Episode 13: A conversation with embodied movement coach Vanessa Bell

After taking a year off from my podcast, I have returned. I am thrilled to have Vanessa Bell as my next guest. Vanessa and I met in Toronto this past summer to discuss her work as an embodied movement coach.  Her work helps people to understand how their body moves. Movements created in childhood tend to be habitual and sometimes people will need to re-pattern them to walk better, play a sport or relieve them of pain. Vanessa works with clients to bring a lot of awareness to what people are already doing and uses deliberate language to correct patterns in movement. We discuss the work of Moshé Feldenkrais who developed a type of exercise therapy. Vanessa says Feldenkrais "[goes] back to when our body was first learning to navigate with gravity down on the ground and doing basic movements." By watching her clients move she is able to break down movements to create new patterns. Vanessa also places emphasis on language and teaching people to better communicate how they are feeling in their body. Vanessa admits she was not planning to work with children. However, after her clients recognized the benefits of Vanessa's work (a combination of a calming and energizing effect) they encouraged her to expand her clientele to children and teenagers. Vanessa discusses her experience working with adults versus adolescents, and ways she has supported teenagers who come to her studio. In addition, Vanessa gives her opinion to the question 'How to grow curiosity?' This episode is really special and one that has lots of information about movement, childhood and strategies to support teenagers. Vanessa's website is: https://www.chengandbell.com/ The following is a list of experts discussed in this episode: Anat Baniel Method and Neuromovement https://www.anatbanielmethod.com/ Moshé Feldenkrais Denise Williams https://www.denisewilliamssoprano.com/ Ashtanga yoga Daniel J. Siegel wrote the book Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain