Listen to
“Returning to the
Body Mind”
with Dr. Melissa West

every Wednesday
from 8:00 to 9:00 AM
Pacific Time

Listen Now

“Returning to the Body Mind”
with Dr. Melissa West

Sponsored by:

Phoenix RisingPhoenix Rising

 

 

Returning to the Body Mind is a radio show that revisits the wisdom of the body as the seat of the soul. With so much talk in the media about manifesting and mind over matter we may have forgotten about the importance of the health of our bodies as the foundation for spiritual and personal growth. There is a deep-seated tradition of thinking in the Western world that privileges the mind over the body. Yet even as spiritual beings we inhabit human bodies. The body is truly a temple for our spirit. In order to honor our bodies we need to treat them with optimal respect by properly nourishing them with good hydration, oxygenation, sleep, nutrition, and activities that uplift the soul. On Returning to the Body Mind, radio talk show host Dr. Melissa West will lead you through a series of common sense topics from breathing, hydration, sleep, digestion, and sex as tools not only to optimal health but as a gateway to the soul.

About Dr. Melissa West

Dr. Melissa West is a holistic lifestyle coach, psychospiritual energy worker and yoga and pilates instructor who helps people surrender to peace in their lives by connecting to and feeding the vital energy in their bodies. Melissa has spent ten years in the health and wellness industry helping adults decrease stress in their lives and improving overall functioning of their bodies from brain longevity to digestion, optimal organ function to healthy weight loss. Melissa learned the importance of a healthy lifestyle as a way to cope with the stress of academia during her studies in a Masters of Arts in Music Criticism and a Ph.D. in Communications and Cultural Studies. Her skills as a scholarly researcher, combined with her experience teaching adults within the university institution adds to the pedagogical skills Melissa brings to talk radio. Melissa now helps people find peace amidst the turmoil of their anxiety-ridden lives as a holistic lifestyle coach, yoga and pilates instructor and psychospiritual energy worker.


UPCOMING SHOWS

Wednesday November 25th

The Healing Path of Yoga with Nischala Joy Devi

Stress is now considered the foremost contributor to poor health and a major factor in causing heart disease, cancer and a myriad of chronic and acute diseases. Listen to Nischala Joy Devi as she will assist you in making yoga a fundamental part of your quest for wellness and well-being. Nischala Joy Devi is known for her work with Dr. Dean Ornish in creating yoga programs for his patients suffering from heart disease.

Nischala Joy Devi http://www.abundantwellbeing.com/abw/index.action

Wednesday December 2

Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy with Mukunda Stiles

One of the greatest contributions of Ayurveda to true health is the understanding of individual constitution - what balances one person unbalances another. By marrying the sister sciences of yoga and Ayurveda, Mukunda steers away from an increasing tendency to 'medicalize' yoga therapy. Instead of offering prescriptive recommendations for specific medical diagnoses, he presents sequences of Vinyasa and pranayama suited to the various Ayurvedic body types. Yoga therapists and practitioners using this book can access a deeper level of preventative self-care, flowing in harmony with the seasons and attuning to the rhythm and balance of each individual. Enlivened by stories and wisdom teachings, "Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy" provides food for body, soul and spirit, guiding practitioners towards fulfillment of their highest potential well being Mukunda Stile’s Yoga Therapy Center http://www.yogatherapycenter.org/

Wednesday December 9

Chakras and their Archetypes with Ambika Wauters

Ambika Wauters explores how linking classic archetypes to the seven chakras in the human energy system can reveal unconscious ways of behaving and serve as a valuable tool for transformation and healing. Archetypes, which Carl Jung defined as “patterns of behavior,” have emerged out of the core of human experience—the Mother and the Victim, the Lover and the Actor, the Warrior and the Servant. During this radio show, Wauters shows that creating healthy archetypes is both liberating and fundamental to our well-being. In relating the archetypes to the chakras, she will guide us on a journey to understand where our energy is blocked and which attitudes or emotional issues are responsible.

Ambika Wauters http://www.ambikawauters.com/index.html

December 16

Awakening into Oneness with Arjuna Ardagh

During this show we will discuss the awakening of consciousness from the dream of separation, the identification with the story of being a body, a mind, and a personality, into the direct realization of being That which is present in all life. The "default setting" for human beings is one of identification with form. By clinging to thoughts, we believe that "I am the mind," and so readily defend our points of view. By clinging to feelings, we believe that "I am my feelings," and so we become defensive and reactive. By clinging to the body, we believe that "I am a physical creature," and so we live our life in constant fear of death and aging. Arjuna Ardagh will discuss his mission at The Living Essence Foundation where they feel passionately that the future of this planet rests in the wide-spread awakening of human beings into direct experiential recognition of their essential oneness.

Arjuna Ardagh http://www.awakeningintooneness.org/home.php

 

Wednesday December 23

Russill Paul, Jesus in the Lotus

In honor of the celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25th I have invited Russill Paul to talk to us about his latest book, Jesus in the Lotus. DRAWING ON A DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE as well as Hindu philosophy, musician and teacher Russill Paul reveals that the mystical core of religion offers us much more than the simple solace of unthinking dogma. By demonstrating that these two seemingly separate and irreconcilable religions can actually unite in one person’s spiritual practice at the core of his life — as they did in his — he offers an alternative to religious intolerance and strife, as well as hope for personal liberation.

Russill Paul http://www.russillpaul.com/home.html

December 30

Michael Stone The Inner Tradition of Yoga and Yoga or a World out of Balance

There is more to the tradition of yoga than toning and strengthening. At the root, there is a vast and intriguing philosophy that teaches the ethics of nonviolence, patience, honesty, and respect. Michael Stone provides an in-depth explanation of ancient Indian yogic philosophy along with teachings on how to bring our understanding of yoga theory to deeper levels through our practice on the mat—and through our relationships with others. Every aspect of our life has a part to play in the greater ecological system. How do we bring this large view to our yoga practice? According to Stone, our responsibility as human beings is to live in a sustainable and respectful way.

Michael Stone, Center of Gravity http://www.centreofgravity.org/

 

Wednesday January 6, 2010
Brant Cortright and an Integral Approach to Psychotherapy

Integral Psychotherapy blends western depth psychology with eastern spiritual wisdom. Psychological healing and growth are seen as part of a larger spiritual unfolding. Holistic, embodied, relational – it combines the central discoveries of east and west in an innovative approach to depth psychotherapy. We will talk about his book, Integral Psycholog: Yoga, Growth and Opening the Heart. Brant Cortright, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who works from a psycho-spiritual perspective. Brant integrates Western psychology with Sri Aurobindo's integral yoga and philosophy. A long-time practitioner of meditation and hatha yoga, he also draws from Buddhism, Krishnamurti, and mystical Christianity.

Brant Cortright, An Integral Approach to Psychology

Wednesday January 13, 2010
Ron Kurtz and the Refined Hakomi Method

Ron Kurtz, founder of the Hakomi method will talk to us about the shifts in the method to conceiving the work as assisted self-study, where the practitioner helps clients reduce unnecessary suffering by evoking awaremess and supporting the client’s own natural, healing processes. This Refined Hakomi Method, continues to draw its inspiration and strength from the healing wisdom of our basic human nature and our inherited capacity for love and awareness. The method recognizes and embraces the support of science, spirituality and all forms of healing. From this mix, given study, practice and devotion, a simple, elegant way of caring and helping each other emerges and gives the hearts of those it touches the joyous work hearts seek.

Information on the Hakomi Method from the Founder, Ron Kurtz