Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:00]:

Welcome, advocates, to another episode of the Leading Equity Podcast, a podcast that focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their schools. Today's special guest is A good friend of mine that I have known for a few years now, and I'm really excited to bring her on. So without further ado, I have miss Dalia Quintanilla is here with us. Dalia, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dahlia [00:00:28]:

Thank you. I'm excited to be here.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:30]:

Pleasure's all mine. We've been talking about getting you on the mic. We've had to reschedule a couple times.

Dahlia [00:00:35]:

We're here. We are here,

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:38]:

and let's get in. So before we get started, I'd love for you to share a little bit about yourself and what you currently do.

Dahlia [00:00:43]:

Yeah. I'm currently a little bit all over the place, but it's all all good things. Right? I'm the founder of an organization called Liberated Learning where Our mission is to provide resources to teachers, community leaders, and people who are in the business of community with this To with the skills, the knowledge, and the tools that they need to be community based, feeling centered, restorative, culturally responsive, all the things that we say, right, But sort of in a beautiful package holistic way, chef's kiss type of thing. So doing that, it also really embedded in the community here in Chicago, Illinois, where I am helping folks just get the tools they need to be healing centered and community centered as well.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:01:25]:

Alright? So I'm excited because today's conversation you know, I always love

Dahlia [00:01:29]:

it when I

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:01:30]:

I'm bringing up a conversation that I have not discussed on my show. And when I saw you and I were talking, you participated in our, from lesson plans to what was it? From I I didn't messed it up.

Dahlia [00:01:45]:

Lesson plans to business plans. It was catchy.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:01:48]:

Yes. You were part of the cohort that went through the from lesson plans to business plans. And we're doing some coaching, and I came across what you offer, and I saw somatic SEL. And I say, oh, shoot. You gotta tell me a little bit more. But before you tell me a little bit more, you gotta add that to to the audience. We want to share that on the microphone. So Mhmm.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:02:11]:

Let's start there. I'd love to hear and have you share with the audience What is Somatic SEL?

Dahlia [00:02:19]:

Yes. So we all probably at this point know what SEL means. Right? Social and emotional learning. As this topic has come into the awareness of teachers and education, we've sort of lived in the, like, heady knowledge of it. So we know, You know, our emotions. Right? We know, like, self awareness. We're aware of the 5 competencies that CASEL has put out there. So Matic SEL is taking those concepts and embodying them, taking what we've learned and living it, Practicing in real time self awareness, practicing in real time these sort of techniques that we do For, let's say, the 1st 5 minutes of the day, and then we sort of go back to the hustle and bustle of the classroom feel.

Dahlia [00:03:06]:

It's Like, actually living these things out and integrating what we've learned into our bodies and feeling that. That starts with having self awareness around that and also body awareness. So in our culture, we have Sort of gotten to a point where we're desensitized to the sensations that arise in our bodies. So we might have been pressing down and pushing stuff away all day long. There's actually this really interesting research that I read about a few weeks ago that said we come across Or experience 11,000,000 bits of sensory information per second. Per 2nd, 11,000,000 sensory things happening. And if you think about our bodies and biologically what's going on inside of us at all times, The heart's beating. The blood's rushing.

Dahlia [00:03:59]:

The immune system's putting cells in the places it needs to be. Right? Like, it makes Sense. But we are, like I was saying, desensitized and so unaware, sort of detached from those sensations that happen in the body. So somatic SEL is really Bridging that, understanding to be so that those under things that we understand in our mind are embodied.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:04:21]:

I have I have a lot of questions. Yeah.

Dahlia [00:04:24]:

I'm trying

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:04:24]:

to figure out where I

Dahlia [00:04:25]:

want to start.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:04:26]:

Right? Because, again, this is new this is new to me. And and I do estimate work, and I I haven't come across this. So I I'm curious. If I am listening to this, which I am, but if I'm an audience member who's listening to this, Where would I go to find more research on somatic SEO?

