Spirituality, presence, mindfulness, enlightenment… whatever you want to call it, we don’t just get there through thinking about it all the time. Or even through not thinking about it, if we’re trying the meditation route. Instead, connecting with our sense of being in the world (joyful or uncomfortable as that may be in any given moment) comes through both our thoughts and our bodily experiences. Mind and body aren’t actually separate, after all.

In this expansive conversation with artist and movement instructor Linnea Solveig, we muck around in the messiness and discomfort of what it means to be a human living in a body these days – how technology, social expectations, and the reality of aging impact our capacity to connect with ourselves and one another.

We also laugh a lot and celebrate the marvelous ways we’re all woven together in the tapestry of life.

Connect with Linnea

Visit her website: https://linneasolveig.com/

Follow her on Instagram @linneasolveig https://www.instagram.com/linneasolveig or @lovehelmet for her artwork https://www.instagram.com/lovehelmet/

References, Resources, and Links

Body mind centering (BMC). https://www.bodymindcentering.com/about/

Alexander technique. A set of skills to improve body movement: https://alexandertechnique.com/

Feldenkrais method. Self-improvement through movement: https://feldenkrais.com/what-is-the-feldenkrais-method/

Asana (the poses of yoga). For more details on the different aspects of yoga that Linnea references, here’s an excellent article: “Practicing the 8 Limbs of Yoga Will Help You Understand Yoga as It Was Meant to Be.” https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/the-8-limbs-of-yoga

Descartes. “René Descartes (1596-1650) argued that the natures of mind and body are completely different from one another and that each could exist by itself.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6016047/

Episodes on the nervous system with Marjorie Schreurs (episodes 20 & 21) https://settlingisbullshit.com/2024/10/10/befriending-your-nervous-system-1-activation/

Psoas muscle. (which I totally spelled wrong when I googled it for us) “Psoas Muscle: What It Is, Where It Is & Anatomy” https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/psoas-muscle

PHAME. A Portland-based arts academy for people with cognitive disabilities where Linneah also teaches classes. https://www.phamepdx.org/

Yin yoga. A style of yoga class where poses are held for longer periods of time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_Yoga