Colin is our fourth and final small group facilitator for the Embodied Masculinity program starting January 6th 2026. His journey to somatics, and Luis, started with a nail gun, and the pain resulting from repetitive use. He realized he was holding tension around accuracy in physical labor, and relationally around important topics. Somatics helped show him how to hold his body through work and relationships in a way that was easeful, not painful.

Luis invites Colin to share what he loves about being a facilitator in the Embodied Masculinity slow group. Colin relishes the opportunity to witness men testing the container of the group, sharing what is vulnerable and often long hidden. These shares resonate with others and a tenderness in the group emerges. 

If you have questions for Colin about his one on one coaching work, or about the Embodied Masculinity Slow Group you can reach out to him at https://colinsafranek.com/.

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Do YOU know any gay men in long term relationships who aren’t hooking up on sex apps? 

Al Romano, Naveed Heydari, Tim Paula, and Rio Allen join Luis for a collaborative conversation about sex apps in the gay community, and what men really want. 

Men are conditioned to discover their sexuality as boys, isolated with porn. And yet, all bodies want security, touch ,and connection. Corporations prey upon this conditioning and need with sex apps that dehumanize and objectify men, gamifying their arousal and isolation with quick dissociated hook-ups. 

Where did gay men meet before Covid? Gay bars. Where are they meeting now? Gay sex apps. How can we intentionally create spaces beyond the talons of corporate predation, objectification and addictive patterns? 

Are you a gay, straight, or queer man, wanting to free yourself from social conditioning? Join the conversation in our six month Embodied Masculinity Slow Group starting January 6th 2026, and let’s talk about how liberation feels in our bodies.

You can listen to some related podcast episodes here:

Is Porn Use A Form Of Sexual Trauma?

Share This With A Man You Know: How P*rn Affects Their Relationships

You can purchase the Embodied Masculinity webinar here: https://hln.thinkific.com/courses/embodied-masculinity

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You can learn more about, and connect with, the men on this panel through the following links:

Al Romao: Instagam @alromao

Naveed Heydari: Instagram @naveedheydari 

Naveedheydari.com 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-boys-to-men-a-journey-through-masculinity/id1783346682

Tim Pauly: Instagram @in.the.service.of.life & @hewhoisgrateful

www.intheserviceoflife.com

Río Allen: https://youtube.com/@rioallen-ra 

https://www.rioallen.com/

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

2025 and it's still fringe as f*ck for men to do somatic work. Why? Because men are conditioned to suppress the parts of themselves that are tender and vulnerable with dissociation and porn. Join Luis and his friend Steven as they discuss masculinity and the upcoming 6 month Embodied Masculinity Slow group, starting January sixth. 

Steven reminisces about singing with a friend when he was 11 years old, when a parent commented, "You are gay, aren't you?" Singing with a friend was "not masculine enough" and something to be repressed. But with somatic work, work that is inherently feminine in it's inward focus, men are able to soften and reclaim their masculinity. When they learn to let themselves, and a group, hold them they take the pressure off of the females in their lives from doing all of the emotional labor for them. 

As an Embodied Masculinity small group facilitator Steven gives us a peak into one of his favorite moments, and two practices, from past Embodied Masculinity Slow groups. This inspires Luis to guide an impromptu somatic practice. Slowing down and softening creates more space and capacity to drop defensiveness, allowing the body to begin releasing conditioning and therefore integrating new experiences of masculinity. 

You can connect with Steven through his website: intimatelyhuman.com and find him on Instagram @intimatelyhuman

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Our boys, too often, grow up using porn as a formulaic way to self soothe. They experience the dopamine rush, stimulation and sexual gratification in isolation. There is no touch or feedback in return, no boundaries to navigate, just dissociative pleasure.This stress loop, repeated chronically in a young body becomes a developmental trauma. The pattern spills into future relationships, where they find themselves numbed out and disconnected from themselves  and their partners.

Join Luis for this podcast, the upcoming webinar, the 6 month Embodied Masculinity Slow Group, or for all three! Luis and his all male team will guide a group of men, in a community container, to explore embodying their emotions while undoing conditioning.

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Atarah Valentine joins Luis on the podcast today. They warm up talking about how we can practice self hatred, and we can practice gratitude. It's all a practice. What choices and practices have adapted you to be the person you are? 

Men, Atarah saw, hurt women. He did not want to hurt women. As a result he practiced hating masculinity.  He evoked feminine energy emulating his grandmother who wanted to fix everything for everyone. Another woman he emulated was his mother who married abusive men attempting to fix them. 

"Real men wear white socks" he was told, but Atarah is not the white socks wearing type. So he shrank, "apologized with [his] shoulders", and stayed small, not wanting to take up space. Until the age of 40 when he decided to embrace his power and begin training. 

