The Passive Hang - Episode 12 - Thomas Emerson, Praksis: Learning by Doing

Episode 12 on the Passive Hang and I was honoured to sit down with Thomas Emerson (@thomashughemerson), who runs Praksis (@praksiscanberra), a movement facility in Canberra. The first thing you might notice about Praksis is that it doesn’t look like any regular gym, or even yoga space. This is something different. 

Thomas is doing deep work with teaching, sharing and translating “underground” movement practices, to the wider public. A question I really wanted to ask Thomas before the interview was - “How do you explain movement to the newcomer?”. His answer is simple - “Just come to class”. He let’s the work speak for itself, and allows the content to lead the curious. 

The tagline on the website for Praksis is “improve your experience of being in a body”. Thomas admits, that this can sound “woo-woo” to some. But by letting the work speak for itself, he prioritises experiential learning over intellectual verboseness. Less thinking, more doing. Trust the process. 

This conversation was one which got me deeply thinking about my practice and it’s wider implications. It reinforced belief in me that practice in itself is worth it. It’s not just about cool skills. Tom mentions that via our perception, “We transform the world, and the world transforms us back.” We have the ability to transmute the practice beyond ourselves, into an instrument for positive change in the community. All we have to do to start is pay attention. I hope you get the same sense as you listen in. 

You can find Praksis at https://praksis.com.au, @praksiscanberra.