Episode 2 - Zen Integration Bodywork ft. Ellen McKenzie

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Red Beard Embodiment Podcast!

In this podcast, Alex and Ellen McKenzie discuss how their paths intersected 10 years ago beginning a friendship and collaboration around exploring Zen and the body through the lens of traditional Zen training and the collection of somatic modalities offered through Red Beard.

Ellen shares about her personal journey that led her from competitive swimming, to yoga, to meditation, to Hanna Somatics and now Zen Integration Bodywork training with Alex.

They also discuss their collaborative SomaticZen zen intensive series they ran for several years leading up to the pandemic and how the pandemic has catalyzed important changes for them both.  Ellen has taken a deeper dive into formal Zen training participating in a 3-year priest training curriculum through Chosei Zen.  Alex has decided the time is right to synthesize his various bodywork training studies with his core Zen training background and offer a way of training in Zen through bodywork in a format called Zen Integration Bodywork.

In this conversation Alex and Ellen talk about:

• How Alex and Ellen first connected through bodywork

• How Alex’s foundational formal training in Zen and martial arts led him on a deep quest to dive into embodiment

• How Alex and Ellen have collaborated and experimented over the years with how somatic and bodywork can inform and deepen Zen meditation training

• How the Japanese concept of Do (Chinese: Dao) can be applied to activities like martial arts, fine arts, and bodywork to explore human development in the deepest ways

• How Alex’s development of Zen Integration Bodywork is intended to use bodywork as a vehicle for human development in alignment with the principles of Zen and Do.

If you're passionate about exploring the mind-body connection, eager to share your insights on trauma healing, or nervous system regulation, we would love to hear from you! We are always seeking engaging interview guests to feature on our platform.

Reach out to us at [email protected] to discuss sharing your message with our audience!


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