LTSY Ep.12 - Miracle of Life & Embryosophy with Jaap van der Wal

In the 12th episode of LIFE THAT SAID YES conversations Ivan talks with Jaap van der Wal, a Dutch phenomenological embryologist, teacher, and author who provides a counterweight against the reductionist scientific vision of human existence and the embryonic journey that each of us has taken. They talk about the unity of soul and body, moment of conception, transition of death, parenting, mortality and overcoming scientific reductionism. Jaap van der Wal PhD is a medical doctor and until his retirement in 2012 he was Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Embryology at the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. After his medical training in 1973, he specialized in the functional anatomy of the so-called musculoskeletal (or: locomotor) system with (later) emphasis on the architecture of connective tissue and fascia and their role in proprioception. Gradually, he developed into a teacher of philosophy of science and medical anthropology. "My passion, however, was and still is human embryology. The human body is a process that develops and functions over time. The embryo moves and behaves in forms. In this field I came across anthroposophy and Goethe's phenomenological approach. I use the method of dynamic morphology to understand what we actually do as human beings when we are embryos. With respect, I can find in the embryo tentative answers to questions about the meaning of human existence. "After his retirement, he put all his energy into Embryo in Motion, a global project to teach Embryosophy. He now teaches his 'Embryosophy' in Europe and the USA in institutes for cranio-sacral therapy, osteopathy, polarity therapy, but also prenatal psychology and trauma therapy, etc. Official website: https://www.embryo.nl/en/