What makes their work possible in a world riven by conflict is that they are operating on the subconceptual, nonideological level, where the sensations of rhythm, movement, sound, and words felt in the throat and mouth take precedence over the ethereal philosophies and theologies that are used

When the multiple layers of bodily movements, impulses, and perceptions are not creatively transformed into creative movements in the directions of freedom, feelings for others, and purpose, people become easily subject to mass media and ideologues who foment populist movements fueled by fear and disorientation.

The way I inherited how to feel about my fat body is connected to values that were based in my people’s white supremacy, Christian hegemony, colonial violence, and enslaving and genocide of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. There is no escaping that the way I was taught by my family to feel about my fat body is inextricably linked to this excruc

A secondary motivation in Gandhi’s somatic thinking was to discipline the hard edges of emotional reactions that fragment the revolutionary community and keep it from harmonious and effective action, activities which he thought of as purging the body of the effects of colonization.

Nearly fifty years ago, a handful of us joined in using the Greek-rooted term somatics as an umbrella designed to coax together a fragmented community of innovative and revolutionary teachers who had managed to craft methods of sensory awareness, touch, breathing, sounding, and moving to address the healing of old and widespread traumas, and to enh

have feared slowing down because I have always been on the move. My body feared stillness because of the vulnerability I would encounter. I slowly began to trust the feeling of letting go in my physical body, as well as my mental and spiritual bodies as well. Thich Nhat Hanh says that when we let go we are letting go of something. What was it that

Unwittingly, our organisms are literally being shaped by these kinds of factors: negatively, when they exaggerate curvatures in our bones, webs of restriction in our muscles and ligaments, and restrict our digestion and respiration; and positively, when they augment our liveliness, expand our ranges of movement, and comfort our eyes, etc.

my Reiki training, I learned that it’s important to know that when you “remove” something negative for the enhancement of healing, a space is left open. Balance is created by filling the space back up, whether it’s by replacing it with positive thoughts or healthier choices; otherwise that hole can attract other negative energies.

each orisha can be described as a living force, an energy, or a spirit that has its place in nature and in our surroundings.