Welcome back to Irene Lyon for our second chat on TBA . We pick up largely where we left off from our first interview (ep 17) , namely into this question I had — and have — around okay, so we're aware of this trauma thing ... what do we do about it ? Wondrous, deep territory. Plus the pitfalls and joys of teaching online (newly on my mind as well). Also, here's that 15-min neuroception exercise. Love, LB. Get this, as always, on iTunes et al, or download direct here....
Mar 15, 2018•1 hr 50 min
Gerald Pollack has spent more hours studying water and the nature of muscle contraction than you've spent doing just about anything. He's a very bright, kind and well-seasoned scientist with a lot to say about the current state of affairs in science. We cover: 1. Water (particularly Jerry's work regarding water's "fourth phase") 2. The nature of science, and experiments 3. The nature of muscle contraction, and Jerry's work with water explaining contraction beyond the most-usually-cited actin/myo...
Feb 28, 2018•1 hr 35 min
Alexander Tsiaras is a modern-day Renaissance man who's been called the "Leonardo Da Vinci of the digital age." He's a scientist / artist behind a new look at human anatomy, and it's pretty revolutionary. He's authored two books I adore — The Architecture of Man and Woman and From Conception to Birth: A Life Unfolds — and give away often. That's how I found him, anyway. What unfolded was a conversation about the art and science of imaging the insides of a human being, even an embryo, and then so...
Jan 31, 2018•1 hr 10 min
Kate White is an expert in the autonomic nervous system, with heaps of experience — both intellectual and that kind of knowing that sits in your guts and is felt — in the world of being born, at first and again. SHOW NOTES Kate on the craniosacral podcast
Jan 10, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Jill Miller and I range from yoga to biomechanics to humility and hubris to Jill's recent hip surgery, her old teachers and the beauty, pain and wisdom that can come from growing up. About halfway through, Jill shares a truth bomb — sprung from the question "if you could go back and had 5 minutes with your 20-year-old self, what would you say?" — that is SO beautiful, powerful, poignant.
Dec 12, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Are less-embodied movement practices good gateways into a deeper practice, or are they doing more harm than good? Are all movement practices really created equal, or are some better than others? Is what you're doing working? What matters about a yoga posture? Should you practice yin yoga or weightlifting or contact improv or ... ? Just a few of the deep questions, of many gems, from the chat with this show's guest, Mark Walsh. Mark is an embodiment facilitator who's worked in war zones, in board...
Dec 05, 2017•1 hr 40 min
Tom Myers returns to The Body Awake for our third interview. And like the other two but with new territory, Tom's experience and wisdom that came through this chat were really good nutrition for me, and now hopefully for you too. Tom and I talk, among other things, about: making one's living as a bodyworker or movement teacher; the graces and pitfalls of the commercial vs academic spheres the full flowering, or "five fingers," of a fully integrated bodywork practice the disease of feeling "other...
Nov 28, 2017•55 min
Housekeeping 💛 a new home for my writing: the written word right here at TBA 💛 notes on my physical training, and follow up from the 50K race 💛 the trajectory of the show, both big picture and a list of future interviewees! weeeeeeee! Links my now-old blog at Dynamic Alignment Bodywork my now-new blog right here seth godin's phenom daily blog...
Nov 15, 2017•28 min
What a joy to get to chat with Brooke Thomas, whose latest project, the Liberated Body podcast, may be familiar to some listeners here. Brooke and I talk about the subject/object paradox of both having and being a body, using felt sense as a navigation to begin and end projects, and a whole host of other topics we might camp under something like "embodied spirituality." Or maybe "spiritual embodiment." Whatever we call it, I think Brooke is a joy to listen to! Hope you enjoy <3 LB @ TBA...
Oct 28, 2017•1 hr 5 min
"Posture" is such a loaded word for so many of us. It often evokes a sense of not "doing it right" —> lazy shoulders, computer slouch, etc. This kind of thinking might be useful in some circumstances, but in many people it just adds another layer of guilt — and yes, tension — onto an already tense situation. I love how Ruthie breaks down the infinitely expansive terrain of "inhabit your body" into little bite sized nuggets. She does it in her book Stack Your Bones , and with us on the show. I...
Oct 10, 2017•1 hr 5 min
We're back! Here's a 20-min intro to Season 2 of The Body Awake . So lovely to be back with you; thanks for being here.
