In this episode, Bill interviews Gina about her movement classes:

• How she came to include movement as part of her Shiatsu practice;

• The many teachers that influence her;

• How her approach to movement became a unique blend of Qi Gong and Restorative Movement techniques.

(And ‘yes’, the title was Bill’s idea…!) ;)

…. with a simple postural practice!

In this, our eighth episode, Bill and Gina discuss one part of the “Posturing for Health Postulate” - an equation that illustrates a practical way to approach many of life’s challenges.

While the sources of our stress can seem complex and muddy, having a basic framework within which to ‘suss’ out the various aspects of our relationship to a problem can go a long way toward seeing our way through to a solution.

In this episode:

• We talk about “Lammas” (not the animal, the holiday…):

• How we arrived at this formula as bodyworkers, using basic principles of posture;

• How ‘centering’ is more than just a vague feeling, but a concrete means of balancing a workload (literally and figuratively);

• Why and how ‘centering’ can save a person a LOT of injuries!

• What factors might keep from us becoming centered…

• And more….!

In this episode, we’re exploring the definition and the influence of ‘technocracy’.

Bill and Gina talk a little about the history of this philosophical view, and the pervasive influence that it’s had on how we perceive ourselves, our health, our relationships to authority and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What the word' “technocracy” means (from the Greek!)';

• What impact on our current medical system a report published by a bachelor of arts and educator had;

• What the pros and cons might be of a government led by ‘experts’ (rather than elected officials);

• What bearing an embedded ‘rule of experts’ has on our sense of authority and bodily sovereignty;

• Why would someone’s expertise imply we ‘have no choice but to follow them’? What other options do we have?

What is the price we pay - physically, emotionally, spiritually - in exchange for the convenience and safety of technology?

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the words 'science’ and ‘technology’ are often used interchangeably, but are, in fact, not at all the same thing;

• The various literal definitions of technology, which only one Bill most agrees with';

• How Bill took up Gina’s challenge from the last episode, finding ways to reclaim physical movement that was outsourced to tech solutions;

• Specific examples of ‘common disorders’, that may actually be the atrophying of our body’s functions.

“Is technology a competent servant or an incompetent master?”

Drawing from a compelling statement made by Jean Liedloff, author of “The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost”, Gina offers some challenges to our cultural eagerness to embrace technology without weighting the balance against its ‘biological tax’.

In this episode, we discuss:

• That; as a species, we are endowed with a creative spirit; but…

• What of our humanity is lost whenever we embrace a new tool, or technology?

• An example of a culture with a different set of filters around technology;

• Is technology all bad, or can we find balance? And where would we begin?

Ask the bodyworkers!

In this episode, we take the topic of receiving a diagnosis further - into how each of us might address a ‘diagnosis’.

Some of the points we cover:

• The ‘trap’ of reductionist thinking which can be rampant in massage therapy approaches;

• How an ‘eastern’ modality, like shiatsu, might view a ‘western’ diagnosis;

• What a ‘syndrome’ is (and isn’t);

• Why one should not ‘smack’ the child (or the mother) when the child is screaming;

• Robert Palmer :)

Relief? Or crisis….?

As bodyworkers, a number of our clients come in having received a ‘diagnosis’ from their health care practitioner.

Sometimes this can be a relief, when mysterious symptoms get a ‘name’.

Sometimes it can bring up more anxiety.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What certain diagnostic terms actually mean (including the word, ‘diagnosis’!);


• What the benefits and pitfalls are of receiving a diagnosis;


• How to reframe your perception of a diagnosis, in terms of how it fits in to the larger story about your life;


• One of the best things you can do to empower yourself if and when you receive a diagnosis.


One question begets many more!

Continuing from our last podcast which asked the question, “What is health?”, we explore:

• What did Bill mean by the terms ‘design’ and ‘purpose’, regarding the definition of health;

• What is ‘balance’ in terms of health;

• How the further we get from our relationship with nature creates new questions about what we need to be healthy, why we need it, and how we get it;

• Are we outsourcing our innate ability to technology to adapt to changing circumstances, and, is ‘adaptation’ even a good thing;

• Where do Twinkies fit in;

• And … a specific ‘exercise’ to help you identify the foundations for your own working definition of health.

Health.

We all talk about it. Worry about it. Invest so much of ourselves to maintain it.

But how do we define it? As an individual, and as a society?

This matters, because how we define health determines which tools and strategies we employ to sustain it.

And as you’ll see, it’s more than just a question about how we support our health, but how we live our lives.