Wisdom Keepers: Dimensions of Liz Koch
Sara Vatore
In this installment of the Wisdom Keepers series, it was a profound honor to sit in conversation with Liz Koch, who is a true elder in the somatic field and a woman whose work has shaped generations of bodyworkers, movers, therapists, and seekers.
For more than 45 years, Liz has devoted her life to listening to the deep sensory system and illuminating the “wild wisdom” of the core psoas. As the creator of Core Awareness™ and author of multiple seminal texts on embodied intelligence, she has helped change the language of the body through relentless curiosity, lived experience, and devotion to direct perception.
Our conversation journeys through Liz’s unconventional path, from her early rebellion and finding grounding in the fibers of the earth to becoming a "conceptual artist" of the human body. Liz invites us to view our lives not as structures to be built, but as organic entanglements and creative processes that are continuously unfolding.
Liz Koch is a conceptual artist exploring the deep sensory system and the wild wisdom of core Psoas. An international somatic educator and author, she is the creator of Core Awareness™ and the author of The Psoas Book; Core Awareness: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise & Dance; Stalking Wild Psoas: Embodying Your Core Intelligence; and her upcoming book Birth Savvy. Liz focuses on kinesthetic intelligence, direct perception, and somatic awareness as a means of unfolding our human potential. Stalking Wild Psoas is her passion and Changing the Language of Body is her mission.
Inside this episode, we explore:
Liz’s journey from a rebellious youth to grounded elder, finding her animal body through weaving, deep listening, land and rhythm
Following innate impulse over institutional validation and redefining what “training” really means
Human potential as curiosity about life itself, rather than something to achieve
Understanding constructive rest and the practice of tracking internal sensory input to build a more coherent sense of self
Learning to stay present with terror, overwhelm, and activation without fleeing or fixing
Creativity as biological play, which is essential for trauma recovery and nervous system resilience
Living as art: shifting from making art to recognizing your life as the ultimate artistic expression
Cultural conditioning of women, the fawning response, and reclaiming instinctual knowing
Viewing the body and life itself not as a structure to be built, but as a beautiful, organic entanglement
I am deeply grateful for the chance to sit with a teacher whose work has quietly and profoundly shaped the somatic landscape for decades.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Wisdom Keepers series. To learn more about Liz’s work and book, visit the link below.
We’ll be continuing these conversations with more mentors and visionaries throughout the season. If something in this conversation stirred remembrance, sparked insight, or moved you in some way, I would love to hear from you at sara@saravatore.com.
More Wisdom Keepers to come.
Links:
Learn more about Liz’s work and books
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