Meet Gil Hedley | Anatomist and Somanaut

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gil Hedley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gil, how does your business help the community?
Service is central to my mission to educate and elevate the world by exploring the wonders of our human form. I teach and illustrate human anatomy from an integral perspective. I am committed to shifting the “branding” of the human body away from the idea that it is primarily a “problem” to be solved, and towards the notion that in our amazing bodies we possess a gift to be received, explored and enjoyed. Transforming one’s understanding of the body and embracing a vision of inner connection, continuity and the intimate relationships within us has a way of engendering appreciation, respect and awe for the connections between us as well.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At gilhedley.com I share a vision of the human body through the lens of what I call “integral anatomy.” Integral anatomy looks to the relationships, continuities and textural layers of the human form to understand the whole person in connection to the environment and people with whom we are embedded and embodied. Through lectures, images, poetry, writings, and on-camera dissection videos of the human body I seek to demonstrate this awe inspiring gift and convey its inspiration.

What excites me most is to witness how this vision makes its way out into the world of teachers, practitioners and the general public who apply it in their own way to uplift themselves and improve the lives of their clients, patients and fellow humans in general. Folks study with me, and then serve and inspire others. Very satisfying! Creating both free and affordable access to high level integral anatomy education democratizes knowledge of the body and empowers people to appreciate and transform their own embodied experience for the better. We all have a body, and so also a basis of shared experience upon which we can build connections and mutual appreciation.

In order to develop this vision of the human form I have spent countless hours over several decades in the gross anatomy laboratory dissecting whole human body donor gifts. I had to overcome my own misconceptions, fears, and emotional resistance to build a container in myself of deep and abiding appreciate and respect for my own body, the bodies of the donors who were the subjects of my studies, and ultimately the bodies of everyone around me. The fruit of that work is a sincere compassion for the complexity of our embodied experience. We endure a great deal of suffering right alongside the miracle of life. And, our capacity to prevail and thrive in spite of, and often as a result of the challenges we face, never ceases to inspire me.

I want the world to know that each and every one of us is the recipient of a stunning, free, unsolicited gift: the human body. There are literally trillions of things going right in our bodies in any given moment, in contrast to the few things that may seem to be going wrong. When you fall in love with this gift, and move into a state of appreciation and awe for its ability to heal, to grow, to transform, to connect, to feel delicious, we create space within to correct those few points of resistance to the next level of embodied experience. At gilhedley.com I am committed to inspire these ever higher levels of appreciation for our human form.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Visit the La Brea Tar Pits to put the whole city and buzz into a greater planetary and geological context. It hasn’t always looked like this, and may not in the future! Go to the Getty Museum to take in world class art and enjoy the quiet inspiration that offers. Go to Venice Beach to put your feet in the sand and water, connect to the beautiful ocean, and witness the incredible variety of the human form. Also schedule a visit to a studio or two to see how the world gets “created out of nothing” on set, and place those alternate realities in context.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be where I am today without the mentorship of the late Roger Faison, and Lisa Furr Gordon, apart from whose steadfast belief in my work and interventions on my behalf I cannot imagine how I would have otherwise succeeded. I must also thank Sue Hitzmann, author of The MELT Method, Kristi Cooper, founder of Pilates Anytime, Leslie Kaminoff, author of Yoga Anatomy, Jill Miller, author of The Roll Model, Debbie Rosas, co-founder of NIA, and Tom Myers, author of Anatomy Trains, all of whom have selflessly promoted my work throughout their communities.

Website: https://www.gilhedley.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Gil-Hedley-Integral-Anatomy/100064739404455/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/somanaut