On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak with Dr Ortwin Lüers. Dr. Lüers is a psychotherapist and an expert in the internal martial art of Wu Ji Chuan. As a psychiatrist he specializes in treating post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic stress. In 1984, he began studying Buddhism with Tibetan meditation master Ven. Lama Chime Rinpoche and the following year he began his study of Wu Ji Chuan. In 1990 he was accepted as a disciple by Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong. He trained e...

Gavin Kilty has been a full-time translator for the Institute of Tibetan Classics since 2001. Before that he lived in Dharamsala, India, for fourteen years, where he spent eight years training in the traditional Geluk monastic curriculum through the medium of class and debate at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. He has also taught Tibetan language courses in India, Nepal, and elsewhere, and is a translation reviewer for the organization 84000, Translating the Words of the Buddha. He recei...

Graham Scarr is a biologist and retired osteopath with interest in structural biology. Scarr’s interest in biotensegrity started after reading articles by Stephen Levin, an orthopedic surgeon who recognized the importance of biotensegrity to living organisms. A life-long interest in natural geometry and a thorough grounding in anatomy have enabled him to work with Stephen Levin and develop new models that are progressing our understanding of the structure-function relationship in biolog...

On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak with buddhist teacher and long term retreatant Paula Chichester Paula became interested in the Tibetan Buddhism in the 1970's when she met Lama Thubten Yeshe. She embarked on a 40 year journey of study spending nearly a decade in solitary retreats. Paula now helps run braeview hermitage in the shetland islands in Scotland as a retreat space. Paula also teaches and shares her experiences from her time in long retreats. To find our more about...

Born in 1962, Malcolm Smith was raised in Western Massachusetts. Captivated by the sound of Tibetan ritual music in 1984, he began his study of the Dharma. He met his first formal teacher, H. H. Sakya Trizin, in 1989. He studied Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language under the guidance of Khenpo Migmar Tseten for the next five years at Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1990 Malcolm travelled to Nepal to receive lamdré from the late H. H. Sakya Dagchen. He...

Welcome to the somatic primer podcast im your host Bryson Newell. This is a bi-weekly podcast where I invite guests on to discuss embodiment, Somatics, and meditation. I’d like to invite listeners to our online learning platform at somatic primer on patreon. There you can find weekly taiji and somatic classes as well as articles and extended content. On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak with Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya. Prajwal is a teacher of a Vajrayana Buddhist lineage ...

On today’s episode I once again had the pleasure to speak with Tibetan Doctor Nashalla Gwyn Nyida. Dr. Nashalla began the study of Tibetan Medicine in 1999 and treating in 2004. She is the director of the Nyinda Clinic of Tibetan Medicine & Holistic Healing Clinic in Boulder, Colorado. This is my second in a series of interviews with Dr. Nashalla about the tibetan concept of the subtle body. If you haven’t heard our first interview please go back and listen to season four ep...

On today’s episode I once again had the pleasure to speak with Tibetan Doctor Nashalla Gwyn Nyida. Dr. Nashalla began the study of Tibetan Medicine in 1999 and treating in 2004. She is the director of the Nyinda Clinic of Tibetan Medicine & Holistic Healing Clinic in Boulder, Colorado. This is my second in a series of interviews with Dr. Nashalla about the tibetan concept of the subtle body. If you haven’t heard our first interview please go back and listen to season four ep...

On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak with Alexander Teacher Penelope Easten Penelope has been teaching the Alexander Technique since 1989. She also trained in Reiki, nutrition, and craniosacral therapy. Her book “Twelve Fundamentals of Integrated Movement” offers a theoretical framework of how integrated movement occurs. In this episode we discuss her studies with Margaret Goldie, an original student of F.M Alexander, and what made Miss Goldie such an impressive teacher. We also...

Brad Kearns is a New York Times bestselling author, former national champion and world-ranked professional triathlete. Brad is the host of the B Rad podcast and he has written twenty books on diet, health, peak performance, and ancestral living. His newest book Born to Walk, he coauthored with Mark Sisson. It’s an aggressive takedown of the running boom and an important recalibration of our modern approach to total body fitness and longevity. To find out more about Brad, Listen ...