Dahlia [00:04:45]:

Yes. That's such a good question. There are Some there is a institute, and maybe we can link this in the episode show notes later when I get the exact name. I'm I'm sure Somatic is in the name, Integral Institute, something like that. And they're sort of like at the front edge leading the sort of charge with the neuroscience research search and also the application piece of, like, how do we actually live these things out and practice these things in real time? But Honestly, I don't know that it's necessary so much just to seek out as it is to, like, to just practice within yourself. So, Yeah. A lot of times we wanna externalize, like, oh, well, like, where who can tell me how to do this? But we all have our bodies. Right? And so I think the the easiest place to sort of Begin with this topic is paying more attention to your body.

Dahlia [00:05:36]:

That's like if you have a practice of meditation or Breath awareness or any of those types of practices pulling that along throughout the day. So something that I've been Doing for myself as an example and also as I'm receiving, the certification in somatic healing, which

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:05:53]:

is certification.

Dahlia [00:05:54]:

Yeah. I'm getting a cert myself a certification in this. So it's, you know, sort of on the up and coming field, I feel, is setting a timer on my phone for every, like, 4 hours throughout the day that just says, come back to your body. Pay attention to what's happening right now. And when you do that, when I get those alarms, I'm like, let's see what's going on for me in my body. Can I pay attention to my breath right now? What are my feet doing. Is there, like, a heat happening? Is there a sensation that needs tending to? It can be very powerful to just Bring that to your awareness.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:06:31]:

Okay. Now is this okay. So for those who I mean, I like to assume that everybody is listening is familiar with SEL like you mentioned. Right? But there's just 5 competencies, self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.

Dahlia [00:06:50]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:06:51]:

So is somatic I I I I don't maybe you maybe you know this or not. I'm I'm so again, I'm

Dahlia [00:07:00]:

Let's think it through. Let's think it through. Yeah. Blowing my mind.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:07:02]:

Okay. Okay. So is this it's somatic SEL. Is that something that you know of that CASEL is promoting as well? Or is is

Dahlia [00:07:11]:

That's a great question. Yeah. I believe so that they do so without maybe calling it somatic SEO. So the things that you're you're hearing and we're practicing in schools, right, like the body scan, the take you know, the the blowing the candles out breath, the 446 Two breaths, the sir the square breath. All the things that we're doing really is, like, pointing at somatic SEO. We're practicing in the body, But we're not, like, verbalizing that that's what we're doing yet. It's sort of still, like I said, living in this, like, heady space of, like, we just need to understand the topic, and then we're good to go. And what I'm sort of proposing is that we have to feel what it feels like to practice SEO, and that'll be sort of like the switch or the difference between a teacher being able to notice when they're dysregulated and not.

Dahlia [00:08:05]:

And that's, you know, a huge topic too around self awareness there in that, you know, example.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:08:10]:

But you mentioned I heard you mentioned breath work a couple times and body scans. Okay. Yeah. What is that?

Dahlia [00:08:20]:

Yes. Breath work is, As clearly as I could say, it really is just focusing on the breath or bringing your attention to the breath. So there are Lots of there's lots of research out there that points and tells us that when we pay attention to our breath, We are able to sort of activate the parasympathetic nervous system Oh. Which is that rest, yeah, that rest, That sort of like your body, your mechanisms can work and digest. We're able to, like, Turn that sort of on versus being in the sympathetic where we're like fight, flight, freeze.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:08:57]:

Mhmm.

Dahlia [00:08:57]:

And because we're so attuned to that, we don't Always recognize when we are or we might be in a trauma response or triggered by something.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:09:06]:

Wow.

Dahlia [00:09:07]:

So the breath really helps us Stabilize, like turn on that natural function within us to be calm, to be grounded. There's lots of different ways to practice breath work. I mean, I'm I'm sure people might have heard of, like, the certain the certain types, but my favorite right now, what's, You know, on for me is the 4, 4, 6, 2 breath. So what that is is an inhale of 4, A hold for 4, exhale for 6. That part's really important. The exhale for 6, a nice Long exhale, and then you hold for 2 at the bottom. So 4, inhale, hold for 4, out for 6, hold for 2. That's like a quick, easy reset, and I've been able to feel that in my nervous system too, in moments where I start to feel a little, you know, Agitated or anxious, and I I I practice that and I swear 2 rounds.

