Human Social Malnourishment – aka COVID Isolation Syndrome
It’s time for me to speak up even though it’s a risk. Concisely, this needs saying: – Under extended lockdowns vital human needs are being denied – Minimising social contact has real and serious consequences that need to be considered against other health risks – If you are suffering from this “malnourishment” right now that’s […]
7 THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HAND-WASHING
As someone who’s taught resilience in disaster and war zones to many humanitarian agencies and several militaries, here’s a few things more important than Vitamin C and anti-viral hand-wash right now: – being present to yourself– a sense of purpose– pleasure– social support, especially empathy and touch– shared humour– a spiritual connection of some kind […]
Six things you can do to save your yoga studios, martial arts dojos, and dance classes
The hard truth is that we’re likely heading for a shutdown that could last months, with many people isolating and not going to their regular classes. Many small businesses and sole-traders can not afford this, so if you still want those people around on the other side of the crisis, here’s how to thank them […]
The Touch Famine – The impact of a year of plague on social distance and dynamics
At a lunch I arranged for various kinds of therapists and movement teachers the other day, it was really strange to see people fist bumping and knocking elbows instead of hugging. Likewise at a meditation conference I attended people were using the prayer 🙏 “namaste” gesture rather than hand shaking. More generally I have noticed people standing […]
Five reasons why embodiment training is better done online.
For a while now people have questioned (fair enough) and mocked the fact that we deliver embodiment training online – on webinars, courses like FEC, and of course at the conference. Now, there’s pros and cons vs face to face, which of course I still appreciate…but maybe the pros of online aren’t so obvious…so here’s […]
Embodiment Book – Out Today!
The labour of love is finally available! Embodiment – Moving Beyond Mindfulness is out now on Amazon! The book is a deep yet accessible overview of the field of embodiment. It’s also super personal and it feels somewhat vulnerable to be putting it out there, but I’m delighted in the final edit. Now obviously me […]
My list of trauma healing
Things I’ve found useful for my own trauma healing in no particular order (and it’s very personal): – EMDR (especially good for single instances) – TRE (empowering as you can do it yourself anywhere) – Long-term relational therapy – Bodywork (most recently Craniosacral and Rosen Method) – Dancing 5R in my local church – CBD […]
Learn from thy enemy
Part of maturity is being able to see that which is beautiful and true, even in that which you despise, and even in that which has hurt you. As my mate Ken says, “nobody is smart enough to be totally wrong”. Having had some vicious and ironically unjust attacks from various social justice types over […]
Trauma bullshit
Dealing with the low level but incessant agitation of Ukraine for even a few days has reminded me of this: Traumatised people and countries can be a real pain in the arse. Ukraine, I love you, but like me and half of the world, you’re disconnected, sick and often act like a total dick. Here’s […]
The pain of reconnection
With so many benefits to reconnecting with ourselves (embodiment), others (relating) and the planet, one may ask why are we so consistently disconnected? One answer is trauma, of course. Another is that it’s a fucking conspiracy in how the world is set up. Or here’s one more: because it hurts to reconnect. Pain comes before […]