1971, M.S.1972, Ph.D.1975). At Duke University, he is the J.A. Jones Distinguished Professor. He authored 30 books and 650 peer-refereed journal articles, and was awarded 18 honorary doctorates from universities in 11 countries. Professor Bejan's impact on thermal sciences is highlighted by his original methods of theory, modeling, analysis and design that today are associated with his name: entropy generation minimization, scale analysis, temperature-heat diagram, intersection of asymptotes, constructal law, design and evolution in nature.

In this episode I talk with Caitlin Pontrella, the executive director of Parkour Visions. In addition to her role in the organization we talk about her broader focus on designing spaces that create more opportunities for movement and what that means for our culture at large.

In this episode I chat with Mark Walsh about the many faces of embodiment, its consequences for our day-to-day lives, and including the very real dangers of dis-embodiment. Mark is a wealth of knowledge on the cross-cultural dynamics of embodiment, and I'm sure you'll get a lot from this episode.

Why does it take us so long to be ourselves? How can a movement practice bring us a deeper understanding of how we engage in the world around us? In this episode I talk with Jozef Frucek, co-founder of Fighting Monkey practice, about the big questions that link movement and life. Along the way we explore communication and creativity, autonomy and play, and much more. This is a favorite of mine, and I hope you learn as much from this conversation as I did.

In this episode I meet with Chantill Lopez and James Crader of the Thinking Pilates Podcast to discuss the client-centered approach to training. What happens when we question our own expectations and standards as professionals? What's possible when we deeply involve the person with the process? We explore all his and more in this episode.

I sit down with Dr. Jeff Haller to discuss The Feldenkrais Method. Jeff shows us how it's more than a remedy for stiff hips and back pain. It's fundamentally a way to harness the creative potential of the human organism and restore our emotional dignity. This is a powerful conversation you don't want to miss.

In this episode I talk with Dylan Newcomb, founder of The UZAZU Embodiment Method. I was blown away by this one. Dylan's work weaves together a rich array of practices, including dance, psycho-social relations, expression and vocalization, and so much more. He guides us through an embodiment practice that was a real eye-opener for me. I know you'll get as much out of it as I did.

What does it means to move like a human? In this podcast I talk with Rafe Kelley, the founder of Evolve Move Play, about what movement means for the human animal. We explore evolutionary biology, systems thinking, and play in order to develop a more complete picture of the human experience.

In this episode I talk with embodied resilience & trauma recovery coach, Jane Clapp. Jane has a wide-ranging background, so we talk about finding what's juicy in your practice, embodied boundaries, and learning to trust your system.

In this episode I talk with Ryan Hurst, head coach and co-founder of GMB Fitness. We talk about physical autonomy, longevity & balance in your practice, and breaking away from the "checklist" mentality in movement.

In this episode of The Ecosomatics Podcast I talk with Chris Diehl, a technologist with a deep curiosity for how technology can help us stay true to our humanity in the face of global problems. We explore the interplay of traditional wisdom and modern science, embodiment practices for better communication, emergence in complex systems, and much more. It's a rich conversation that touches on the deep need for integration of mind & body, as well as people & nature.