“We see quite clearly that what happens
to the nonhuman happens to the human.
What happens to the outer world happens to the inner world.
If the outer world is diminished in its grandeur, then the emotional, imaginative,
intellectual, and spiritual life of the human is diminished or extinguished.
Without the soaring birds, the great forests,
the sounds and coloration of the insects, the free-flowing streams, the flowering fields, the sight of the clouds by day and the stars at night, we become impoverished
in all that makes us human.” - Thomas Berry, theologian

“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” – Edward Abbey, Earth First! Founder

Earth Matters:
Ecosomatics in the Anthropocene

Conversations to inspire embodied action in the face of planetary dysregulation hosted by Jamie McHugh, MSMT

Sponsored by The International Somatic movement education and therapy association (ISMETA)

2025 Schedule will be posted here shortly

It goes without saying: Earth matters! Without a viable planet, there is no living soma. This fundamental truth in the face of radical Earth disruptions is the ground for our conversations. 

These interactive roundtables are designed to connect the ISMETA community with artists, activists, scientists, agriculturalists, philosophers, and many others dedicated to the preservation of life on Earth. The overall intention of the roundtable is to provide resource sharing, networking opportunities, and hopefully emergent cross-disciplinary collaborations.

The conversations are informed by these initial questions:

• What can somatic movement in particular, and other disciplines in general, offer to a world on fire?
• What actions are you taking in your personal and professional life to affirm and steward the living planet?
• What "action strategies" would you like to offer?

Instead of being prescriptive with action, we aim to inspire and stimulate each person's creativity through personal example. We all hold a piece of the puzzle and can contribute in our own unique way to this mycelial network. Join us live online for these free community events - or watch previous episodes on YouTube.

All past recorded episodes posted here

Episode 1 - Martha Eddy, MSME/T and Satu Palokangas, MSME/T

Monday, October 9, 2023 - 9am PT, 12pm ET, 6pm CET

Episode 2 - Ecosomatic pioneer Nala Walla

Thursday, November 30: 10am PT/1pm ET/19:00 CET
Hour-long conversation followed by a half hour open conversation with online participants. REGISTER HERE

Thursday, December 21 (Winter Solstice) - 10am PT/1pm ET/19:00 CET
Hour-long conversation followed by a half hour open conversation with online participants. REGISTER HERE

Episode 4 - Paula Josa-Jones, MSME/T Dance-maker & Equine Therapist & Victoria Moyer, Ecosomatic Researcher

Thursday, January 18, 2024 - 10am PT/1pm ET/19:00 CET
Hour-long conversation followed by a half hour open conversation with online participants. REGISTER HERE

Episode 5 - Stefanie Cohen, RSMT Somatic Practitioner & Interdisciplinary Artist and LaUra Schmidt, Founding Director & Facilitator, Good Grief Network

Thursday, March 21, 2024 - 10am PT/1pm ET/18:00 CET
Hour-long conversation followed by a half hour open conversation with online participants. REGISTER HERE

Episode 6 - Taira Restar, RSMT Nature Educator and Cynthia Winton-Henry Dance Educator & Ensoulment Coach

Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 10am PT/1pm ET/19:00 CET
Hour-long conversation followed by a half hour open conversation with online participants. Register Here

These online conversations are an outgrowth of the ISMETA Ecosomatics Forum and are posted on YouTube.

Photo by Dale Schweppe.

"A mature organism knows how to inhibit itself, how to stop, how to hold, and how to wait. To be able to... is to gain freedom from being the victim of our impulsiveness and stereotyped responses." – Stanley Keleman

"We know enough of our own history by now to be aware that people exploit what they have merely concluded to be of value, but they defend what they love." – Wendell Berry