Four Gardens Podcast

Eleanor Bramwell is a somatic therapist, trauma specialist, nervous system expert, serial entrepreneur, and change maker. By the age of 30, she developed five flourishing companies that spark systemic change. She is committed to her own inner development and living a full, embodied life that is in alignment with her moral compass.

Eleanor is an inspirational public speaker and has presented at John Hopkins, Harvard, CBS, and the Department of Health and Human Services. A passionate and skill facilitator, she is able to make complex concepts relatable and digestible. In her private practice Eleanor offers trauma therapy and mentoring. Her mission is to help the world THRIVE.

In our conversation, Eleanor breaks down important concepts about nervous system regulation and trauma. We discuss how she is growing conscious organizations that invest in workers and create space for authenticity. She shares about key mentors in her life and how she cultivates life balance and an appreciation for play. Eleanor reflects on lessons from rock-climbing, being a dog parent, and living in a Buddhist monastery when she was 19.

Eleanor is offering our listeners a special offer of 20% off her upcoming 50 Hour Trauma-Informed Yoga Training using code FOURGARDENS20

https://www.bodywiseinstitute.com/schedule/2021/3/5/online-50-hr-trauma-informed-yoga-teacher-training-with-eleanor-bramwell

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/DJGIFefcFeM

Eleanor's Links:

EleanorBramwell.com

BodyWiseinstitute.com

BodyWiseFoundation.org

Breath Practices to Increase Resiliency and Regulate the Nervous System:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMqALRH34ek&t=2s

Learn more about the Four Gardens: https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Intro music from Bensound.com

Dan Turello is a writer, editor, photographer, and cultural historian and the creator of the Alternative DC Portraits Project. Alternative DC is a playground experiment, an invitation to be curious and create meaning together. It features folks who don’t fit the mold of what the world thinks of as being typical of Washington, DC, with its stereotype of suits, starched shirts, and one-dimensional politicians. In our conversation, Dan and I discuss his photography, our shared love of conscious dance, what we can learn from medieval mystics such as St. Francis, and how we can find hope in the midst of climate change.

I was grateful to participate recently in Dan's Alternative DC Portraits Project. Take a look at the portraits here: www.piemonteseingiro.com/portraits

Dan holds an MA in political theory from the Catholic University of America and a PhD in romance languages and literatures from Harvard University. His writing credits include Renaissance Studies, Italica, The Washington Post, Aeon/Psyche, The Huffington Post, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Watch the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/iWnzLKMlZJ8

To learn more about the Four Gardens Approach visit https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Follow Dan on instagram: www.instagram.com/dan.turello/

For additional reading:

On Franciscan literature:

The Cambridge History of Italian Literature, edited by Peter Brand and Lino Pertile (Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Giacomo Todeschini. Franciscan Wealth: From Poverty to Market Society (The Franciscan Institute, 2009).

On artistic production and environmental impacts during the Renaissance:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/26618783

On creative and counter-cultural communities:

https://psyche.co/ideas/craft-your-own-renaissance-with-tips-from-boccaccios-decameron

On technology, nature, and the environment:

https://www.huffpost.com/author/dan-turello

Intro music by bensound.com

Lexi Mondot helps healers, coaches, instructors and spiritual leaders of the new earth movement decolonize oppressive systems from their practice using Cyclical Arts. They join the podcast for a powerful conversation on how we can live in better harmony with natural cycles. We start by discussing the intricacies and deep wisdom reflected in the menstrual cycle. Lexi shares how they integrate this wisdom in their own life and share it in their coaching practice. Later in the episode we take a deep dive into the historical origins of our disconnection from nature. We discuss the social restructuring precipitated by the rise of agriculture, the wider implications of witch-burnings, and much more.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kUijmvYt1V8

Learn more about Lexi's Offerings: https://direct.me/lexi

Follow Lexi on Instagram @theyogawitches

Learn more about the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Lexi's Full Bio: 

Lexi Mondot helps healers, coaches, instructors and spiritual leaders of the new earth movement decolonize oppressive systems from their practice using Cyclical Arts.

Cyclical Arts Practice is a devotion that revolutionizes the way we connect with our bodies, the Earth, and each other by honoring lunar, solar and menstrual cycles.