Dahlia [00:10:05]:

I mean, I'm not claiming to solve everybody's problems, but try it. It's a lifesaver. And then the body scan is a practice of exactly what the name sounds like. Right? So it's like Starting you could start from the feet or the head and sort of just eyes closed, scanning through the different parts of your body, noticing when things, Oh, I feel like a tightness in my shoulder. Like, I must have slept wrong because my neck is having a thing. You know, keep going and just allowing yourself to sort of feel through your body. It's a challenging practice

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:10:37]:

Mhmm.

Dahlia [00:10:37]:

To get really good at, but it's definitely a good place to start.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:10:41]:

Is the body scan a visual check or more of an internal internal thought process.

Dahlia [00:10:46]:

That's such a good question. It's more of like an internal Process. Okay. I'm, like, wary to use the word thought because we wanna sort of move away from intellectualizing it So much as we want to just feel whatever is there, which is the hard part, but that's the invitation.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:08]:

So Who do you recommend somatic SEL? Do you will we recommend us a k twelve or adult learning? Like, where where would we wanna?

Dahlia [00:11:18]:

Mhmm. Is there

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:19]:

a certain area that we would wanna focus on, I guess?

Dahlia [00:11:23]:

You mean in schools?

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:24]:

In school. Right? So let's say

Dahlia [00:11:26]:

In schools.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:27]:

Let's let's say a a school district reaches out to Darya.

Dahlia [00:11:30]:

Mhmm. We

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:30]:

want someone that's somatic.

Dahlia [00:11:32]:

Oh, let's go. Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:34]:

So where where would you, like, How would you kinda introduce this? Let's say they have no SEO structure, anything. How would you, like, go about that?

Dahlia [00:11:44]:

Oh, that sounds fun. That sounds like a fun project. Yeah. It would it would be a slow burn, a slow introduction, of course, into sort of Starting in the headier, here's the definition, here are the competencies, here are the tools we might use. And then as we are practicing these things together and they're showing, you know, what they need more and I can more tailor that to them, then it would be more of a practice of Bringing in the somatic piece, like, it would be like the the finishing project of an inquiry based learning unit. You know? Like, it's kind of like the Show what you know of SNL, if that makes sense. Like, because what's lived, it's lived. And when The skills social emotional skills become lived and you're practicing that not just in school or in the classroom, but at home As you interact with your community, that's when I feel like that foundational set of social emotional skills are sort of, like, locked in place.

Dahlia [00:12:42]:

Like, Okay. You get it because you're living it.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:46]:

So essential just so I'm I'm clear.

Dahlia [00:12:49]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:49]:

There needs to be a foundational piece of this. SEL needs to already be rooted within

Dahlia [00:12:55]:

I think so.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:55]:

And so now we're taking it the next level up, which is the more practical side. So we learned a theory. Exactly. We're learning the the the practical side of how do I make sure I feel what I've learned. Yes. Is that

Dahlia [00:13:07]:

Exactly. Yep. Mhmm. Definitely.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:11]:

Okay. Mhmm. So now I'm assuming there's tools that are are there. Because, you know You know me. I'm I'm one of those individuals. Like, I can tell you, like, we need to do this, but people always ask me how.

Dahlia [00:13:24]:

How? Oh, yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:25]:

How do I do this? So give me give us some tools that we we let's say we got a school that's already has SEL implemented.

Dahlia [00:13:32]:

Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:32]:

What are some tools that you would suggest on the Somatic side?

Dahlia [00:13:35]:

Absolutely. So the first one that just, like, immediately comes to mind is something called a check yourself

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:43]:

tool. Okay.

Dahlia [00:13:44]:

So from the name, you can inquire or think that we're gonna check ourselves in this tool. We know 80% of communication is body language. Right? The way that we're showing up in a space is gonna signal so much to students, to parents, to other teachers. And so the check yourself tool sort of takes us through the questions of how am I showing up today? So when we're checking ourselves, we're thinking about how do I look, facial expressions, are my eyes doing a thing, did I just roll my on accident, like, is my mouth you know, like, how is what are my face doing? Are my arms crossed? Am I looking like I don't care? Am I on my phone? Right? Like, am I scrolling and just, You know, not listening to the student. How do I look? How do I sound? Our tone, our inflection, the way things are delivered is Such an underrated skill, I believe. Like, if I give a direction to a student and I just, like, put the sweetest tone on it, but it could be like the Like, you know, the most aggressive thing, but I've, like, kinda coded it like, my love, you need to sit down right now. You know? Like, I that That could've came off, like, really rude if I was like, you need to sit down right now. You know? So we wanna watch our tone, how I look, how I sound, and how do I Feel.

