Producer Consciousness

Vanessa — somatic coach, writer, and musician — shares her journey from a near-death illness as an infant in Indiana, to finding yoga in San Francisco, to two decades of wellness work that became Soul Oriented Somatics and the Somatic Play Book zine series (co-created with illustrator Catherine Madden).

Together she and Homer explore where their two frameworks resonate: why "I'm producing my anger" and "the anger is your friend" point at the same wisdom, how the words we use — I'm sick vs. my immune system is upgrading, should vs. could — change our state, and why we can't just stare at the maladaptive strategies within ourselves and expect them to heal.

Vanessa offers practical tools like finding the place in your body that feels neutral-to-good and the looping breath, and midway through, the conversation takes an unexpectedly tender turn when Homer puts his own vector on the table for some live, real-time exploration.

Along the way: reclaiming the word "producer" from the corporate system, pleasure and joy as activism over fighting or resisting the old, the soul's gifts hiding inside our heartbreaks, and why the difference between illness and wellness is "I" versus "we."

Have a PC day.

Mrs. Dotson is a retired educator. Has an advanced degree in rehab counseling and is certified in education leadership. Mrs. Dotson held a principal position in grade school, junior high, and high school in the Youngstown school system.