Balancing Our Many Selves with Marco Jo Clate, Andrea Scannell, Liza Toft & Jennifer Rau
Meet Marco, Liza, Andrea and Jennifer. Four women who are teachers and artists and mothers. Listen in as they talk about identity and the process of reclaiming and synthesizing the many parts of themselves, the conflicts and joys of motherhood, the aggressive act of pursuing one’s creativity, their struggles with integration and spending time alone. Helpful tools include meditation, yoga practice, walking outdoors, reaching out to one’s community of friends and supporters, making lists, self-acceptance, chucking out guilt, and setting boundaries. They share times of anxiety when one’s world gets too small and perspective is lost, when there is not enough feedback, or when one is spread too thin, causing a disconnect from body, mind, and heart. They are women invested in the act of claiming their voice, power, and fulfillment ~ They are women who are, in their own words: sassy, sensitive, authentic, loyal, grounded, generous, good listeners, and present!
Meet This Episode's Guests
Marco Jo Clate
Writer, Hatha Yoga Teacher, & Theatre Artist
Marco Jo Clate started out as an actor, attended Emerson College and Tisch School of the Arts, but soon yearned for control over her own work and began starting theatre companies, writing plays, producing, and choreographing. Some of her richest experiences happened at Ensemble Studio Theatre where she was a member of Citilab with founder Curt Dempster, whom she also assisted at their summer facility in Lexington, NY, and where she also produced the beloved annual Marathon of New Plays! Marco Jo's plays have been seen at EST, The NYC Fringe Festival and The One Minute Play Festival. More recently she has studied and performed improv and sketch at UCB and The Reckless Theatre. And she just wrote her first screenplay! She discovered yoga in her very first acting class at Emerson College…and knew from her first sun salutation that yoga would be an important part of her life.
Marco Jo teaches yoga at www.theyogahousepiermont.com
Quote I love: "Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly." ~ Edward Albee
Andrea Scannell
MSEd, CLC, Certified Infant, & Child Sleep Specialist
In her private practice in New York City, Andrea works one on one with families to provide sleep support, breastfeeding support, infant care education and early parenthood coaching. Her NYC classes are currently provided at the 92nd St. Y and City Births.
With twenty years experience working with children and their parents, the birth of Andrea’s own child prompted a new endeavor: in 2010, Andrea created MOMally. It has since become a network of more than 2,500 moms, and a vital resource for new parents. MOMally’s New Mom Support groups, MOMally Parenting on Meetup.com and MOMally’s Facebook Community have helped a generation of local moms get support and find friendship.
Photo credit: Vanie Poyey
Jennifer Rau
Jennifer Rau is an actor whose film and television credits include Finding Amanda, Brightest Star, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Without A Trace, yes,dear, Inconceivable, and the award-winning short film Some Boys Don’t Leave. Her Off-Broadway and Regional credits include: Once In A Lifetime (Atlantic Theater Company), Texas Homos (Abingdon Theatre Company), The Hologram Theory (Blue Light), Sex Parasite (Center Theatre Group), M Butterfly (East West Players), Miracles and The Baby Dance (Barter Theatre), Exodus, (Salon/Sanctuary) at the historic Fraunces Tavern with Rosalyn Coleman Williams and Reg E. Cathey. Last August she appeared in the world premiere of Mourning the Living at the Hudson Guild, as part of the Thespis Theater Festival and reprised her leading role this April Off-Broadway through Lifewise Productions. She holds a BA in Theater from Fordham University and trained at Atlantic Acting School, where she is on the Acting Faculty. Jennifer is also a writer and is currently working on a new screenplay.
Quote I love: "At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." - Lao Tzu
Liza Toft
Liza is a licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Yoga Teacher who works in private practice in her home studio in Brooklyn, New York. She works with people individually and leads weekly groups that combine yoga and creative arts as a holistic body-centered approach to therapy. Liza is currently completing the two-year Iyengar Yoga teacher training program, which has deeply influenced her work. Her background as a visual artist and a long-time practitioner of mindfulness meditation have also had a deep impact on her life.
Below is a piece of Liza's art!
Visit Liza's website for more: www.lizatoft.com
Untitled by Liza Toft