Dahlia [00:15:00]:

Back to the internal sensations. Right? So it's like, is this student triggering me? Because this is the student that comes and asks me 50,000 questions every morning before I've sat down and had my coffee. Am I triggered? If we're able to have that awareness of, like, Oh, this child repeating my name over and over and over again is making me feel some type of way. I feel heat in my chest. I feel like a tightness in my stomach. If we're aware of that, then we can, in the moment, let that child know, You know, my love, I'm having I'm having some difficulty right now. I don't really feel well. Could you take a seat, and I can get to you in a second? Or, you know, depending on the situation.

Dahlia [00:15:44]:

And hopefully, you know, you could you have colleagues where you can text a colleague and say, can you let Can watch my class for 5 minutes. I need to just go, like, breathe in the hallway for a second. Without that self awareness piece, we don't even know that's what we need. So we snap at the student, go sit down, and, you know, and just kind of like pass through it. But us as adults, we need that. Like, if you're feeling that way, you need that 5 minutes in the hallway to just, like, decompress and breathe. So that's That's definitely a good one where where I would start.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:16:15]:

Okay. So the overarching theme that I'm hearing in regards to somatic SEO Is there has I mean, in in I guess in SEO in general, I mean, you you have to have a lot of emotional intelligence. I think it's it's rooted within all of this. And I think that's a piece that a lot of folks again, with the self awareness piece, like, we sometimes forget about or, you know All

Dahlia [00:16:38]:

the time. Oh, me too. I'm I'm right there. I'm right there. You know? It's it's challenging, especially when we are In a big feeling Mhmm. And maybe that big feeling is attached to a story that we've been telling ourselves or that we, you know, kind of Hold on to, then that can sort of, like, make the feeling even bigger or, like, more stuck, if that makes sense. There's Mhmm. A very famous book, The Body Keeps the Score.

Dahlia [00:17:08]:

Have you heard of this book, Sheldon? No. Okay. The Body Keeps the Score. I'm missing the author's name, but The Body Keeps the Score. It's a very academic y read, And maybe this goes back to your question earlier of, like, where to, like, start with this stuff. This is a great place to start. In the book is outlined Tons of research that trauma has left an imprint in our bodies. Right? Whether we are Actively aware of that or not generationally.

Dahlia [00:17:38]:

Right? We've also found that that is going to impact us, and he does a great job at outlining that It not only leaves an impact on our mind, on our psyche, but also our physical tissue, like our cellular membrane. So it is proven that it these sort of feelings, you know, I was talking about the feelings and the stories, are rooted in our bodies, Which I think also calls forth the need for somatic SEL because it's a way to process Also it can be also a way to process some of that emotional residue that's stuck in our body And that wants to get out.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:19]:

So you're saying that generational trauma can Unfortunately. Can have, What did you say? Emotional residue?

Dahlia [00:18:27]:

An emotional residue in ourselves, unfortunately. Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:32]:

That's So is there any way to Outside of count, I guess, I I just feel like everybody needs counseling, and you you making me

Dahlia [00:18:42]:

No no no dooming them. No dooming them. But, yes, we do all need help. We do all need help. Well, you know, and that kinda points to, like, we all could afford a little more compassion also for each other because we're all going through it. I mean, that's just that's just the truth. And I think that counseling, yes. That's part of it, but I think what we're gonna start to see and what I'm actually being certified in the mo in this moment to do is somatic healing.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:19:13]:

Okay.

