Podcast Appearances
November 26, 2024
Episode Link
Born in Kenya, and of Indian ancestry, Riyaz came to North America when he was ten years old (growing up in Canada, and then moving to the United States as an adult). Each of these lands, peoples, and cultures has informed and shaped his expression and sensibilities. He is a product of both East and West.
Most of his adult life has been devoted to the study and practice of both psychotherapy and spirituality. And both of these disciplines have been integral to a path of healing and awakening. Professionally, his life’s work has been to bring together Eastern wisdom with Western science and psychology in a synergistic alliance.
After 26 years of mainly practicing as a psychotherapist, and many years of teaching and supervising students and interns in a transpersonally oriented graduate school (CIIS in San Francisco), he has shifted his work in a more explicitly spiritual direction. He now leads individuals and groups in spiritual work through groups, and day-long and multi-day retreats.
In April 2023, he received dharma transmission and the blessing of his teacher, Adyashanti.
July 25, 2024
Episode Link
As a therapist, spiritual teacher, and member of a deeply supportive community of friends, Riyaz might seem well-equipped to handle a terminal diagnosis. And in so many ways, he is.He's also just like any of us. He's human. And when he was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer, it shook his world to its core, as it would for any of us.
Riyaz shares his wonderfully moving experience and insights with Cody in this illuminating conversation on how we can see illness and death not as mistakes of life, but integral parts of it.
March 28, 2023
Episode Link
Episode 19, Deep Listening is an insightful look into the healing power of unconditional presence. What would it look like to be fully at home in our experience? How do we stay at home when we listen to others or go through hard things? This conversation inspects the mind-body connection & how we can deeply listen to our experiences through awakening to our senses. Come join Danae & Riyaz for percipient dialogue grounded in kindness & warmth.
January 4, 2022
Episode Link
“This episode, I chat with a new teacher of mine, from a course called “Healing from Presence,” Riyaz Motan. We talk about relating from an embodied, being-at-home place, and the many wonders and pitfalls of working, and ultimately being, with others.”
~ Liam Bowler