Drew Leder a professor of Western and Eastern Philosophy at Loyola University Maryland.  Dr. Leder's work focuses on the embodied experience. He asks us to reconsider the Cartesian mind-body dualism that underlies much of contemporary Western medicine, and proposes a more holistic, yet rigorous, alternative.

He has written several books on these topics including The Absent Body, and his latest  book The Healing Body: Creative Responses to Illness, Aging, and Affliction

Find out more at https://www.drewleder.com/

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In this weeks episode, I speak with Joseph Alter. Joseph S. Alter is the Director of the Asian Studies Center and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also the editor of The Journal of Asian Studies (2021 – 2025).  His research is on environmental health, the globalization of Asian medical knowledge and the cultural history of Yoga’s development in India.

In the discussion professor Alter made references to Geoffrey Samuel & Livia Koan both of whom have been guests on the show. To hear there episodes follow the links below.

Episode 6 & 7 Season Two: Geoffrey Samuel Phd: Embodiment & Tibetan Buddhism

 
Episode 18 Season One:  Livia Kohn, Ph.D: Daoyin, Daoism, & Somatics

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My guest today, is Veronica Rottman. Veronica has a somatics and dance background. She studied Somatic Experiencing with Peter Levine as well as Somatic Attachment Therapy. Her passion is in Birth Work where she teaches a speciality Yoga for the pelvic floor, + prenatal/postnatal yoga)

Listeners can find about more about her and her work at Waking Womb where she teaches classes and workshops.

To find our more about the Podcast visit Somatic Primer
For Meditation & Somatic Embodiment Classes please visit Vidya Method

Thank for listening and I hope you enjoy the episode.

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Welcome to season 3 of the Somatic Primer Podcast. In this week's episode, I speak with Stuart Olson. Stuart is the founder, of Sanctuary of Tao. he is an author and translator of over thirty works on Taoist Philosophy, Taijiquan, Qigong, and Taoist internal practices.

We discuss his translation of the Jade Emperor’s Mind Seal Classic: The Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity, and Immortality. The Jade Emperor’s Mind Seal Classic teaches that one can attain immortality through the cultivation of the three treasures of jing (sexual and physical energy), qi (breath and vital energy), and shen (spirit and mental energy).

Find our more about Stuart Olson https://www.valleyspiritarts.com/

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For this weeks extended episode Stuart tells us about his time doing a bowing pilgrimage that lasted for two and a half years. If you're interested in his journey with that practice then head on over to the patron to listen.

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Georges Dreyfus is  Professor of Religion at Williams College, Massachusetts. His focus is in the fields of Indian Buddhist philosophy, philosophy of mind, and cognitive processes. 

At the age of 20, Dreyfus left his native home of Switzerland and backpacked across Eastern Europe through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to India. He traveled to Dharamsala where he first encountered Tibetan Buddhism. Captivated by its philosophy, he entered a monastery and began the studies that lasted for 15 years. In 1985 he would be the first Westerner to receive the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest available within the Tibetan scholastic tradition.

He is author of several books including, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, and Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations.

Dr. Dreyfus and Bryson discuss:

• His journey from Switzerland to India
• How he came to be a Buddhist monk
• The daily life of a Buddhist monk
• The Philosophy of Conscious in Buddhism
• Meeting the Dalai Lama
• The Path of Meditation vs. Scholarship
• Tibetan Debating System
• and much more...

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In this episode, I speak with Dr. James Mallinson about his time living in India living with the sadhus, meeting his guru, and his pioneering research on the history of yoga.

Dr. James Mallinson is  is a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford. He was previously a Reader in Indology and Yoga Studies at SOAS University of London. His research focuses on the history and current traditional practice of yoga.

He co-authored with Mark Singleton the  Haṭha Yoga Project, a five-year six-person research project on the history of Hatha Yoga.

James spent many years living in India with the Sadhus and at the 2013 Kumbh Mela was awarded the title of Mahant. His ordination as a Mahant, is the first time a westerner had received this honor. It was documented in a BBC film entitled West Meets East.  
Watch here: East Meets West

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Again, I want to thank listeners who support the podcast, we really couldn't do it without your support. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the show.

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My guest today is Rick Olderman. Rick is a sports and orthopedic physical therapist, Hanna somatic practitioner and author. Rick has spent years developing his approach for treating chronic pain. Rick has written a series of books called “Fixing you” and his most recent book "Solving the Pain Puzzle" to help people with chronic pain and injuries.  Rick is also is the host of the podcast Talk about Pain.

Rick's Podcast, Talk about Pain Podcast
https://rickolderman.com/

Type in "talk25" for a 20% discount for listeners of the Somatic Primer Podcast.

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In this episode Tim Cartmell returns to discuss his book Xing Yi Nei Gong: Xing Yi Health Maintenance and Internal Strength Development.  Tim explains the basic principals of Nei Gong and how to apply them. We discuss the similarities of Nei Gong, the Alexander Technique and how these ideas can benefit people in athletics and daily life.

Application for Somatic Restructuring Lessons https://somaticprimer.com/contact/

Tim Cartmell Episode #4 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1927632/10239868

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Jason Birch is a scholar of medieval Hatha yoga and a founding member of SOAS's Centre for Yoga Studies

Jason  is a senior research fellow for the ‘Light on Hatha Yoga’ project.  He is well known for his important paper on the meaning of haṭha in early Haṭhayoga, which has reshaped our understanding of the origins of this term by locating it within Buddhist literature.

He is the co-founder of the open-access platform for yoga research The Luminescent, and a founding member of the peer-reviewed Journal of Yoga Studies. The Luminescent is an independent collaborative hub for scholars, researchers, teachers and practitioners of Yoga.

https://www.theluminescent.org/

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Professor of Anthropology, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford
Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford

Elisabeth Hsu's research contributes to the fields of medical anthropology and ethnobotany; language and text critical studies; and the history of science, technology and medicine in China and beyond. It concerns Chinese medicine, and East Asian and traditional and pre-twentieth century medicines more generally; the transmission of knowledge and practice; body and personhood; treatment modalities and their efficaciousness; pulse diagnosis; touch, pain, feelings and affect, cognition and emotions, and sensory experience.


 What the Visualisation of Efficacious Movement (Shi 勢) Tells Us about the Composition of the Yijin Jing 易筋經 (Canon for Supple Sinews)

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