Dahlia [00:19:13]:

So what that is is a invitation for people to be with their bodies and through movement and dance and breath And meditation sort of process that emotional residue without having to dig into, like, Why do I feel this way? Oh, this one thing happened to me when I was oh, this might be happening from, like, my my grandma's grandma's grandma. You know? Like, we don't have to really dig through the stuff. We just have to be present enough with our body to process the emotion. So I'm currently in the thick of learning about this too, but I'm very about what opportunity it holds for healing because it just it just makes sense. It just makes sense to me.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:20:00]:

You you it it makes sense, and Yeah. And and you are blowing my mind. Yeah. I'm I'm really curious now. This is a personal question. I I Yeah. What drew you to this work? Right? Because, you know, we we've we've we've gone from somatic SEL. Now we're talking about somatic healing.

Dahlia [00:20:18]:

Yes. I

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:20:19]:

I don't know if you wanna share. Like, was there a traumatic event or something that just like, you know what? I need some healing. I I'm curious about what brought you here.

Dahlia [00:20:27]:

100%. I had a pretty traumatic childhood growing up. I was in a household with a dad who was Very aggressive, verbally, physically, emotionally, psychologically. You know, there was a lot of sort of barriers in my Childhood and challenges to overcome. I I grew up in Sioux City, Iowa where I, you know, didn't see my identity reflected in school. I was one of, like, 3 Black or brown children in my entire elementary school and just sort of, like, always had an ongoing identity crisis, you know, happening. So it definitely was sort of like pain that that brought me to this path. Most specifically was a Physical manifestation of my pain that I experienced throughout my life, but really addressed about a year ago, which was Anytime I would be in medical situations, I would faint.

Dahlia [00:21:22]:

I would have like and and they couldn't even have to touch me. Like, it could be like they were telling me about the procedure and I'd be like, Okay. I'm out of here. And I was really curious about this and I got really well, I got I had to be curious about it because I tore my ACL last year. Oh.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:21:37]:

And so

Dahlia [00:21:37]:

I had to get surgery. And so I was like, that is actually my worst fear is to get surgery. I did because of the medical stuff The medical stuff was just so scary and I was like, I'm gonna faint. Like, how am I gonna get through this? So I therapy. I saw a neurologist, and What came up was me the trauma that I experienced in my childhood, but also my body's brilliance And trying to protect me when I felt such a sense of overwhelm that it would shut down. And so what I had to practice with my therapist who's also also a somatic Practice, you know, person, and she does the art therapy. So she's just like, I love you. I love her.

Dahlia [00:22:19]:

She's the best. Through that practice with her though, I had to get comfortable being in my body even when things started to feel not okay. So I could feel my heart beating, but I didn't it didn't send me to to faint. So I started doing practices like Smelling a little bit of lavender when I was in the doctor's office or counting to 10, taking deep breaths, noticing the things around me just like, oh, that's a nice Painting, like staying here and staying grounded in the moment. So, yeah, I love that question because it definitely It's it's part of my journey too and why it is, you know, so interesting in to me and why it just makes sense for me is because It's sort of healed me, helped me because I don't faint anymore y'all.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:03]:

I do not

Dahlia [00:23:04]:

faint anywhere when I go to the doctor's office, so I'm like, I healed a little bit. That's crazy. So yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:11]:

So so that thank thank you for for being vulnerable and sharing that

Dahlia [00:23:14]:

Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:15]:

With us, by the so what I'm hearing is your own personal experience made you want to learn more about yourself, but then also be able to share with others.

Dahlia [00:23:28]:

Exactly that. I feel like it has that potential to help So many people whether that be, like like I said, like a min a little tiny moment where, like, you reach for a breath instead of Reaching for something to sort of, like, cover or hide or avoid the feeling, right, instead of going for another snack or ice cream or Double texting the person, like, you know, whatever it is for you, whatever it is for you, Just like reaching for the breath and, like, being being with yourself in those moments that feel uncomfortable.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:04]:

But don't double text. Take a breath. What did you say?

Dahlia [00:24:07]:

46 what is it? 4406? 4462. 4462.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:12]:

Take a breath. Don't double text. Okay. I I if if there's 1 takeaway Hilarious.

Dahlia [00:24:17]:

Right. That's the one. That's the one.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:20]:

Okay. Okay. Alright. Well, you know what? I I just I looked at the book earlier. The body keeps the the score in Mhmm. Body oh, but I can't read. Brain, mind, and body in the healing of Trauma by doctor Basil Van Der Kolk.