They are dedicated to healing humanity's relationship to these cycles- and all genders' relationship to the menstrual cycle as a pathway to end global warming by healing the cause of our hyper-masculinized, consumer and production based internal landscape that has polluted our external landscape.

They've spent 25 years studying the body, mind and spirit through the art of dance with master teachers to gather body wisdom and knowledge based in human ritual and history. They've spent endless nights choreographing, researching and creating works to address gender-based oppression and the toll they have on our bodies, minds spirits & relationships.

When struck with chronic mental and physical ailments, they stumbled into 15 years of research for answers to healing gender based trauma, internalized oppression, chronic mental illness and reproductive health issues. They spent 15 years researching, practicing and studying many healing methods including: medication + psychotherapy, CBT, EMDR, Pranayama, Kundalini, Nutrition, yoga, dance + somatic techniques, Ayurveda, TCM, acupuncture, witchcraft, folk medicine, holistic nutrition and more.

They embrace all things body, mind and spirit, dedicating a lifetime to healing all three within themself and helping others to do the same. They use years of experience as a dance and somatic instructor, yoga instructor, dance and theatre artist, practicing witch and thriving survivor of PTSD to offer you a feminine perspective on spirituality that’s accessible, grounded, and rooted evidence-based methods, science and anthropology.

It is within your power to use your body to access the most powerful parts of yourself, and they want to show you how.

Lexi, aka The Yoga Witch, has a B.A. with Honors in Dance, a B.A. in Theatre and a Certification in Arts Management from Hollins University + is genderqueer and neurodivergent. They are a 200hr RYT Certified Yoga Instructor through The Mindfulness Center and have been practicing witchcraft for 15 years.

They have 18+ years of experience as a dance instructor + choreographer across techniques + expansive training in somatic methods such as: Alexander Technique, Bartenieff, Laban Movement Analysis, Feldenkrais, AFCMD, Gaga technique, Improvisation + Contact Improvisation.

Intro Music from Bensound.com

Luke Monteleone, founder of Purpose State and a life purpose coach, joins the podcast to discuss how we can work with our trauma to grow a life of greater meaning and harmony. In our conversation, Luke shares what he means by life purpose and how he helps clients. He offers the example of his birth trauma of being born prematurely and spending his first days in an incubator. This early trauma deeply affected his relationship with the feminine and has been a key area in his healing journey. Luke and I consider attachment theory, the role of empathy in business, the limitations of our current educational system in regards to emotional intelligence, and what message he'd send to his younger self.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tFp0GFBUS8A

Visit Purpose State at https://www.purposestate.com/

Learn more about Luke: https://lukemonteleone.com/about/

Follow Luke on Instagram @purpose.state

Learn more about the Four Gardens at https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/

Intro Music from Bensound.com

Bill Wich, creator of the Omega Point Program (OPP), joins the podcast and shares about the evolution and impact of the OPP. I recently completed the OPP’s 20 day mentorship process, where I spent 45 minutes each day going through a series of scripts with the same friend taking turns in the role of mentor and mentee. I found that this process grew my listening, empathy, intuition, and peacefulness, and I highly recommend it.

In my interview with Bill, he talks about the roots of the OPP, and takes us back over 30 years ago to a spiritual experience he had that was precipitated by a hypnosis session. Ever since this awakening Bill has been a passionate student of healing and spirituality. He drew on his design aptitude, strengthened by a degree in aerospace engineering and a career in corporate management at Ford and Toyota, to efficiently combine and reframe spiritual tools into new training modalities that are powerfully effective and more easily accessible. Bill describes the latest innovations in the OPP and the dimensions of experience that the higher phases open up for us. Bill and I also explore the place of spiritual experience in organized religion and in modern society. Bill ends by sharing a few examples of the profound shifts he has witnessed in people that have gone through the OPP.

