Restoring Right Relationship Through Somatic Practices and Embodied Leadership with Tasha Blank

Summary:

What if movement wasn’t just something we did for exercise but was a gateway into deeper healing, transformation, and leadership?

This week on The UpLevel Podcast, we welcome Tasha Blank, an international DJ, somatic practitioner, teacher, and founder of The Get Down, Drop Body Language, and the global leadership academy Powerhouse DJ School (PhDJ). Known for liberating hips and hearts everywhere from NYC’s most legendary clubs to festivals, churches, museums, forests, and even roving desert ships, Tasha is a true pioneer of movement as medicine.

Whether you’re a coach, a leader, or simply curious about the role of movement in healing and transformation, this episode is an invitation into deeper listening, embodied leadership, and your most powerful self-expression. Listen in and be inspired to move differently, inside and out.

In This Episode:

• Tasha’s nervous system-based approach to unlocking powerful expression and healing

• How dance restores connection across individuals, teams, communities, and ecosystems

• Tasha’s story of how the dance found her and her brilliance behind the decks

• Practical insights into listening deeply to spaces and curating experiences that invite transformation

• The blend of somatics, shadow work, and ceremony in embodying our fullest selves

Order of Topics:

• The Power of Somatic Healing

• Dance as a Pathway to Expression and Liberation

• Restoring Right Relationship Through Movement

• Tasha's Personal Journey with Dance

• Artistry Behind the DJ Decks

• The Science and Stories of Movement and Sound

• Shadow Work Through Movement

  
  

Action Items:

• Prioritize Nervous System-Based Movement

  • Incorporate mindful movement or dance into your daily routine to regulate and energize your nervous system.

  • Notice how different rhythms and tempos affect your mood and presence.

• Practice Deep Listening

  • When leading a group or event, tune into the energy of the room before making decisions.

  • Practice listening not just with ears but with body awareness, notice subtle cues in others’ posture, breath, and tone.

• Explore Shadow Work Through Embodied Practices

  • Use movement as a tool for shadow integration: let suppressed emotions surface through freeform dance or physical expression.

  • Journal about feelings that arise during movement sessions to foster self-understanding.

• Curate Experiences With Intention

  • Design gatherings (virtual or live) that invite participants into transformative journeys, consider music selection, flow of activities, and space setup.

  • Aim for experiences that nurture right relationship at all levels: individual growth, team synergy, community cohesion, and ecological awareness.

• Embrace Unconventional Spaces & Methods

  • Take workshops or practices outside traditional settings; experiment in nature or unique urban locations to inspire creativity.

  • Be open to integrating ceremony or ritual elements for deeper impact.

• Lead With Reciprocity & Mutual Discovery

  • View teaching/facilitation as a two-way exchange; allow yourself to be changed by those you guide.

  • Encourage co-created experiences where everyone has agency in shaping the journey.

• Fuse Science & Art In Your Practice

  • Stay curious about somatic science, study how the body processes emotion through movement and sound.

  • Balance technical understanding with artistic intuition when curating playlists or designing programs.

About Tasha:

Tasha Blank is a celebrated international DJ, somatic practitioner, teacher and founder The Get Down, The Drop, BODY LANGUAGE and global leadership academy Powerhouse DJ School (PhDJ).

A student of somatic healing, shadow work, story, and ceremony, her nervous system-based approach to transformation through movement is a wild invitation into your most powerful expression. She’s known for liberating hips in New York City’s most legendary clubs (Cielo, Output, Verboten, House of YES), the world’s wildest festivals (Envision, Lightning in a Bottle, Burning Man, Wanderlust, Beloved), and museums, churches, helipads, boats, roving desert ships, forests and mountaintops everywhere. 

She kicks off each set with a moment of silence and invocation. "Even for folks who've never seen a giant club get totally quiet and take a pause, it's an important part of the experience. When a crowd trusts each other enough to be still together for a few minutes, you can take them anywhere." 

From there, Tasha's sets are richly varied. Rooted in house music and invariably uptempo and uplifting, they include everything from garage, R&B, soul, gqom, hip-hop, amapiano, pop, techno, and plenty more. Ritualistically rhythmic and inclusive, her music invokes a time when it was not just acceptable but expected that a DJ should take risks.

Website: https://www.tashablank.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tashablank/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tashablank

PhDJ: https://www.phdj.dance/

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About UpLevel Productions: Founded by Christie Mann, MA, CPCC, PCC, and Rachel Baldi, CPCC, PCC, UpLevel creates, produces, and delivers Transformative Experiences, Workshops, Training, Events + Media that develop leaders who make our world a healthier, more alive, and connected place to be. As Associate CTI Faculty Partners, UpLevel is licensed to sell, produce, and deliver Co-Active coach training and leadership development programs around the world to support the transformational growth of individuals and culture inside the workplace and organization. www.uplevelproductions.com Instagram @uplevelproductions Facebook & LinkedIn @uplevelproductionscompany