Men’s Healing & Reclaiming Vulnerability with Brent Garcia – EP23

In this lively episode, Brent Garcia and I talk about toxic comparison, reintroducing presence, how society is not set up for men being vulnerable, reclaiming vulnerability as a man, the experience of admitting pain and asking for help, the courage to see your own shame, how he changed his entire life in his forties, the dance of the healer and inner healer in clients/patients, and Western Medicine and Traditional Eastern Medicine working in Tandem!

Brent is an elite body mechanic. He came to Traditional East Asian Medicine and bodywork because he needed relief from an old Achilles tendon injury. After receiving acupuncture and massage treatments, Brent was able to function at a much higher level than he had for the previous 10 years. This motivated him to study traditional East Asian healing arts including acupuncture, herbal medicine, Asian bodywork and Tai Chi, as well as Reiki.

In 2015, Brent graduated from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago with a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine (MSTOM). He received his massage training from Pacific College as well. Now, as licensed practitioner, he continues to study anything that will help him be a better, more effective healer for his clients.

Combining traditional and modern systems of East Asian Medicine with bodywork and trigger point therapy, Brent provides custom treatments to eliminate pain and cultivate well-being in his patients. He maintains a private practice in Chicago, Illinois.

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Contact Details

Brent Garcia LAc, CMTPT, LMT

Website BrentGarcia.com

Links & Resources mentioned in this Episode

Show Notes

  • 00:00 Introduction of Brent Garcia
  • 02:16 Patreon – Your Support Means So Much!
  • 03:20 Opening
  • 04:09 Brent – the Elite Body Mechanic
  • 06:13 Reintroducing Presence
  • 06:57 Being Present 100% With Clients
  • 07:46 quitting smoking and getting into Acupuncture
  • 09:50 Brent’s Decision to Study Eastern Medicine
  • 11:37 The Japanese Version of Acupuncture
  • 11:48 What Makes the difference?
  • 12:22 Instant Feedback for patient and practitioner
  • 13:37 It’s a Dance
  • 14:07 The limits of Acupuncture
  • 14:33 Holding the light and dark / space between western and eastern mind
  • 14:59 What Patients Seem to Need
  • 15:15 Working in Tandem with Western Medicine: an example story
  • 17:02 Dance between Western and Eastern for safety of the patient
  • 18:10 Working with Men
  • 18:19 Society is not setup for men to be vulnerable in pain …
  • 18:53 Personal Suffering. Admitting Pain. Not asking for help.
  • 19:44 The Courage to Ask, Being A resource for Men
  • 20:39 Finding a man as a Mentor?
  • 21:16 Experience in a Men’s Group
  • 21:53 What has been the challenge in being vulnerable?
  • 22:48 Puffery & Machismo
  • 23:26 The Middle Ground of Being in your emotions
  • 23:51 What makes you alive? What restores you?
  • 24:10 The effects of being a good sleeper
  • 25:37 Jumping into Strength Training
  • 26:56 Story about Strength Training & Presence
  • 28:49 What’s been on your heart / mind lately?
  • 29:41 Struggles with Toxic Comparison
  • 30:32 Discovering your path
  • 31:07 Going Inward and Sticking with Yourself
  • 32:29 Outside Support Instead of Doing it All By Yourself
  • 33:54 Sharing with Friends vs Sharing with Colleges
  • 35:22 Debunking the Bad and Scary
  • 35:52 How did Brent get HERE?
  • 36:04 Process Group and Massive Transformation
  • 38:27 Difference between feedback & advice
  • 39:33 The Primary Aspect of Relating
  • 39:46 Going back to: How am I feeling when someone…?
  • 40:17 What stuck with Brent from the Responses? {un}hiding shame.
  • 41:08 Shame over Shame double whammy
  • 41:32 Courage to speak to it
  • 42:02 Somatic Experience of Shame & Family Constellations
  • 43:06 Dis-ease Pattern of Shame
  • 43:31 Brent’s Gift of Intuition around Staying with Shame
  • 45:28 Wild Fire Round
  • 46:11 What is the strangest dream you ever had?
  • 46:40 What question would you ask this dream?
  • 47:35 What do you bring with you everywhere you go?
  • 48:07 If you would not need to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
  • 48:15 What would you read?
  • 48:42 Mention the War of Art & Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
  • 48:52 Mention of Eckart Tolle & A New Earth
  • 49:06 Timely every single time again – A New Earth
  • 49:59 Mention of Fantasy Novels and Pulp Fiction Novels
  • 50:24 What is a controversial opinion you have?
  • 50:36 “There are Stupid Questions”
  • 50:51 Story time: Teaching High School Chemistry
  • 52:43 Bill Hicks Quote “I don’t always choose wisely, but I am committed”
  • 52:56 Last Thoughts?
  • 53:29 How You Can Find Brent?
  • 54:10 Closing
  • 54:43 Sendoff

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