Oct 04, 2017•21 min
This episode — in honor of wrapping up Season 1 of The Body Awake — the tables turn on your host and Liam gets interviewed. It's a peek behind the scenes, both of the show and of the heartmind of its host. I hope you enjoy, as always, and see you back in the autumn for Season 2 of TBA 💛 This episode On iTunes /// Download Direct SHOW NOTE S STAY IN TOUCH : follow my writing on facebook or on my writing page Some of my poetry, online My article "Fascia, Fluids, Nervous System: Past, Present, Fut...
Jun 21, 2017•1 hr 38 min
Since the show's earliest inception, I knew I wanted to interview Lauren for The Body Awake . When the time was right, I asked, so glad she agreed. Lauren was my main teacher in helping me understand the many layers and types of fluids, bone rhythms and subtleties of working with a body in my care. She's a rare gem. We talk about so much ... transmission of information, concurrence of multiple views emerging simultaneously, how to answer the "what's the best treatment here?" question without bei...
May 16, 2017•1 hr 30 min
"Too often we have the industrialized, mechanical model applied to a body. It's too reductive for something that's really a streaming ..." We're so blessed to have Susan Harper as our guest for this episode. I met Susan several years ago as her student in a weekend workshop, and was very affected by the material, and so impressed with her as a facilitator. I've been wanting to have this conversation for a long time. We talk about ... - "functional" beyond human function - some "how to" instructi...
Apr 25, 2017•1 hr 13 min
An anatomy lesson with an immediate application, if you want to look for it, around earlier / deeper barriers. We look briefly at the 3 primary embryological layers and their respective tissues and functions, some of the anatomical layering of the body, and from there how we can work with that information, especially for those wanting to know their bodies in a deeper way. I mean that both energetically, but also just in a straight up anatomical sense. We cover: - layers of all-pervasive anatomic...
Apr 12, 2017•45 min
James Hamblin, MD, is a writer and senior editor at The Atlantic magazine. His writing and videos have been featured in The New York Times , Politico , NPR, BBC, The Guardian , Elle , Mother Jones , and New York , among others. Time named him among the 140 people to follow on Twitter, Greatist named him among the most influential people in health media, and BuzzFeed called him "the most delightful MD ever." I reached out to him because I'd read his book, If Our Bodies Could Talk , and enjoyed it...
Mar 14, 2017•1 hr 11 min
By popular demand, and my own great interest, Tom Myers returns to The Body Awake for a second interview. In this second round — see episode 5 for the first — we cover: the nature of fascia as the body's very under-mapped "biomechanical autoregulatory system" how "you" could be seen as a vessel for your digestive system to get around (at 36 min) do we know what "trauma is stored in the body" means? what is memory? (at 39 min) Tom's story of his own birth, and experiencing liberation from a traum...
Feb 21, 2017•1 hr 16 min
Somatic Experiencing is, in some ways, just like it sounds: a direct experiencing of the body and its sensations. Where the magic of this work comes in is experiencing layers of sensation and reaction that have been long covered up — perhaps early life trauma. What can follow from "digesting" this childhood trauma can be monumental in one's now-adult life. (And there is even research — brought to life in like this Scientific American article , and this one in Nature revealing how trauma that hap...
Jan 31, 2017•1 hr 23 min
Here's the breakdown for my first, signed-up-on-a-whim 50 kilometer mountain run training plan: *** This should be fun. (If it's not, it's time to modify accordingly.) *** *** I want this to increase my overall vitality, mobility, strength and tissue hydration. (Decreasing some or all of those is a common strategy, however unknowingly employed, on service of achieving training goals.) *** 1. Train to run in a way where force translates the easiest way possible through my hips. (This is a deep, d...
Jan 11, 2017•29 min
Donna Martin came highly recommended to me from several Body Awake listeners. She's deeply trained, and trains others, in the realm of Hakomi, an approach to psychotherapy that's rooted in mindfulness and body awareness. In this interview, Donna and I dive into what felt like, for me, the heart of connecting with another human being. The first 23 seconds of the show gives you a taste of that. Enjoy, and do keep your recommendations coming; thank you! SHOW NOTES Donna Martin's website Hakomi Inst...
