All posts tagged: embodied listening

Embodied Listening: An Interview with Hope Martin

Published by dmcblog

Hope Martin has taught the Alexander Technique for 33 years, trained Alexander teachers for two decades at the American Center for the Alexander Technique, and operates Hope Martin Studio in New York City. She is a Meditation Instructor, Focusing trainer, and a close student of Pema Chödron. Her particular passion is in helping her students discover how easeful, upright posture is an expression of their human dignity, confidence, and innate wakefulness. We recently had the good fortune of chatting with Hope about her upcoming November Online retreat: Embodied Listening®: Trusting the Wisdom of Direct Experience and learning a bit more about what can be expected during the weekend retreat. Watching and listening to this rich conversation between Hope and Dhi, brings the following guidance to mind: “Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it’s about befriending who we are.” –Pema Chödron Hope’s wisdom and grace suggest that as we learn to build a friendly relationship with ourselves, we …

In Challenging Times, Your Body Knows What’s Needed

Published by dmcblog

We invite you to listen to Hope as she’s interviewed by Jonathan Bastian on KCRW about Embodied Listening. The show aired on April 10th. Hope’s engaging interview begins at 21:53 into the podcast. by Hope Martin There’s a lot of uncertainty and groundlessness right now. Many of us have strong feelings of anxiety, fear or worry; a sense that we don’t know what’s coming, that our world has irrevocably changed. It might be hard to know how to handle our feelings, or what to do with them. Maybe we’ve been ill or know people who are ill or who have died. Perhaps we’ve lost our business or our job or have other concerns or challenges. Or maybe we’re doing very well with our own particular situation – may it be so! nevertheless, the world is reeling. Embodied Listening, comprised of Mindfulness Meditation, the Alexander Technique and Focusing, teaches a different and life-enhancing way to be in relationship with what is happening for us. We learn to experience it and explore it in a bodily way. When strong emotions or anxiety arise, dropping into the body gives us resources that have always …

Hope Martin and David Rome Explain Embodied Listening

Published by dmcblog

For the past fifteen years, Hope Martin and David Rome have been bringing together eastern and western mind–body practices in a program they call Embodied Listening. In this recent interview with Shambhala Mountain Center, these two teachers explain how the Alexander Technique and Mindful Focusing can help people discover a greater sense of ease and naturalness in their lives, and how these practices are especially potent when engaged alongside traditional mindfulness–awareness meditation. Enjoy the full video interview below, or scroll down to stream or download the audio. Stream audio below. To download, click here. About the Authors Hope Martin has taught the Alexander Technique for 30 years, trains Alexander teachers at the American Center for the Alexander Technique and operates Hope Martin Studio in New York City. She is a meditation instructor and a Focusing trainer. Her particular passion is in helping her students discover how easeful, upright posture is an expression of their human dignity, confidence, and innate wakefulness. // Hope Martin Studio David I. Rome is the developer of Mindful Focusing, an integration …

Our Bodies Hold Our Lives

Published by dmcblog

By David Rome & Hope Martin ~~~ Our bodies hold our lives. They hold wisdom and energy for living and growing—and they hold the things that get in the way of living and growing: fear, anxiety, stress and more. When negative holding patterns are not recognized, tensions build up and space for living constricts. Awareness and acceptance of the body’s holding patterns allow their release and transformation into positive energy for living. Human beings are hard-wired with the “fight or flight” reaction, an evolutionary inheritance that served us well when the everyday environment was more physically dangerous and instant reaction could make the difference between life or death. In the safer but far more complex world of the twenty-first century, we face multiple challenges that can’t be solved either by fighting or running away. This leads to chronic stress and anxiety and what psychologists call “experiential avoidance”—disconnecting from the fight-or-flight-based signals our bodies are still trying to give us. To reverse the stress and anxiety, first we have to allow ourselves to really experience what’s …

Embodied Listening with David Rome and Hope Martin

Published by dmcblog

David and Hope will be leading Embodied Listening, May 23-26 Embodied Listening is an intensive but gentle body, mind, and heart training for releasing habitual patterns that constrict our lives and relationships. When we learn to listen deeply to ourselves, we also become more open and sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. During this retreat, we will draw on several powerful modalities including: mindfulness meditation to relax mental holding patterns; Alexander Technique to release physical holding patterns; and Mindful Focusing to access deeper feelings held in the body. This workshop is highly experiential and includes periods of meditation, exploration of the felt sense, and gentle hands-on bodywork. Instructors David Rome and Hope Martin have been teaching together for over ten years throughout North America. Both are qualified Focusing Trainers as well as Buddhist meditation teachers. Recently the two teachers took some time to have some discussion and offer guided practices that you can do at home. David and Hope will be leading Embodied Listening, May 23-26 . To learn more, please click here