Somatic Wisdom

This episode covers a disruption to my current work situation due to a staffing shortage at my husband's organization, and a rant about the Supreme Court's political disruption to women's rights where I am asking for your support.

While the personal situation is not the biggest disruption we have endured in the past few years, it did make me angry. I didn't like the policy or the process of my husband having to return to a night shift again, since I thought he had enough seniority to avoid it.

Since I want my husband to get more quality sleep, I am on the hunt for the right co-working situation or office outside of home. If you're in the Twin Cities, and there's a space you love, let me know!

It reminded me of the big COVID disruption, and I think that's why I reacted the way I did, and railed against reality for a while before getting creative and considering the alternatives. In case you think yoga teachers are always "zen" about situations that come up, this story will show that's not true.

In the last few minutes of this episode, I explore the disruption to women's rights that is taking place this year on a national level. While this veers into political territory, and I know I've made an effort to avoid that so far in this podcast, I feel called to speak up on my position here.

Please vote pro-choice in the next election. Women and their bodily sovereignty are on the ballot in many states and in local elections. We need you to stand with us to support this fundamental right to privacy and liberty.

And just in case you are not comfortable having this discussion, maybe share this episode with a friend or trusted person, to make sure they know this is important to you also. Thank you, dear listeners, this means the world to me.

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If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

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Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

My NIA teacher Beth Giles was kind enough to have a conversation with me about her practice, her teaching and what NIA means to her.

We shared our joyful experiences with this practice, which includes several dance forms, movements from martial arts, and from yoga. With its upbeat music and world rhythms, NIA is an accessible practice for many bodies. I even find that sometimes, when my body calls for more energizing rather than calming, NIA can be a great alternative to my yoga practice, and it draws from many somatic wisdom traditions, as Beth covers in this episode.

During the pandemic, Beth's online NIA offerings provided a reliable community that helped save my sanity when I needed ways to support my mental and physical health. Plus it's such so darn fun! And the benefit of practicing online is that, if you've ever felt self-conscious about dancing, you can have screen on or off depending on your comfort level.

Find out more about Beth's classes so you can join online as well at her website: https://niawithbethgiles.com/

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

In this episode I include a short somatics practice to release tension and then a short "bodyful" meditation for when you need a practice to ground and settle yourself and to tune into your internal wisdom.

We move through the arch & flatten, a basic somatic tension release, along with some shoulder releases to allow our bodies to be comfortable to settle into a brief meditation.

Use this as a practice that you can come back to when the winds of change are howling or when you need to settle in to make a transition into your next activity.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

This short bonus episode is a grounding practice for whenever you need calming and centering before any next action step where you may be feeling a little tense or anxious.

The goal of the practice is to settle your nervous system so you can better access your inner wisdom. This can be used at any time, and I use it (or a similar guided practices) before my clients begin their coaching sessions.

You can receive a free 1:1 clarity and confidence phone coaching session by scheduling here. There is no obligation for further sessions, just an opportunity to receive coaching on any issue where you may want support.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

I begin the episode by reflecting on what I learned from Dr. Ashley White on Responsive Eating and how I've named my hunger an "inner Calvin" after one of my cats, who is very food-motivated.

The rest of the episode focuses on a few different ways to practice of meditation, especially if you have a restless mind or body. For some of us being seated without moving on a cushion feels more torturous.

Breath awareness can be a great point of focus since it allows our mind to have a "place to settle."

Yoga practice can be a way to physically prepare for the stillness of meditation, or savasana, the "yoga nap" at the end of most classes.

Sometimes a mantra can help us with focusing during a meditation. My favorite is: I am here in my body, I am home. And I can repeat this many times when my mind runs off.

I mention the work of Bodyfulness by Christine Caldwell and quote from her book, which is linked here. I'm becoming allergic to the term mindfulness, because the mind can be a good master, but a terrible servant.

I also speak about the ultradian cycles that typically last 80-120 minutes for most people, and how this can affect our focus throughout the day.

Doing a slow, somatic practice, can be a meditation in itself, since meditation is about noticing and awareness. Conscious movement can allow us to release tension and then can use somatic practices to release tension before we sit for a meditation.

Becoming present can occur during a walk in nature, and this can be a more active form of meditation. Or you can journal your thoughts (a form of meditation I love) so that you can release the "thought loops" that are on constant repeat in your brain.

In the future, I will record a set of different lengths of guided awareness practice with somatics and without so you can have a resource on the go to help you settle in.

