A course in the art of meeting experience whole.
Course | The Heart of Embodied Presence
Presence is not a technique, and it is not our default state of being. It is a perceptual capacity, the quality of how you meet experience, and it can be developed and strengthened. This course builds the faculties for presence across the whole person, from the density of the physical body to the subtleties of the sense of self, through neuroscience-grounded embodied practice, timeless contemplative insight, and a philosophical framework that goes deeper than popularized approaches to somatics, meditation, and mindfulness.
All genuine healing and growth is the strengthening of this capacity.
The course is online, self-paced, and lessons include a mix of teaching and practice.
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Welcome
Welcome to the course! An overview of what you'll cover, how to use the course, and what to expect.
Welcome to the course! An overview of what you'll cover, how to use the course, and what to expect.
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Philosophy
We begin here as north star because everything else in the course depends on understanding what we are actually developing: presence.
We begin here as north star because everything else in the course depends on understanding what we are actually developing: presence.
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Introduction to basic somatic awareness through exploration.
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Lesson 2: Sensory Awareness
A guided practice that moves through each sense deliberately as a way of anchoring attention in the present moment.
A guided practice that moves through each sense deliberately as a way of anchoring attention in the present moment.
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Lesson 3: Functional Breathing
Not regulated breath but functional breath: from overbreathing to right breathing.
Not regulated breath but functional breath: from overbreathing to right breathing.
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Lesson 4: Postural & Facial Expression
The body expresses emotional states, and generates it: a practice in reading and shifting your internal state through posture and expression.
The body expresses emotional states, and generates it: a practice in reading and shifting your internal state through posture and expression.
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Lesson 5: Vocal Expression & Resonance
Sound as a somatic practice: using vocal vibration and resonance to settle the nervous system and deepen embodied presence.
Sound as a somatic practice: using vocal vibration and resonance to settle the nervous system and deepen embodied presence.
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Lesson 6: Shake & Settle
A somatic practice in activation and return: letting the body move, then simply noticing it come back to itself.
A somatic practice in activation and return: letting the body move, then simply noticing it come back to itself.
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Full body awareness practice.
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Lesson 1: Compassion
We’re not innately present because experience is challenging. Compassion is what makes presence possible, so let’s practice it together.
We’re not innately present because experience is challenging. Compassion is what makes presence possible, so let’s practice it together.
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Lesson 2: Emotions
An exercise for meeting emotion as information rather than threat, allowing it to move through rather than accumulate.
An exercise for meeting emotion as information rather than threat, allowing it to move through rather than accumulate.
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Lesson 3: Savoring
Training the nervous system to receive the good: a practice in letting positive experience actually land.
Training the nervous system to receive the good: a practice in letting positive experience actually land.
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Presence begins with acknowledgment.
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Lesson 2: Non-distortion
Rather than presence as non-judgement, we explore presence as the non-distortion of our perception.
Rather than presence as non-judgement, we explore presence as the non-distortion of our perception.
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Lesson 3: Uncertainty
Developing the capacity to sit with what you don't yet know, and discovering that the open space is generative, not just uncomfortable.
Developing the capacity to sit with what you don't yet know, and discovering that the open space is generative, not just uncomfortable.
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Our sense of self is the boundary between inner stability and outer overwhelm.
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Lesson 2: The Defensive Layers
The layers of defense and protection that cover the heart and distort our perception.
The layers of defense and protection that cover the heart and distort our perception.
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Lesson 3: Relating & Connecting
Presence in contact with other: the paradox of open-hearted vulnerability and discerning boundaires.
Presence in contact with other: the paradox of open-hearted vulnerability and discerning boundaires.
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Lesson 4: The Observing "I"
A short introductory teaching and guided practice in disidentification: the stable center that holds it all.
A short introductory teaching and guided practice in disidentification: the stable center that holds it all.
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What You'll Learn
Feel More Grounded and ClearThrough the practices and self-inquiry in this course, you'll develop greater capacity to return to a grounded state, meet experience without being overwhelmed by it, and respond from clarity rather than habit.
Understand Yourself More DeeplyThrough the four bodies of your experience — physical, emotional, mental, and subtle — you will develop genuine insight into the patterns, defenses, relational templates, and thinking habits that shape how you meet yourself and the world.
Gain Accessible Tools & Develop a Sustainable PracticeEach module includes practices you can return to and build on over time, from functional breathwork and somatic awareness to emotional processing and contemplative meditation, designed to integrate into real life rather than remain confined to a practice session.