Start the Omega Point Program for Free at https://omegapointprogram.com/

Watch the video version of this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoRivzjmmq8

Listen to my interview with Bill Wich’s son Andi Wich: https://bit.ly/3GbbZ62

Watch the film “The Work” featuring Bill Wich: https://amzn.to/3KVjgKW

Intro music by Bensound.com 

Mallory Combemale, founder of Breath Connection and co-founder of the Inheritance Project, joins the podcast for a second time to share a powerful breathwork practice that will help you move through anger or other challenging emotions and return to joyful equanimity. I highly recommend you watch the practice section on YouTube (link below) so that you can more easily learn the dynamic movements that Mallory teaches. Mallory and I reflect on the transformational power of breathwork, how she guides her students, and on the supportive breathwork community she is stewarding.

YouTube Video for this episode: https://youtu.be/7vjR6eTkt8s

Listen to my interview with Mallory:https://bit.ly/3Ivz8ld

Breath Connection Chinese New Year’s Event: https://www.mixily.com/event/1250530060021738685

Learn more about Mallory’s businesses:

www.inheritanceproject.org

www.breathconnection.co

Follow Mallory and her businesses on IG:

@mallorytransforms

@breath_connection

@inheritanceproject

Sattva Yoga Academy: https://sattvayogaacademy.com/

Mallory’s full bio

A Singaporean-French-American citizen raised in London, Mallory has always been fascinated with identity and facilitating cross-cultural understanding.

In her 10+ years of consulting and facilitation experience she has worked with C-Suite executives from Fortune 100 companies, non-profits, city government agencies, public schools and start-up founders.

As a co-founder of the Inheritance Project*, she leads transformative experiences for groups to bridge divides, build trust, and create communities of belonging. The Inheritance Project's unique methodology focuses on inviting understanding and dialogue about our own and others' unique inheritances.

Mallory also has deep experience guiding personal healing and transformation. She is a 500-Hr certified yoga teacher specializing in breathwork and meditation, and has extensively studied trauma-informed approaches to healing. Through Breath Connection, she empowers leaders with scientifically supported breath practices to improve leadership skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, collaboration and resilience.

*Inheritance (n) - a new definition: ancestry, culture, beliefs, values, stories, social conditions, traits, and perspectives received from past generations

Intro music from bensound.com

Katya Stepanov, co-founder of the Inheritance Project and Rebis, joins the podcast to share about how storytelling can be a transformational and healing practice. Katya begins by telling several powerful stories from her past. We explore how creating safe spaces for diverse narratives subverts exploitative systems that limit the depth of our interpersonal connections and creative intelligence. We reflect on ways that the natural world and agriculture hold wisdom about how to steward our communities and our emotions. Katya talks about how the Inheritance Project creates opportunities for people to grow their self-awareness and explore their background while also staying grounded and regulated.

Learn more about Katya’s businesses:

Inheritance Project: https://www.inheritanceproject.org/

Rebis: https://www.experiencerebis.com/

Follow Katya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katyastepanov/

Bio: Katya Stepanov is a Belarusian-Jewish-American facilitator, speaker, writer, director, actor, and immersive experience designer who helps leaders, individuals, and organizations harness the power of story to cultivate self-awareness, bridge cultural divides, and resolve conflicts. Katya is a co-founder and CEO of Inheritance Project, a small and fast-growing Human Impact start-up in the area of DEIB and culture building.

After graduating with her BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, Katya became passionate about applying advanced storytelling techniques to empower and train leaders. As a facilitator and educator, Katya has taught at numerous theaters, universities, institutions and agencies. Prior to co-founding Inheritance Project, she designed and facilitated team-building events for over 100 companies across sectors including LinkedIn, HBO, NBC, Lockheed Martin, J&J, and Spotify. As an actor, Katya has performed in theatres across the United States. Her recent TV credits include Dr. Katya Melnikov in Dr. Death (NBC), Anna Popov in Accommodations (Showtime) and Ingrid (Law & Order SVU).

Katya is the creator and writer of Inheritance, an immersive play and VR experience exploring Russian-Jewish immigrant identity and culture, for which she received the COJECO Blueprint Fellowship. She is also a co-founder of Rebis, an XR collective, and a co-creator of Those Before Us, an audio immersive dance experience that brings to life marginalized history in public spaces through interactive performance.

Katya is the creator and writer of Inheritance, an immersive play and VR experience exploring Russian-Jewish immigrant identity and culture, for which she received the COJECO Blueprint Fellowship. She is also a co-founder of Rebis, an XR collective, and a co-creator of Those Before Us, an audio immersive dance experience that brings to life marginalized history in public spaces through interactive performance.