On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak to Dr. Shin Lin. Shin Lin, PhD, is a world-renowned expert on Tai Chi and a 12th generation heir of Chen Style Tai Chi designated by Grandmaster Chen Zheng-Lei of China’s Chen Family Village, where Tai Chi originated. He is a longtime chair of biophysics at Johns Hopkins and professor of biological sciences and biomedical engineering at UCI, where his Laboratory for Mind-Body Signaling and Energy Research applies modern biophysical technol...

Mark helps individuals and organizations improve their performance and well-being through the mind-body connection. He has trained in martial arts, mindfulness, and various somatic disciplines. Mark has also taught and consulted in over 50 countries, including working with the UN and humanitarian projects in war zones. Mark has written several best-selling books - Embodiment: Moving Beyond Mindfulness; and has trained many embodiment coaches. He also hosts The Embodiment Coaching Podca...

Dr. Nashalla Gwyn Nyinda, Menpa TMD, MA Acu, LMT began the study of Tibetan Medicine in 1999 and treating with permission in 2004. With a foundation in multiple Asian healing systems she was encouraged by her root teacher, Very Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche to continue her Tibetan medical studies in India at the Chagpori Institute Clinic. Her published work on Tibetan healing modalities and Buddhism can be found on Academia or Research Gate websites. She founded the Sowa Birthing Method ™ ...

Joseph Houseal is founder and director of Core of Culture, a Chicago-based non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding intangible world heritage with an emphasis on endangered dance and movement traditions in the healing, meditation, and martial arts. After a decades-long international career as a dancer, choreographer, and director, including work as artistic director for singer Chaka Khan, Houseal began working with ancient Asian dance traditions and has spent the past 25 years workin...

Naomi Worth is a scholar and practitioner of yoga and Tibetan Buddhism. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and helped found the Contemplative Sciences Center. Naomi tells us about her time in Mysore studying Ashtanga yoga and her travels to Dharmsala to study with the Tibetan Buddhist community. She also shares her retreat experiences in the practice of Tibetan Yoga at Namdroling. She has written several papers on these topics including, The Body as a Vehicle to Enlightenment...

C.P. Ong is a 20th-generation Chen Family Taijiquan lineage disciple of both Chen Xiaowang and Chen Zhenglei. He has also studied extensively with Zhu Tiancai. He first began his Taiji studies in 1972 learning the Guang Ping Yang Style from Master Y.C. Chiang in Berkeley, CA. He is also a student of vipassana (insight) meditation and has attended several intensive meditation retreats in Buddhist monasteries in Yangon, Myanmar. He is the author of Taijiquan—Cultivating Inner Strength. He rece...

C.P. Ong is a 20th-generation Chen Family Taijiquan lineage disciple of both Chen Xiaowang and Chen Zhenglei. He has also studied extensively with Zhu Tiancai. He first began his Taiji studies in 1972 learning the Guang Ping Yang Style from Master Y.C. Chiang in Berkeley, CA. He is also a student of vipassana (insight) meditation and has attended several intensive meditation retreats in Buddhist monasteries in Yangon, Myanmar. He is the author of Taijiquan—Cultivating Inner Strength. He rec...

On today’s episode I had the pleasure to speak to Dr. Shin Lin. Dr Lin is Professor Emeritus, Developmental & Cell Biology School of Biological Sciences. He is also a Chen Tai Chi linage holder and lifetime practitioner. In his Laboratory Dr LIn studies changes in physiological functions and bioenergy levels associated with the ancient mind-body practices of Qigong and Tai Chi. The result of his studies, are used to formulate models to explain the beneficial effects of these practice...

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. Don Hanlon Johnson began his training with Dr. Ida Rolf and joined Thomas Hanna as a contributing editor of his journal Somatics, To find out more about his work please visit https://donhanlonjohnson.com. To find ...

Wasentha Young is a lifelong practitioner of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Meditation. She is a founding board member of the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors. Wasentha was a student of Grandmaster William CC Chen. Master Young received formal training in Buddhist and Taoist meditation respectfully from Trungpa Rinpoche and Gia-Fu Feng in addition to achieving a masters degree in Transpersonal Studies. To visit her school please visit: https://peacefuldragonschool.com/instructors/ To Sup...