In this week's episode, I had a conversation with my friend and breath coach Mike Maher. Mike is a breath work instructor, and researcher. Mike is the founder of YouTube’s Number One Breathwork channel –TAKE A DEEP BREATH, and the host of the Breathwork Podcast ,The Breathcast. Mike trains people online with his popular breath-work program Function…

In this weeks episode, I had the pleasure to speak with Michael Sheehy. Michael Sheehy is a meditation researcher and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a Research Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. Michael studied extensively in Asia, including three years training in a …

Willa Baker has a doctorate from Harvard University. She is the Founder and director of The Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA, and its retreat center in the mountains of, NH. She is a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu lineage . Willa lived as a monastic for twelve years and has also completed two three-year retre…

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 top…

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 histo…

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 …

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 G…

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 t…

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 resear…

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. R…

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…

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 B…

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…

Alex Scrimgeour is a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist based in London, UK. He has over twenty years experience as a practitioner of qigong and meditation. He Received a BSc. in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Diploma in Tuina (Chinese Massage Therapy) from the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine. Alex completed clinical internships …

Esther Gokhale studied biochemistry at Harvard and Princeton and, later, acupuncture at the San Francisco School of Oriental Medicine. After experiencing crippling back pain during her first pregnancy and unsuccessful back surgery, Gokhale began her lifelong crusade to vanquish back pain. Her studies at the Aplomb® Institute in Paris and years of r…

Bryson Newell is the host of The Somatic Primer Podcast. The platform is a continuing education program that uses his experience in meditation and the somatic arts as the basis for the show. The show explores various approaches and understanding of the body-mind complex. Bryson has studied and taught various systems of meditation, Neigong, and Soma…

Shifu Yan Lei was born in 1973 to a traditional family in the Xin Jiang province of China. He began his martial arts life at the age of fourteen when he travelled to the other side of China to train in the Shaolin Temple in Henan province. His Master, the Shaolin Abbot, Shi Yong Xin gave him the name Lei – meaning thunder – and he became a 34th gen…

John Loupos, is the owner of the Jade Forest Kung Fu/ Tai Chi training facility and the Pain and Mobility Clinic in Ma. He has been studying martial arts since 1966. His martial arts training includes; Okinawan Karate and Praying Mantis styles of Kung Fu, As well as Yang style Tai Chi, Ba Gua,and qigong practices. He is a Certified Hanna Somatic Ed…

Conor Heffernan is professor of Physical Culture and Sport studies at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. His work focuses on health and body cultures in Ireland, Europe and Indian bodybuilders in the early 20th century. Outside of academia, Conor is a regular contributor to health and fitness websites as well as his own history of fitnes…

David Robert Loy is a retired professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the San bo Zen tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is one of the founding members of the new Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center, near Boulder, Colorado. Davids essays and books have been translated into many languages. His articles appear regularly in the pages of major jou…

Dr. Wendi Weimar is a biomechanics professor and the Director of the Sport Biomechanics Laboratory in the School of Kinesiology at Auburn University. Dr. Weimar's research is focused on the function of the lower extremity with specific interest in gait dynamics. She has worked with professional athletes, and Olympians. She consults with collegiate …

Frank Zane has won all of bodybuilding’s major titles including Mr. Olympia (3 Times), Mr. Universe (3 Times), Mr. World and Mr America. Frank is one of the leading experts on bodybuilding and active aging. He has been named as one of the “Top 10 Legends of Bodybuilding” and also was awarded “The Best Physique of All Time” by Muscle and Fitness Mag…

James Earls is a writer, lecturer, and bodyworker, specializing in Myofascial Release and Structural Integration. He specializes in blending movement with manual therapy creating a new functional approach to bodywork. James’ first started practicing bodywork over 25 years ago. He has studied with Thomas Myers, Art Riggs, and Gary Gray. James worked…

Thomas Kasulis is a professor emeritus of comparative studies and University Distinguished Scholar at The Ohio State University, Kasulis has taught and lectured around the world, having established himself as a foremost interpreter of Japanese thought and culture. He has written numerous books and scholarly articles on Japanese religious thought an…

Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming (楊俊敏博士) has a M.S. in Physics from Tamkang College in Taipei Xian and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He started his Gongfu (Kung Fu) training at the age of fifteen under the Shaolin White Crane (Bai He) Master Cheng, Gin Gsao (曾金灶). In thirteen years of study (1961-1974) under Master Cheng, Dr. Yang b…

Conor Heffernan is professor of Physical Culture and Sport studies at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. His work focuses on health and body cultures in Ireland, Europe and Indian bodybuilders in the early 20th century. Conor is currently working on a book detailing the rise of Indian club swinging in the nineteenth century and its globa…

David Anderson is the Director of the Marian Wright Edelman Institute at San Francisco State University. He is Formerly a Professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology at SF State. His research centers on understanding how motor skills are acquired, how to promote the development of motor skills, and how motor activity influences psychologic…

Leigh Ankrum CNMT, CSST is a Functional Bodywork practitioner and teacher. In 2016 she founded the Ankrum Institute in Tulsa Oklahoma. After decades of training around the world in various modalities , she used her experience to create one comprehensive, system. She integrates Osteopathic Manipulation, Lymphatic Massage, Visceral Manipulation, Myof…

Geoffrey Samuel is Emeritus Professor in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University. He is former joint editor of the journal Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity and director of the Body, Health and Religion (BAHAR) International Research Network. He has researched and published extensively in the areas of religion in…

Geoffrey Samuel is Emeritus Professor in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University. He is former joint editor of the journal Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity and director of the Body, Health and Religion (BAHAR) International Research Network. He has researched and published extensively in the areas of religion in…

