What if our exhaustion isn’t simply a personal problem, but a natural response to a culture that has forgotten how to slow down? In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined by Amy Rogg, creator and facilitator of Underbelly: The Art of Slowing Down®, for a conversation about reclaiming slowness in a world organized around speed, urgency, productivity, stimulation, and more. Underbelly is a non-verbal somatic journeying practice using rest, embodied movement, music, stillness, and relational exploration to create space for a slower body. Rather than prescribing what participants should do, feel, or become, the practice asks something increasingly rare of us: What happens when we stop being told what to do and give ourselves enough space to listen? Amy describes Underbelly as a response to the disappearance of slowness and spaciousness from modern culture. We explore the consequences of living inside systems that continually prioritize urgency, consumption, transaction, instant gratification, extraction, and incessant stimulation, often at the expense of our nervous systems, relationships, communities, and the planet itself. This conversation invites us into another rhythm. One that makes room for nervous system regulation and co-regulation, emotional digestion, rest, boredom, nourishment, subtlety, complexity, listening, and communion. We talk about learning to lovingly hold ourselves exactly as we are rather than constantly trying to fix ourselves. About softening into feeling rather than overriding it. About honoring the body's rhythms and needs. And about allowing space itself to become a teacher. Amy also takes us inside the experience of Underbelly, where movement may emerge alongside stillness, meditation, writing, witnessing, human connection, or simply doing nothing. There is no performance to achieve and no predetermined destination. Each gathering responds to what is actually alive within the people and the space in that particular moment. Because perhaps our bodies don't need another method for becoming more efficient at surviving a fast world. Perhaps we need places where we are finally allowed to become slow again. In this episode, we explore: • Why Amy created Underbelly: The Art of Slowing Down® • What we've lost through the acceleration of modern life • Slowness as something deeper than relaxation or self-care • How speed and constant stimulation affect the nervous system • Nervous system regulation and co-regulation • Why Underbelly is intentionally non-verbal and non-prescriptive • Rest, boredom, stillness, and “doing nothing” • Emotional digestion and creating space to actually feel • Somatic and intuitive movement • Listening to the body's quieter forms of intelligence • Moving from pushing and controlling toward listening and yielding • Learning to live inside questions rather than demanding immediate answers • Holding complexity, nuance, and uncertainty • The importance of subtlety in an increasingly extreme world • Relational dynamics and the spaces that exist between us • Creating environments that allow organic unfolding • Why slowness matters not only for personal well-being, but for our relationships and greater ecosystem • Reclaiming sanctuary in an age of screens, excess, division, and acceleration About Amy Rogg Amy Rogg is an activator and nurturer of the human spirit and the conduit, steward, and facilitator of Underbelly: The Art of Slowing Down®. Her approach isn't to fix, control, or push, but to tend to the ever-changing human condition as we relate to ourselves, each other, and the planet. Her work centers on creating atmosphere, being led by the moment, sensing group energy fields, conversing with the nervous system, and cultivating loving, intentional spaces where life's vital intelligence can do the work it already knows how to do. Amy holds a B.A. in television and film production and studied acting and improv in Los Angeles. She has led yoga as an E-RYT 500 and meditation for more than a decade, is a certified herbalist, and has been facilitating and engaging in somatic and relational movement practices since 2012. After chapters in the Bay Area and New York City, Amy is now based in Maui. Connect with Amy Rogg Website: www.amyrogg.com Instagram: @amyrogg Rooted & Wild provides general information for educational and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Henry Hawk. The content shared on this podcast is not intended to replace individualized medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, nor should it be used to diagnose or treat any health condition. Listeners are encouraged to consult with qualified healthcare professionals regarding any medical or mental health concerns.