My dance teacher, Beth Giles, will be speaking to me in a future episode and I'm linking her website here. Happy birthday, dear Beth!

One of my coaches, Stephanie Lindloff, has wonderful guided inner journeys available on SoundCloud, which you can access here. She will be speaking on the podcast in November. Her website can be found here for more information.

This podcast is sponsored by my book, Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven. This book can be accessed via the MN Library system on Biblioboard via the Indie Author project.

I'm starting work on the audio book and just received the cover art from Natalya Kolosowsky. It is beautiful! Check out Natalya's portfolio here.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

I know you will love this conversation with Dr. Ashley White, MD, creator of the Responsive Eating™ methodology.

Ashley White is a leader in challenging diet dogma. Her work with Responsive Eating ™ encourages a critical shift in how we eat and understand our appetites.

As a trusted coach, doctor, educator, and parent, Dr. Ashley White's mission is to use her signature methodology of Responsive Eating™ to facilitate appetite literacy so that people in larger bodies can unlearn, push back against, and liberate themselves from diet culture.

She is a certified life and wellness coach, and has specialties in family, emergency and obesity medicine. Her Appetite Coaching practice enables clients to leverage Appetite Literacy to transform their lives.

In this episode we discuss how Dr. Ashley came up with this methodology, and her deepened understanding of how our brains respond to food and wanting to help us make decisions aligned with our values.

We discuss "eating into wanting" and how we make decisions about what we want to eat and how we start and stop these cycles, and the discomfort of stopping. Using curiosity about these cycles, and not attaching meaning to our wanting, or labeling ourselves as bad for wanting. Understanding the brain science helps us let go of our judgment around wanting.

Food brings us a lot of pleasure because of our brain chemistry. And we can invite our discerning brain into the decisions that we make, using a "zoom out" of our life to help us see where we may be eating into wanting.

The POP methodology is Pause, Observe, Proceed. It involves a brief pause using the breath, activating the decision-making part of our brain. Our appetite can then receive feedback from our noticing brain. We can bring our attention to the eating experience, notice what we are eating, and our feelings about it. Then we can decide how we want to proceed.

We cover how the environment can influence our eating, and we have permission to do what we want to do, once we allow a space to decide.

Dr. Ashley described her process of creating an avatar for her hunger by giving it a character name, Olaf. This allows her to have a conversation with her hunger rather than identifying with it. Our appetites are just getting their needs met, and often our habitual behaviors are just below our awareness.

We discuss the adaptation of the brain that makes our body more sensitive to weight loss than to weight gain. This helps us understand why weight tends to be progressive, as we get stuck in pattern loops. All of our hormones play a role here.

Dr. Ashley discusses the concept of life weight, best weight, and ideal weight. Being heavier does not mean we are unhealthy, and throughtout our lives, we often have different weights throughout our life span. Appetite is dynamic, and at times, there is some variation to what we can easily maintain depending on our hormonal balance in various life stages.

Weight gain doesn't necessarily mean our life is falling apart. For people in larger bodies, getting to an "ideal weight" as defined by BMI may not be sustainable.

Environmental and lifestyle design is one of the concepts she helps her clients understand, so we are invited to plan ahead so we can eat nourishing food that keeps us focused and awake. We are balancing priorities and making sure we develop habits that support eating responsively without tons of effort or willpower.

Using a somatic wisdom lens, we are encouraged not to track meals but to get feedback on the somatic cues of energy, mobility and comfort after the meals to help us decide what we want to eat. She uses a "body experience log" to help identify what foods support our health and values.

Sleep can influence our appetite, and since Dr. Ashley has a 1-month old at home, she also notices her change in appetite.

Use the link here to access her free course.

To follow Dr. Ashley on Instagram, where she also provides "byte sized" wisdom: click here.

Book your complimentary appetite assessment call with Dr. Ashley here

Many thanks to Jenny Blake and her BFF community for introducing us.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

This episode explores my story as far as the food and body image struggles I developed in my early teens and that am still journeying to understand. Since I'll be hosting my first guest (Dr. Ashley White, creator of Responsive Eating) in episode 24, I wanted to explore this topic that feels a little vulnerable to me, but is also something that I believe clients and listeners can benefit from hearing.

Please be advised if you have struggled with eating disorders that this may trigger some recognition for you. I end the podcast with self-compassion and self-acceptance as the first steps to healing our food and body stories. I encourage you to seek advice from a trained professional if you are experiencing stress in this area.