Training, and his platonic relationship with his male trainer, helped heal his relationship to masculinity in himself and with men. The masculine parts he had been rejecting were ultimately the parts that freed him. 

What do you do to balance the masculine and feminine energies in yourself? 

You can read more about Atarah, and work with him, here:  https://theseedlevel.teachable.com/

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

On today's episode, Luis is joined by Annette Knopp - meditation teacher, somatic educator, nature mystic, and author - to discuss her newly released book Mystic Nomad: A Woman's Wild Journey to True Connection.

In her book, Annette shares the personal experiences that shaped who she is as a person, and then how these events developed her way of teaching and showing up in the world. Part memoir, part modality teaching, she wrote the book with the intention of sharing her story as a way to support others.

Luis reads his favorite excepts from the book, and invites Annette to share her reflections on each section. Together they discuss the ways in which the personal can be universal, and how sharing of deep and highly personal experiences is an act of generosity.

You can order the book here: https://www.annetteknopp.com/book

You can read more about Annette and her work here: https://www.annetteknopp.com/

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Meet Zach Kalatsky, a mentor for the Embodied Masculinity 6 months slow group, as well as a member of the HLN retreat team. He joins Luis today for a chat about their experience as friends, and as part of a team that holds the all male slow group members. 

So many men identify as being fatherless sons, sons of men who could not connect and support their boys the ways they needed. The result is a lingering and deep sense of never being supportively held by men in their life. Part of the shift and practice of the men's group is realizing, "I can be held". A foundational reason this is possible is the group's sense of collaboration, not competition. 

You can read more about Zach, and connect with him, here:

https://www.theforesthaven.com

https://www.instagram.com/feelherenow

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Somatics is naturally an inward focused practice involving the noticing of internal feelings and sensations, something that sociatally, in America at least, only women are "allowed" to notice. Men often feel like they need to be loud and dominant, focusing their energy outward lest they seem weak, whereas women can be fluid, sensuous and internally focused. However, it's when men learn to relate to their own feminine energy, getting comfortable going inward, that they can securely unfurl into their masculinity. Our 6 month Embodied Masculinity Slow Group is only for men who want to learn somatics supported in a community, led by Luis. 

Have any questions about the Embodied Masculinity Slow Group? Feel free to drop it in the comments below. 

How do you relate to your masculine and feminine energy? 

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Naveed and Luis connect over their work in the 6 month Embodied Masculinity Slow Group, a vulnerable, male only, space. Often boys traverse the transition of puberty in isolation, taught only by porn. After a lifetime of objectification from porn use it's common for men to have dissociative relationships with their penises and masculinity. The slow group provides a counter vortex from the isolation to experience a second puberty, together, in community. So many of us were raised by overworked men with little time or capacity to connect emotionally, leaving many of us feeling abandoned by the masculine. A beautiful antidote is to feel into that abandonment and not abandon oneself in those emotions. Join us to tend to all of these topics, and more, in a cathartic six month brotherhood.  

How do you redirect to connect instead of isolating with porn? Let us know in the comments below! 

Connect with Naveed here: 

Naveedheydari.com

@naveedheydari

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Join Luis as he gets vulnerable about his history with dysphoria around masculinity. His DNA is coded to express as female, yet he has male sex organs that produce testosterone. Feminine attributes made him the target of male abuse, and as a result he learned to reject his masculinity (associated with abuser energy) and femininity (associated with victim energy), both felt dangerous. The abuse and bullying he endured in school led to intense internalized shame and self hatred. Luis learned to relate to both his own masculinity and femininity before he could shift his relationships, especially with straight men. 

His friends Zach and Steve held space with him for healing by providing safe, non-sexual, masculine friendships. This process and practice also shifted his relationships as a father and as a husband. If you are a male curious about embodying your own masculinity, join us for our next 6 month Embodying Masculinity Slow Group in which Luis and the team will teach men how to reclaim their masculinity from: porn, dominance, conditioning, and the cinematic drag kings of the 80's and 90's.

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Luis invites Camille Leak and Gray Doolin into a raw conversation about the somatics of dehumanization. Together, they explore what happens in the body when we dislike someone so deeply that we strip away their humanity, and how to stay open-hearted even in disagreement.

The team discusses how somatic awareness has helped them recognize that feelings like disappointment, disgust, or dislike don’t have to lead to dehumanization. By staying embodied, they’ve learned to hold both truths at once — acknowledging discomfort while still seeing the inherent goodness in others.

You can also get lifetime access to the free webinar edit of this recording on our Thinkific platform here: https://hln.thinkific.com/courses/radical-rehumanizing

You can register for the FREE Food Therapy session here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/events/weight-and-trauma

You can read more about, and register for, the retreat at Blue Spirit Costa Rica here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/blue-spirit

You can read more about, and register for, the Embodied Masculinity group here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/slow-practice-mens-group

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]