We are pleased to welcome Maggie Reagh Sensei for a special talk open to all IE Program students and teachers.
EVENT: “The Mind-Body Continuum Underlying Experience, Learning, and Healing”
WHEN: June 12, 2025 (Thursday), 3rd period — 13:20-14:50
WHERE: AGU Campus (Shibuya); Room TL402 (in former Junior College)
LANGUAGE: English
TARGET AUDIENCE: All IE Program students and teachers (and any other interested parties)
Description of Talk:
Western Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, and Religion have long considered the mind as separate from the body in terms of how it is experienced, controlled, researched, and measured. This disembodied dualistic perspective was most famously put forth by René Descartes in the 17th Century with I think; therefore, I am. Embodied Cognition in the West has a relatively short history with 20th century philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and John Dewey. It has also been greatly influenced by one of the founders of Cognitive Linguistics, George Lakoff from the 1960s. Experiential and Place-Based Learning as contemporary pedagogies have also grown out of our culture’s embrace of the body as way of experiencing and learning about the world and ourselves. Physicians like Dan Siegel and Gabor Maté have also recently shown us how we can even heal our deepest emotional wounding by developing a felt sense of body and attuning to the wisdom of both our hearts and guts.
In this lecture, we will briefly examine how many contemporary thinkers now view the body as a continuum of the mind’s capacity to experience the world around us and even deeply connect to our most authentic selves. The speaker will then guide the audience through an applied experience of Embodied Cognition. Be ready to experience your mind as not only located in your head, but also in your whole body.
Biography:
Maggie Reagh, MA in Teaching (TESOL/Applied Linguistics) and BA (Honours) in Classics and Philosophy has been teaching and coordinating English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs for over 30 years across Canada, including 29 years at Capilano University. Throughout her career, Maggie has regularly presented on innovative programming ideas with colleagues around BC at conferences for BC TEAL, TESL Canada, BCCIE, and BCCAT. Parallel to her career in Applied Linguistics, Maggie worked first as a performing dance artist/teacher in her 20s and later as a yoga therapist/trainer for over 20 years to present.
