This is the first in a 3-part series dedicated to honoring my teachers. Each one I’ll be discussing has left an indelible mark on my consciousness. They’ve been my guides and models, offering direction when I was lost, hope in dark times and solace in desperate hours. Though I’ve never met them in person and they know nothing of my existence, I will be forever grateful for their wisdom and influence on the direction and experience of my life.
My 20s
Leo Buscaglia
Thank you for giving me my first soft place to land 🙏🏼
“You have choice. You can select joy over despair. You can select happiness over tears. You can select action over apathy. You can select growth over stagnation. You can select you. And you can select life. And it’s time that people tell you you’re not at the mercy of forces greater than yourself. You are, indeed, the greatest force for you―” Leo Buscaglia, Living, Loving & Learning
Sometime in my early 20s I have a memory of sitting on the floor during a break from my job with tears spilling onto the pages of Living, Loving & Learning. It was as if I’d finally found a language that made sense spoken by a gentle, paternal figure who I felt truly understood me for the first time. Known as “the hugging doctor,” Dr. Buscaglia’s words embraced me with a comfort and hope I’d never previously known. Though he authored 12 books, this is the one that blew my mind and sparked my passion for all things human.
Alexander Lowen
Thank you for helping me feel my body🙏🏼
“To go through life with a closed heart is like taking an ocean voyage locked in the hold of the ship. The meaning, the adventure, the excitement and the glory of living are beyond one’s vision and reach.”
Bioenergetics is an adventure in self-discovery. It differs from similar explorations into the nature of self by attempting to understand the human personality in terms of the human body…”
Alexander Lowen, MD
Founder of Bioenergetics
Alexander Lowen was originally a student of the grandfather of all modern body psychotherapy, Wilhelm Reich. A physician and psychotherapist, Lowen and a colleague developed a radically new mind-body psychotherapy called Bioenergetic Analysis around the early ’50s in New York.
I first learned of his work a few years out of grad school. Growing up with a mom who taught Iyengar Yoga, I was eager to find a way to combine bodywork with therapy and Lowen’s work was the answer. I remember feeling shaken while driving home after an introductory workshop in Bioenergetics. I’d been reading Lowen’s work voraciously, but witnessing and experiencing it in real life left me intimidated. I was torn. Becoming a Certified Bioenergetic Analyst would require 4 years of study and training and the process itself was more intense than I expected. It was a big leap and a major commitment for my shy, anxious 20-something self. I finally asked myself, “Why would I not do it?” My answer was, “because I’m scared,” and my response to that was, “that’s not a good enough reason”. So the deal was sealed. I decided to go for it and so grateful I did, because it helped me face my fears and evolve me both personally and professionally in a way I couldn’t have without it.
In Part 2 of this series I’ll share the teachers I want to honor from my late 30s and 40s.