Kelly Lynch is a former professional dancer and physical theatre artist based out of Montreal (1991-2005). Kelly Jean Lynch (formerly Mullan) is presently a PhD student in Dance Studies at York University. Her Master thesis is from Skidmore College, The Art and Science of Somatics: Theory, History and Scientific Foundations, has been downloaded ove…

David Lesondak, BCSI, ATSI, FST, VMT is an Allied Health Member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He serves as the Senior Structural Integrator and Fascia Specialist at UPMC’s Center for Integrative Medicine. He is a Board Certified Structural Integrator, Anatomy Trains Structu…

Nick Matiasz is the Scientific Program Director for the Center for Contemplative Research in North America. Nick received his Ph.D. in medical informatics from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied causal reasoning in neuroscience. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Tufts University, where he perform…

Roger Jahnke, O.M.D. is a doctor of Classical Chinese Medicine with thirty years of clinical practice. He is the Founder and Director of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, and serves as a consultant to hospitals, social service agencies, and corporations in Complementary and Integrative Medicine. He has authored several books including T…

Susan Lowell de Solórzano shares her understanding of biotensegrity as developed over years of direct study with the concept's originator, Stephen M. Levin, MD, and makes biotensegrity accessible through experiential activities and exercises. Susan Lowell de Solórzano has an MA, Human Development & Education with a focus on kinesthetic learning, sh…

Jeando is a master Alexander teacher and historian. He translated all of Alexanders books into French. While working on these translations Jeando discovered that Alexander had studied the Delsarte method. Jeando focused on this early work and created his own version of the Alexander Technique called the Initial Alexander Technique. In this episode …

Paulie Zink began studying yoga and martial arts as a teenager. While he was in college, he met a gung-fu master from Hong Kong named Cho Chat Ling. Master Cho taught him the Taoist arts of yoga and Chi Kung as a foundation for his martial arts training. Master Cho taught Paulie three distinct Kung-fu styles collectively called Tai Shing Pek Kwar (…

Don Hanlon Johnson is a professor at CIIS in San Francisco and the founder of the first graduate degree program in Somatics. He is the author of a body of literature on the intersections among bodily experience, the natural world, spirituality, social justice, and health. After studying and practicing the work of Ida Rolf, he founded the first mast…

Des Lawton has been a practising martial artist for over thirty years. He was a close student of Master Joseph Bell who is a direct lineage descendant of Master Wang Jiu Mei. Des is now the Principal Instructor of the San Bao Martial Arts School . He teaches Taiji and Taijiquan classes in and around the Glasgow area and has developed a diploma cour…

Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as Co-Founder and President of Tibet House US/Menla in service of HH Dalai Lama & the people of Tibet. A close friend of the Dalai Lama’s for over 50 years, he is a leading world-wide lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, passionate activist for the plight of the Ti…

Sam Cutler is an Honors Graduate in Contemporary History and a qualified teacher from the University of Cambridge. Cutler worked for Blackhill Enterprises as stage manager and master of ceremonies on a series of 1960s gigs in the U.K. and Europe with such artists, as Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones. In 1969, he acted as master of c…

Livia Kohn is an emeritus professor of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University, specializing in studies of Daoism. She graduated from Bonn University, Germany, in 1980. She then spent six years at Kyoto University in Japan, before she joined Boston University as Professor of Religion and East Asian Studies in 1988. She is a long term p…

Jeffrey Hopkins is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia where he taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years from 1973. He received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1963, trained for five years at firewood acres Buddhist Monastery in New Jersey with Geshe wangyal…

This is Part Two of my interview with Dr. Bennett. In this episode we discuss: Hanna Somatics & Tai Chi Hanna Somatics & Feldenkrais Method Forceful & gentle application of Somatics Importance of a daily practice and much more... If you'd like to find out more about Brad's work and read his article "The Somatic Work of of Thomas Hanna, Tai Chi & Ki…

BRADFORD C. BENNETT, PHD Dr. Bennett’s formal somatic education began in 1985 when he began studying Tai Chi with Hubert H. Lui. For the next ten years Mr. Lui helped Dr. Bennett become both more relaxed and more biomechanically sound in movement. He continued to explore methodologies to improve neuromuscular control and studied with several teache…

Dr. Patricia Huston, MD, CCFP, MPH has a dual academic appointment at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine and the School of Epidemiology and Public Health. She has worked as a family physician, a public health physician and a scientific editor. She has attended meetings at the World Health Organizatio…

Tom Waldron is a manual therapist, pilates instructor, Franklin Method Educator and specialist in exercise rehab. He sees and works with clients in both London and Portsmouth, UK. Tom has helped rehabilitate with top athletes from injury in fields such as golf, running and students from the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet School. He also t…

Alexander Berzin began his study of Buddhism in 1962 at Rutgers and then Princeton University, and received his PhD in 1972 from Harvard University.Inspired by the process through which Buddhism was transmitted from one Asian civilization to another his focus has been on bridging traditional Buddhist and modern Western cultures. Dr. Berzin was resi…

Sam Chin is the founder and President of Chin Family I Liq Chuan Association Master Sam Chin grew up in Malaysia and trained martial arts since childhood with his father. Master Chin migrated to California from Malaysia in 1991. One year later, he was advised to go to the Chuang Yen Monastery in New York where he would live for the next 10 years st…

Scott Park Phillips teaches traditional Chinese Martial Arts in a non-traditional way. His goal is to access the original intent of the creators of Chinese Internal Martial Arts to get at the core of their inspiration. He is the author of two books: Possible Origins, Chinese Martial Arts, Theater and Religion, And, Tai Chi, Baguazhang and The Golde…