Practice Philosophy

As a somatic educator, my work is centered around the body and physical experience, with the understanding that our cognitive processing (mind) and physicality (body) inform each other through a reciprocal relationship.

The sculptor, Antony Gormley beautifully articulates the critical role our bodily experiences and actions play in living, but I would underscore that we aren’t just talking about expression here, we’re also talking about functionality.

The experiences we receive through our bodies are the only way that our minds know and perceive both the world around us, and the world within us. Because of this, our physical experiences inform every aspect of our thinking. In turn, our thinking shapes the way that we move through and take action in the world, both functionally and expressively. As this cycle continues throughout our lives, it creates and reinforces the patterns of movement and thought that become who we are – sometimes to our benefit and sometimes to our demise.

The missing link for most people in this cycle is accessing conscious awareness of the exchange from body to mind and mind to body. Instead, many operate in a sort of patterned autopilot as a result of habit. Through the practice of conscious embodiment, though, we can choose to part from habit when needed, and even create new, healthier, more efficient or effective patterns for ourselves, with ease and agency. We can gain awareness and control over those things in our lives that so many often believe are uncontrollable or unchangeable.

This practice extends to everything from efficient and healthy knee-tracking while walking for a balanced body to consciously shifting your energy during stressful periods to give way to ease, recuperation, and a fresh perspective. Sometimes, it’s even a matter of getting out of your own way, releasing the weight of unhealthy coping strategies that have accumulated over the years, to allow your body’s natural patterns to reestablish themselves for a more able and coordinated structure and a more connected sense of self.

This link of conscious embodiment is what I help people to establish, develop, and apply.