DR. LEAH TAYLOR
Expert on Live Music & Integrative Health | Founder of Embodied Groove
I created Embodied Groove as a way to help others consciously connect to the healing power of live music and movement.
My mission in life is to help as many people as possible experience the healing power of LOVE. The most effective, efficient, and fun way I know to do this is through the experience of live music. Love is the ultimate healer. When we can connect openly to this source, it can have a powerful lasting effect. That is why I have dedicated my life’s work to highlighting the benefits of live music, teaching people how to use it as medicine, and continuing to use it as a foundational practice myself.
I love teaching others how to bring more consciousness to the experience of live music through my training in embodiment, mindfulness, and other mind-body practices. I truly believe that this experience offers what so many of us are seeking – truth of what is really important, deep connection, the experience of something larger than ourselves, freedom, wholeness, and Love. I wish there had been someone to guide me and give me permission to experience as much bliss and pleasure as I feel through live music without having to be fully intoxicated to get myself there.
My Story:
Hi, I’m your Embodied Groove ™ instructor, Dr. Leah Taylor. Dance and music have always been a huge part of my life. My dad owned a music store when I was growing up, so I always had the latest music at my fingertips. I spent countless hours rocking out and choregraphing dances to Cyndi Lauper, Bon Jovi, George Michael, Madonna, and Tina Turner as a young girl.
The first time I ever had my body rocked to live music was Rusted Root when I was 18. My whole body was broken open by the percussive rhythms like I had never experienced with the recorded music from my childhood. I felt as if everything in my body was shaken up, released, and renewed. It was my first spiritual soul cleanse.
A few months later, I attended my first Phish show and I was hooked by the live music scene. The music of Phish and the community taught me how to dance with abandon, wild & free without caring what others thought. This led to other live music and now, 25 years later, I am still rocking out to live music liberated and joyful.
Since that first Rusted Root show in 1997, I have been dedicated to discovering the specific benefits and meaning live music holds for fans. I have a MA in Somatic Psychology and a PhD in Mind-Body Medicine. I have conducted research on the benefits of live music and co-host a podcast, Groove Therapy, on Osiris Media focused on connecting health and wellness with the live music experience.
I am trained in the Nia Technique and have been a movement teacher for over 15 years. I have extensive training in embodiment and bring this knowledge as well as my expertise in Mind-Body Medicine to the creation of Embodied Groove ™.
Embodied Groove ™ was originally designed as a movement experience with live musicians creating music in the moment, inspired by the movement. Once COVID hit, I had to get creative, and took Embodied Groove ™ virtual, using pre-recorded instrumental music from some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians. The Embodied Groove: Out of the Shadows & Into the Light package was procured with virtual classes from this time. Now that live music is coming back, I am excited for Embodied Groove to serve as a way to help fans and musicians get out of our heads and into our bodies and slip back into the familiarity of the experience we love so much without the post-covid stress or anxiety.