Dec 20, 2016•1 hr 2 min
This episode we get to spend time with someone who's dedicated a lot of her life to the study of Body Awareness, and how this awareness can — really, actually, empirically — heal the body, heal old trauma, and do all around good work. Cynthia lays out her approach at 45 minutes into the show — really how to do it — which I wanted to offer as a reference point, for applying this to your practice, work or life. SHOW NOTES The Center for Mindful Body Awareness Upcoming CMBA trainings for practition...
Nov 26, 2016•1 hr 24 min
This episode came with a little note through the airwaves that said: "Get this one out there, right now." And so I heed. Tias Little is an extraordinary yoga teacher, and you'll get a feel for him right away. Interview starts at 8:08. SHOW NOTES Prajna Yoga — Tias' school in Sante Fe, NM Yoga of the Subtle Body on Amazon Tias' classes on YogaGlo "My Stroke of Insight" — a Ted Talk by Jill Bolte Taylor...
Nov 10, 2016•1 hr 3 min
This episode is a shorter, in-between-isode where I share some thoughts on an oft-heard term in functional fitness circles everywhere: the "neutral pelvis" and "neutral spine." The gist is: it can be a good idea! And I think it's used too much as the holy grail, and I lay out my reasons why. They're probably not what you think they are. Also, I have a question for you, dear listener! I ask it right near the end, at 24:03; would love to have your input. Also in this episode: What makes a good mov...
Nov 02, 2016•30 min
David Cates is a tantra teacher ... sort of. (That's actually the first thing we get into in the interview: defining terms.) What that means for YOU, whether bodyworker or yoga teacher or curious bodymind looking to apply what we talk about here on the show into your life, is a deep inquiry about: the 2nd chakra/sacrum/sexual-creative center of the body, healing sexual trauma of many shapes and sizes, what we can learn from observing the natural world and, in many ways the thing I found the most...
Oct 24, 2016•1 hr 14 min
This is really a show about one of my favorite topics: HOW to think about learning about your body. (Are we being dogmatic or really open to learning new information? Plus a hundred other nuggets of gold in this show.) Angelo Coppola hosts the podcast Latest in Paleo and the site, and guiding philosophy really, that Humans Are Not Broken. He's a writer, interviewer, devourer of research, father of five, husband, natural mover and has kept off 90 pounds for six years (a powerful transformation — ...
Oct 03, 2016•1 hr 29 min
The technical ins and outs, in the supportive bed of philisophical treatise, of my month without coffee: Why I did it, why I tried and failed before, what support I had this time, what I noticed, and what now ... Heaps of show notes in this one. See the episode page for all those details!
Sep 15, 20160
How much suffering and pain — physical or otherwise — is necessary in this lifetime? What role does our will, our longing, to transform play in how we move through that pain? Is moving through pain a grace, or do you need to bust your ass to get it? Great questions. Tobin Giblin, a brilliant and talented body-based therapist, and I go deep into these questions and more. Hope you enjoy. SHOW NOTES Tobin's website, including access to his free e-book, Emotional Alchemy. The Art of Mindful Living: ...
Aug 22, 2016•1 hr 5 min
Today I chat with Mike Hamm: a bodyworker who's well steeped in current research around bodywork and massage therapy and, most importantly for me, a bright and interesting thinker around what we as practitioners are bringing to the table, so to speak, when we show up to work with people. (You can glean insight from this conversation, though, regardless of what you do for a living.) SHOW NOTES Mike's website and current blog, NeuroFascia.com (aka "the most relevant website for anyone who enjoys a...
Aug 07, 2016•1 hr 7 min
In today's short episode, we talk 3 truths in anatomy that take us beyond simple lever-and-pulley mechanics when visioning the body: how tissues slide, how muscle contraction doesn't just pull bones together but also presses laterally and deep, and a vision of fluid pressure and volume. Phew. You don't need a degree in anatomy for this one, though, just a body and some curiosity. SHOW NOTES Sliding Layers: Videos of some of the work of Dr Jean-Claude Guimbertea Non-Linear Force From Muslces: Hui...
Jul 22, 20160
This episode, I interview guest Tom Myers of Anatomy Trains. Tom is probably best known for his work detailing the anatomy of myofascial connections, and the cascade of implications thereafter, tho' we actually only talk fascia a little bit. We *do* talk about the art/science dichotomy (or is it?), somatic intelligence, kids and parenting and schooling, yoga and pilates and movement nutrition ... even immortality and how the internet is evolving like the nervous systems of organisms. SHOW NOTES ...
Jun 21, 2016•1 hr 15 min
