Holistic Life Navigation

Meenadchi joins me today to discuss Non-Violent Communication. It's an incredible method designed by Marshall Rothenburg & it helps us identify our needs, emotions, and requests so we can be clear in our relationships.I, personally, hit a wall with NVC because I didn't find it to be trauma-informed enough for me. This is where Meenadchi comes in. They teach and lead NVC workshops through the lens of somatic embodiment, trauma awareness, and decolonial culture. In addition, they're the only practitioner I've ever met who holds sessions for expanding one's capacity for joy. Amazing!You can buy their book, or sign up for a future workshop, by visiting https://www.traumainformednvc.com/You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode I navigate the states of duty & desire. I talk about noticing which traditions and habits we've inherited and upheld from a sense of duty & which we've inherited and upheld from a sense of desire.I also include a short exercise around feeling the now &  noticing the difference between how now  feels compared to the duty we're dreading.To sign up for my next 6-week course, please visit http://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Understanding that trauma is a biology,  not a mindset, is what makes somatic therapy so unique and beautiful. Traditional talk therapies tend to focus on the events and identifying how we think and feel about them, but they don't ask us where we feel the events.Trauma is not the event itself, it's the response to the event. I welcome Dr. Abi Blakeslee to my podcast to share her wisdom and insight around the biology of trauma and how that physical state of threat transforms into vitality through the practices of Somatic Experiencing.For more information on Abi's work, please visit: https://www.abiblakeslee.com.To work with a somatic therapist, visit: https://traumahealing.org/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

In this episode, I discuss the somatic experience of depression. Something we see as a fixed state may just be a part of us asking for a break, needing rest, and wanting to recover from overwhelm.I discuss the practice of seeing sensations as beings inside of us. Getting to know them, asking them questions, and letting them show you how they want to be related to. This means there's nothing wrong with us and we're not flawed - we're just responding to things in a healthy way.Notice what comes up with you and share it with a friend who may benefit from this practice.Join my next course: www.holisticlifenavigation.comYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

This episode explores the many nuances and layers around cultural trauma. The reverberations of it. How colonialism works itself into our language, then our values, and then our realities.This is a powerful discussion about a man who reflected on his own internalized racism and colonialism. He talks about how teenagers in Zimbabwe rebel against their own culture, in hopes to be more "Black American" and "civilized".Tapi opened Tapi Tapi Ice Cream in Cape Town, South Africa to teach people,  native and non-native to Africa, about indigenous African culture. He blends forgotten native foods & spices into ice cream. It has become a vehicle to reconnect people to their roots & to the roots of African culture.For more information on Tapi, please visit: https://www.tapitapi.co.za/ and you can see his work on Instagram @_tapi_tapiYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Brigitt Thompson is a writer, author of Trust Yourself With Money, and a former student of  my 6-week course. Her personal experiences that arose from the course were so inspiring to me that I wanted to have her on here to reflect back to me, and you, my own work in her own language.What is most important to me is her statement: capacity feels like making room. This practice of making room is the foundation of my work. Making room for parts of us we judge, making room for desire, making room for our physical bodies to move and metabolize charge.Making room is what happens inside of us as we regulate and experience a parasympathetic response. Making room is the precursor to feeling safety inside of the body and it's such a beautiful, easy way to explain this work which can be abstract and difficult to understand until you begin practicing it. For more information on Brigitt, please visit https://www.trustyourselfwithmoney.com/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

I'm joined by indigenous medicine woman Asha Frost. We explore the nuances of cultural trauma and how to heal that collectively. Asha comes with a unique and powerful sense of unconditional love. Her presence makes this work, amongst natives and non-natives, safe and powerful because she sees us all as relatives and, essentially, needing the same thing: connection to the self, land, and one another.This conversation reminds me how the body is always connected. It's the mind that forgets, becomes distracted, or even represses natural expressions due to constructs and concepts. We talk about the cultural trauma that indigenous peoples experienced and continue to experience and how, together, we can weave culture and create the capacity to hold the collective pain that our newfound, colonized countries were founded on and still hold so much of.Asha also reminds me of how profound it is to not attach to concepts about other people. She says "I'm here for unity" and that's how our work intersects. We're here to practice decolonizing our psyches and bodies so that we can see individuals without projected constructs that would divide us.For more information on Asha's work, please visit https://ashafrost.com/.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

I'm joined my science researcher & author Annie Murphy Paul. We talk about how the mind is far more expansive than just the brain - or even the body. Her work intersects with my work to bring new language and data that supports what indigenous and body-focused cultures have always understood: the body relates to everything around it and the brain is only one piece of the equation.This holistic understanding of how we relate, learn, and function is invaluable. Understanding this allows us to support our entire selves in learning and living. Our environments, our relationships to others, and our relationships ourselves are all interwoven, interdependent, and important resources that will help or hinder how we live and learn.For more information on Annie's work, please visit:https://anniemurphypaul.com/https://twitter.com/anniemurphypaulYou can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

Devie Rosie is my guest today. She works as a substitute teacher for Canada's public school system. She's also a breathwork facilitator who is, both, trauma-informed & has studied somatic psychology.We speak about how learning is dependent on safety, connection, and capacity. Together, we chat about ideas and philosophies on why school can be so traumatic and how, one teacher at a time, we can create deeper co-regulation with students and support their nervous systems to learn and stay present.You can visit Devie's website here.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com

I'm joined by Tess Whitehurst and we speak about how we learn to heal from watching nature and from being in the Earth. I love this discussion because we try to understand, together, the difference between trauma response and reaction. How we use our imagination to create things, yet that same imagination can keep us in a fear response.Tess shares her practice of valuing pain and seeing it as interconnected with joy & life. We both agree that staying open is what allows trauma & pain to release from our bodies.You can listen to the Magic Monday Podcast here.You can see more of Tess's work & books here.You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/beans You can pre-order the book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Broughton in the UK here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/broughton-2026----You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigationQuestions? You can email us at info@holisticlifenavigation.com