Rebel Clinicians Podcast

S2E11: “The East -- New Beginnings, Breath, and Clinical Rituals”

Alex and John Season 2 Episode 11

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 49:31

S2E11: “The East -- New Beginnings, Breath, and Clinical Rituals”


🎧 Listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2CgnaxzPtvDCdQIbhxi9OM?si=hRzhkKSuTfCURWqyHjhkHg)


Hosts: Alex Runolfson & John Cottrell 


Directions Series: The East launches our multi-episode exploration of the Directions--East, South, West, North, plus Above, Below, and Center--and asks a simple question with profound clinical impact: How do we bring the energy of dawn into the therapy room?


In this conversation, Alex and John treat the East as both a map and a method: the place of birth, renewal, clarity, vision, and inspiration. They trace how cultures across the world converge on similar insights--Native traditions (eagle/vision), Celtic/Druidic lineages (Brigid, Air, Beltane), Yogic practice (facing East for Surya Namaskar), Chinese medicine (Spring/Wood/Liver for movement and flexibility), and Mongolian/Nordic sunrise rituals--then translate those ideas into accessible clinical tools.


You'll hear practical ways to work with the East in session and at home: micro-rituals that orient to the start of the day, ACT values prompts that shift "yesterday's story," IFS language for contacting Self as an inner sun, breathwork to clear mental fog, and movement sequences to unstick stagnation. The result is a portable ritual frame that helps clinicians and clients regulate, find perspective, and re-author the narrative--one sunrise at a time.


Listen on Spotify (download the episode and share a rating), and if you're new here, subscribe so you catch fresh episodes every Monday. Want extras? Join our new Patreon for as little as $5/month to get sneak previews, bonus content, and course materials that expand each episode.