In this insightful episode, we’re joined by Dr. Melanie French to explore the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP)—a groundbreaking system for understanding human development through movement. Developed by Dr. Judith Kestenberg, the KMP integrates psychodynamic theory with movement analysis, offering a lens into how early motor patterns reflect and shape emotional and psychological growth.

Dr. French unpacks the core elements of the KMP and its close relationship to Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis, illuminating how, especially how the frameworks of tension flow rhythms, tension flow attributes, and pre-efforts reveal the deep interplay between body and psyche.

Whether you're a clinician, movement professional, or simply curious about the inner workings of human development, this conversation offers rich insights into how movement patterns can inform therapeutic practice, self-understanding, and holistic wellbeing.

Learn more about Dr. Melanie French

Learn more about Kestenberg Movement Profile

Study KMP with Dr. French

Bio for Dr. Melanie French

Dr. French brings a wealth of knowledge to her work, including 10 years of working in both inpatient and outpatient settings as a clinician and dance/movement psychotherapist as well as a graduate-level educator in clinical training programs.

With a dedication to holistic healing, Dr. French holds expertise in mind-body approaches to wellness. Her lifelong interest in healing from trauma, anxiety, depression, and social phobias led her to professional training in multiple modalities, from Western academic approaches to Eastern medicine, as well as cross-cultural perspectives on health and wellness.

Dr. French has special expertise in developmental psychology and how we can understand what children need through observing their nonverbal behavior, and how what happens in our first 5 years of life is remembered by our bodies long after our conscious mind has forgotten! Her doctoral research explored the profound impact of rhythmic movements on emotional states and early childhood memories.

As a master trainer and educator in the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) Body Movement Analysis System, Dr. French shares her expertise with a wide international audience, empowering others to understand how to support child development and healing of developmental traumas or difficulties at any stage of life.

She brings extensive training in an array of mind-body modalities, including hypnotherapy, dance/movement therapy, hatha yoga, energy psychology, EFT/tapping, kinesiology, mindfulness, meditation, Usui Reiki II, and creative arts therapies.

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies and co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

This is another extra special interview session with Jeremy Devins of QuietMind Astrology and QuietMind Yoga.

Jeremy's work stands out for his remarkable skill of bringing inner wisdom to the surface through Yoga and Astrology. His life choices model following one's inner life. And his teaching, both yoga and astrology teach students to do the same.

In this interview learn about connecting to the body, and about philosphical connections between yoga and astrology.

He has a new mentorship program starting at the end of the month. ANd if you want a great online yoga resource QuietMind Yoga is FULL of classes and learning opportunities.

Bio: Jeremy Devens, founder of Quietmind Astrology. After 19 years of study, what began as a personal search for clarity became a calling to help others align with their true path. He created this workshop because he remembers how overwhelming it was to look at his chart and not know where to begin.

Embodied People is co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies

In this extra special episode learn about Rosemarie Onvlee. We first met Rosemarie via the beautiful motif cards she created. From there we became fascinated with her work and path. As a physiotherapist in the Netherlands she integrates Laban/Bartenieff methods into working with her clients towards healing.

Biography for Rosemarie Onvlee:

Rosemarie is a is physiotherapist based in the Netherlands. She teaches dance and movement classes to adults and 50+ people. She created Motif Symbols cards.

Buy cards at her website

Follow her in IG

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies and co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Art by Erin Law

Join us for this gold star episode with special guest Pam Oatis, MD. Pam is a pediatrician who works with Hand in Hand parenting - a special program focusing on the cultivating of listening. In Hand in Hand, listening is practiced with children, ourselves and one another to form networks of presence. Pam is writing the book 'What Babies Wish We Knew'.

Pam discusses the basic practices of Hand in Hand and the impact it has had on the lives around her.

What Pam makes possible in writing, medicine and community models ways to practice being with each other and connecting to our deepest human wisdom within each of us.

To find out more about Pam, check out her website here.

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies

and co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Art by Erin Law

This solo cast is a reflection and movement meditation on the core of the body, and connecting into the core of your body as a way of connecting into an enduring image of the self. Perhaps exploring this image inwardly and in movement, we strengthen our sense of who we are at our deepest center.

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies

Co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Art by Erin Law

Music by Jordan Rosen

Jeffrey Peterson began his life as a movement professional in marching bands before making his way to jazz dance and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis. In this interview with Jeffrey we discuss the ecstasy of large group unison and the push towards perfectionism.

We also discuss how Jeffrey has worked with personal uniqueness as an antidote to perfectionism and to a way to find yourself in group unison. This beautiful conversation has connections to teaching dance, developing as an artist and how we find ourselves again and again in the movement arts.

Bio: Jeffrey Peterson received his CLMA from Integrated Movement Studies in 2013 and also holds an MFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and aBFA in dance from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Peterson is the Program Director and Assistant Professor of Dance at Winona State University in Winona, MN. With 17 years of experience in higher education, he’s previously taught at Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf, and Muhlenberg Colleges, among others. His research on the intersections of L/BMA and jazz dance pedagogy has twice been presented at NDEO, in addition to the Somatic Dance Conference (NY) and the Moving From Within Conference in southern Germany.

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies

Embodied People is co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Art by Erin Law

Sound by Jordan Rosen

All of life is made of of cycles and phrases. We know this intellectually, but we also know it physically... Sarah and Colleen explore the idea of phrases in life and phrases in movement. They reflect on how things - semesters, projects, relationships - begin and end. And the offer a guided movement experience for connecting to your body as a way to connect and move through to the phrases of your life.

Embodied People is sponsored by Integrated Movement Studies

Embodied People if co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Art by Erin Law

Sound by Jordan Rosen

Dive into the pathway of connection between your head and your tail with Colleen. Our previous two episodes have explored each end of this pathway in their own right. This episode follows along the spine, the cerebral spinal fluid, the digestive tract to explore the many ways our bodies connect along our mid-line.

Embodied People is co-hosted by Sarah Donohue and Colleen Wahl

Embodied People is part of the Integrated Movement Studies educational offerings

Sound by Jordan Rosen

Art by Erin Law