More about Doctor Ashley White's Responsive Eating Program can be found at this link.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

Do you engage in procrasti-learning?

I define this as inputting new knowledge to delay taking action or practicing a new skill.

It can feel vulnerable to do the hard things, so it is natural for us to consume rather than to create.

But this won't help us reach our goal. So I offer six strategies to interrupt this habit if it's one you share with me:

In summary: my favorite ways to to avoid being taken over by procrasti-learning are:

1. Approach the learning phase with a specific intention.
2. Set a limit on the daily consumption of this particular source.
3. Find the right accountability.
4. Use learning as a reward rather than a default.
5. Teach what you've learned to someone else.
6. Use Self-Compassion.

Resources I mentioned in this episode include:

Real Life Toastmasters Club #6477 - they have a really great and positive club to give you wonderful feedback. And they meet online weekly so in case you need a supportive place to practice speaking, check them out.

For more on Tiago Forte's work, check out the podcast Building a Second Brain. The acronym he uses that I love is CODE: collect, organize, distill, and express.

Are you enjoying this podcast? If so, I'd truly appreciate a rating and/or review on your podcast player of choice. Thank you, I am grateful for your time and support.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

Today's episode is a reinforcement of the ideas of somatic practice, and building upon those with wisdom from a prominent spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle.

I recently reviewed some material from Tolle's A New Earth book. If you are interested in the flowering and deepening of human consciousness, you may want to check out the 10-part series that opens his podcast Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings.

The inner body awareness that Tolle describes is parallel to the practice of somatics.

I give a little background on the experience of meditation and my own struggles with it, but why it can be so beneficial. Fundamentally, meditation and being present are about knowing ourselves deeply, and coming to see how we are a part of the divine.

Our cultural and societal conditioning often treats us as though we are machines. But we are not machines, we are biological creatures with energetic cycles.

This episode's central message is that you have deep wisdom embodied within you.

I refer to the work of Martha Beck, who has two quirky and humorous podcasts you might enjoy, The Gathering Pod, and Bewildered.

This podcast is brought to you by my book Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven: Seven Micro-practices to Engage Your Somatic Wisdom.

I am celebrating the fact that my book was selected by the curators of the Indie Author project, and it is now available as a part of Indie Minnesota's Biblioboard mobile and web platform. This makes it available for free to Minnesota library patrons!

If you're outside Minnesota, you can still get a very low cost eBook delivered to you directly from my website in pdf format at this link. The paperback and ePub versions are available at many online retailers, including Amazon and Bookshop.org.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

This is the final episode of my three part series on the Somatics of Confidence.

Putting together what we learned in episodes 18 and 19, this episode concludes with a few postures that can help you physically build your confidence, and a practice I love to help get me pumped up for a big event.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Frans Johannson's The Medici Effect

Kelly McGonigal's Ted Talk on How to Make Stress Your Friend

There was some debate on the work of Amy Cuddy since her Ted Talk was released, but she has responded to the controversy by keeping tabs on the research.

A somatics practitioner would likely say that our body influences our mind, and our mind influences our body, and it is an ever-present feedback loop rather than a hierarchical one.

Use your own judgment: see if these simple movements work for you. It's unlikely they will do any damage, and you may find yourself raising your hand for the next promotion more frequently once you start practicing.

I'll be presenting a longer (~40-50 minute) session of the Somatics of Confidence for the White Box Club (an online MeetUp Group for people in career transition) on September 27th.

The Somatics of Self-Confidence YouTube video (25 min recorded class) can be found at this link.

Are you enjoying this podcast? Would you mind taking a minute or two to leave me a review on your podcast player of choice? Thank you! It is greatly appreciated.

***

If you want to leave us a voice message, Somatic Wisdom is now on Speakpipe! We would love to hear your thoughts or questions: https://www.speakpipe.com/SomaticWisdomLoveNotes

For more resources, subscribe to my the Somatic Wisdom Substack newsletter, where additional content can be found in essay format.

For potential guests: we love it when you listen to at least 2-3 episodes and leave a positive review. It lets us know you've done your homework to see if you are a fit for the show. Many thanks! ;-)

Support for this podcast comes from readers of Unleash, Unlearn, and Enliven, from clients, and from listeners like you. To support my work, you can purchase the audio version of my book here.

***

Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/