Dahlia [00:24:37]:

I knew there was a van der in there, but I yes. That's that's it. That's the one.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:41]:

Alright. We'll leave we'll leave links in the show notes. That that is great. And now you also have a a toolkit. So for those folks who are, interested in learning more about you and also about this work. And I've had a chance to look at it, and it looks amazing. So, folks, this is something that you you definitely wanna get your hands on. But tell us about the emotional regulation toolkit.

Dahlia [00:25:06]:

Yes. So this pretty much just puts it all in a nice little package. It's just like you wanna start, you know, emotionally regulating and being aware? Here you go. These are the things. So it sort of starts off with the the self awareness, like, you know, big topic of what we've talked about here today, and guides us through the different competencies with actual practical things that we can do along the way to tell to be able to See that the work is working, that, like, we're actually, you know, applying the things that we've learned. So, yeah, definitely valuable valuable Source that's helped me along the way, and it you know, it's it's a culmination of the the knowledge, the background, the curriculum, the instruction, but also the lived experience of being in that classroom and, you know, I'm able to pull out these examples because that was me. Right? Like, the the student who asked me a 1000000 questions, and I was like, Stops repeating my name over and over. You know? Like, it comes from and then also in my work with teachers and in coaching, Seeing the exact, you know, sort of needs in the classroom for teachers in those moments where you're just at capacity.

Dahlia [00:26:16]:

You just have way too much going on. And so part of the toolkit too is encouraging teachers to develop Practices with each other to support and hold one another as we go through the school day, like, just 1 school day. How can, You know, you support me when I'm having a moment and I support you when you're having a moment and we can sort of lean on each other in that way to build, you know, staff community, but also To help ourselves get through the overwhelm and the what is that? Like, sensory overload Yeah. That is being a a teacher. So, yes, so important. We we need this. Yeah. I I and I

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:26:57]:

like, I'm looking at it right now. It it's this is I'm all about self care and health you know, mental health these days. You know? I I I was I will fight it. I used to fight it. Yeah. But it is very helpful. Counseling therapy and those kind of vibes. Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:27:11]:

That is that is take it From someone that that grew up in a in a in a place where, like, you know, be tough and Mhmm. I have I have opened up, to a lot of these these different strategies, and and they have helped me on a personal level. So just this conversation alone has been helpful, and I'm learning. I wanna learn some more. I might look into some some Hey.

Dahlia [00:27:32]:

Let's go. Yes. I might go for it in the snow. I got you, Sheldon. Let's go. Yes.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:27:38]:

So okay. Okay. Okay. So, Dahlia, I definitely consider you as providing a voice in leading equity. I'd love for you to share any final words of advice that you wanna provide to our listeners?

Dahlia [00:27:50]:

Just if you're in if you are in schools right now, first of all, Bless your heart. You are doing that work. Like, I just wanna, like, hold all the teachers right now and give y'all a big Hug and, like, really feel that. It takes 8 8 seconds y'all to actually feel the endorphins leave. So when you hug, make sure you're hugging for a long time. We need more hugs. That's Another somatic piece, but besides that, I just I have so much appreciation for the field. I have so much for what we're actually doing when we're working with students and molding the future generations of humans to come.

Dahlia [00:28:30]:

Like, this is not a small thing. I know our society makes us feel like that every single day, but, like, yeah, my last words feel like they just need to be, like, uplifting the profession. We are Fascia Knowles. Like, we are professionals. So, yeah, talk to me all. Hit me up if you need help. What's

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:50]:

What's the best way to reach you online?

Dahlia [00:28:52]:

Yes. Www.liberatedlearning.org. That's probably the best place to to Find me, email me at [email protected]. Love the conversation. I love having just open dialogue and things like that. So if nothing else but just like a place To sort of think thoughts together. I I love to hold that space for for teachers and admin and people who are doing this work. So Love to make myself available in that way.

Dahlia [00:29:19]:

Alright.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:29:20]:

Well, Dalia, it has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time. I really I learned a lot. You. So thank you so

Dahlia [00:29:25]:

much. Cool. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

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