18May 2020 by aryask@gmail.com
Drama, imagination, self with Xiaolong Chen

Drama, imagination, self with Xiaolong Chen

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 41  Born and raised in Chengdu, Xiaolong Chen has been teaching drama since 2017. He did not set out to be a drama teacher but with a twist of fate, he became one and he is now part of this new and emerging field in Chinese education. He says, "I am not the most creative person but as a drama instructor, I'm constantly inspired by the originality I see from my students." Xiaolong and I met last year at an adult drama class in Chengdu. We got to know each other over the many months but never really got to sit down and chat outside of class. In this episode, we got to explore how educational drama can impact identity and creativity within a person. He also shares his personal journey in finding himself as…
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01May 2020 by aryask@gmail.com
Design, purpose, creativity with Yin Wang

Design, purpose, creativity with Yin Wang

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 40 Born in Chengdu, Yin Wang left for NYC when he was 9 years old. He was a graphic designer in NYC for 8 years before deciding to go on a backpacking trip through Europe and Asia. After about a year of traveling, he ran out of money and ended up back in Chengdu. He met Jonny and they upstarted Shed Studio, a full-service media company, Yin being the Creative Director. In this passionate conversation, Yin shares his startup journey, creative process, and inspirations during his travels. He shares how he was struck with a moment of purpose on the beach in Turkey. He gets real with the magic, mysteries, and inevitable shit when forming new ideas; how to deal with the inner critic; and giving/receiving feedback…
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17Apr 2020 by aryask@gmail.com
Reclaim your creative self, with Katie Mansfield

Reclaim your creative self, with Katie Mansfield

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 39 This episode is with my good friend Katie Mansfield.  Katie Mansfield is a Ph.D. candidate in Expressive Arts and Conflict Transformation with the European Graduate School in Switzerland. She and I first met as classmates in the gigantic Swiss Alps. Katie's research focuses on the power of embodied, expressive arts-based learning for building resilience. She works as the lead trainer for the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program within Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.  She has now been working or studying peacebuilding for about 15 years, after eight years working for a multi-national bank (now hard to imagine). She has also studied Personal Embodiment at the Tamalpa Institute, completed teacher trainings in yoga and JourneyDance and is a certified practitioner of Integrative Energetic Medicine. Our chat…
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06Apr 2020 by aryask@gmail.com
Creating a healing presence, with Jerome Gross

Creating a healing presence, with Jerome Gross

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BeeNow podcast, Episode 38 Jerome Gross has been a longtime friend and teacher in yoga and healing. He sat down with me from his living room in San Diego for a quick chat. In this episode, Jerome shares his journey as a healing practitioner and his unique process in helping people resolve physical and emotional pain. Much of Jerome's teaching is about trusting the self and recruiting the body's ability to heal itself. The conversation explores the body's stress response and the inner workings of the nervous system. Jerome Gross currently describes himself as a mind-body health and fitness coach and therapist. He is a fitness trainer, yoga instructor, and hypnotherapist. He works with clients individually and in groups using a process he calls Enlightened way of Being.
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28Mar 2020 by aryask@gmail.com
Hide and seek with pain

Hide and seek with pain

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When I was a kid, my friends and I played hide and seek. One time, I ran into a room to hide and I accidentally stepped on a sewing needle that was sticking up in the carpet. It stung and I slowly pulled out the needle from my foot. Half of it slithered out while the other half got stuck into the bone, which I didn’t realize at the time. I just knew that a pain remained in my step. I limped around quietly for 3 months like a wounded soldier. It felt heroic to be carrying a pain, like a badge of honor. Also, I was a shy kid and getting attention usually meant getting the evil eye from my older sister. In Iran, the evil eye was a…
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