Intro Music from Bensound.com

"Be whoever you want to be, and be funny!" Sunny Atwal is a comedian and poet who taught an excellent improv comedy course I took this fall at the PIT theater in NYC. Sunny shares his creative journey beginning with poetry competitions, getting hooked on improv comedy, and then producing his own solo shows. We get philosophical about improv comedy and explore personal and communal lessons it offers. We end the episode by playing Sunny's favorite virtual improv game, "News Report." I recommend checking out the video version of us playing this game with animations and effects on the Four Gardens Podcast YouTube channel.

Learn more about Sunny and the People's Improv Theater here: https://thepit-nyc.com/people/sunny-atwal/

Follow Sunny on instagram @sunnyoutlaw - https://www.instagram.com/sunnyoutlaw/

Subscribe to the Four Gardens Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG619-IdnBAQuSp1z1_qVEA

Sunny's Bio:  Sunny Atwal has over a decade’s worth of public speaking experience. He is a former State Champion in poetry. He has written, acted, and produced several shows for the Indy Fringe festival as well as his own 45 minute Solo Show, Taxi Cab Driver, at SOLOCOM 2019. Sunny has also hosted for the Indy Visitor’s Channel which played throughout Indianapolis hotels explaining tourist attractions.  Additionally, he produces an all South Asian casted Improv Comedy show for The People’s Improv theater.

Intro music from Bensound.com

Kobi Tov is a spiritual teacher, life coach, and one of the founders of Vagabond Temple. We have a deep conversation about his spiritual path and how he has drawn from intensive, long-term study of traditions such as Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and Kabbalah. He shares how different spiritual systems offer complementary wisdom and practices and gives clear examples of how he integrates them in his life. We reflect on how sexuality has powerful spiritual implications and how people can begin healing sexually and deepening their intimate connection to self and other. Kobi also describes his approach to guiding people towards personal transformation as a coach.

Vagabond Temple’s website: https://vagabondtemple.com/

Email Kobi at [email protected]

Follow Vagabond Temple on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vagabondtemple/

Learn more about the Four Gardens at www.fourgardenspodcast.com

Watch videos content from this episode on the Four Gardens Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG619-IdnBAQuSp1z1_qVEA

Kobi's full bio: 

With his natural ability to hold space for others, Kobi is considered a loving teacher by many, but he sees himself as a devoted lifelong student. He leaves no stone unturned on the spiritual path, learning from countless philosophies, religions and spiritual practices with extensive training in Yogic, Buddhist, Kabbalistic and Taoist traditions.

Travelling throughout the world, Kobi has studied under renowned teachers such as Mantak Chia (Taoist master), Tias Little (Prajna Yoga), Prashnat Iyengar (Iyengar yoga), Richard Freeman (Ashtanga Yoga) and more. He has studied a wide range of therapeutic methods, including family constellations, evolutionary astrology, bodywork, hypnotherapy and more.  He has dedicated his life not only to the exploration of truth but also to bring this wide – ranging wisdom to life through helping people on their path to self- realization. He believes in fully embodying what he teaches, and through his embodiment, he guides his students even more-so as a reflection of their own power and true nature. His teaching style is an experiential approach to re-directing our awareness of our essence; that lies in our body, spirit, and heart, where the real teacher is alive. As a teacher, he intends to remind each person of their own Divinity and provide a space where they can fully flourish into that throughout their spiritual progress.

Intro music Bensound.com

Executive coach Erik Desrosiers joins the podcast and shares how he is integrating diverse spiritual practices with his extensive business background to help guide leaders and organizations towards their higher potential. Erik reflects on the spiritual journey he has taken over the past five years and the powerful practices that have opened his heart and mind such as vipassana, plant medicine, kundalini yoga, and more. He offers a rich reflection on how inner and outer worlds are inextricably connected, and gives the example of the paradigm shifting technology he is helping to champion in the renewable energy sector.

Erik’s coaching business Merkaba Group: https://merkaba.group/

Email Erik at [email protected]

“Cultivate Yourself in 2022” Event https://www.fourgardenspodcast.com/event-details/cultivate-yourself-in-2022

Intro music Bensound.com