This academic year, DRBU faculty introduced Embodied Learning class to the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts curriculum. Through activities like yoga, pottery, and cooking, Embodied Learning offers students the opportunity to explore the aesthetic, kinesthetic, and applied dimensions of the liberal arts, and to nurture a sensibility for the fresh perspectives, meanings, and insights these domains can enliven. We recently published a photo gallery of our students and community members taking part in Embodied Learning workshops throughout the fall semester. Now we want to offer reflections from our bachelor’s students on their experiences of this new course.

Anthony Santana (BA ‘27)

This addition to the BA curriculum has been a wonderful way to dedicate time to deepening my passion for pottery and hand building. Before my time at DRBU, I had fallen in love with ceramics classes in high school, so naturally, I was ecstatic to hear about the pottery studio on campus. However, my first year here I had trouble integrating studio time into my class and work-study schedule. Having pottery as part of the curriculum has allowed me to dive into this art form fully and to see the potential for craftsmanship.

At a two-dimensional level, this has been a chance for students to develop various artistic disciplines. However, in a more profound sense, we’re actualizing with far greater intensity the texts we’ve been reading in shared inquiry. For instance, when getting on the wheel or painting patterns on my pieces, I keep in mind Daoist philosophy. Thus, when I set up my workspace, I take deep breaths and empty my mind to the best of my capacity to become absorbed in what I’m creating. With this practice, I’m constantly discovering that art, like many other pursuits, does not require thinking—thinking about what it is, what it was, and what it will be. The highest form of art emerges when the artist and the art coalesce. These are the invaluable realizations that texts can only point to.

Saipriya Vallabi (BA ‘27)

Honestly, playing the piano has changed how I think about learning—by making it feel natural and personal. It’s not just about understanding music. It’s about feeling it. When I play, I feel relaxed, like I’m in a space where everything makes sense. There’s something effortless about having my fingers on the keys, almost like they’re meant to be there.

In a way, it has reconnected me to my past habits. I used to be ambidextrous, and playing the piano brings that back—it’s like my fingers and rhythm remember what they’re capable of. It’s not just about learning notes or techniques. It’s about feeling the music flow through me. My favourite part of piano is composing my own improvisations. 

Adam Valadez (BA ‘28)

I feel like my experience in pottery has allowed me to grow in ways I wouldn’t have expected. Pottery is a realm that I’m unfamiliar with, and it’s been fun exploring it more and more throughout the year. I feel that it’s a lot like the process of exploring our own realities. There’s so much that we don’t know, but if we look at the world with curious eyes, then it can be fun. I’m glad to have taken the leap into the realm of the unknown!

Nancy Cao (BA ‘27)

I took piano class for Embodied Learning this semester. It’s been such a humbling experience, as I’ve realized I’m not gifted at all when it comes to playing piano. It’s a challenge for me to remember and keep up with a piece of music without zoning out midway through. There has been more than one time I felt frustrated that led to ugly crying. But I’m truly grateful for our piano instructor, because she’s so gentle and encourages me whenever she can, despite all my flaws.

At the end I was able to recite the first part of “Fur Elise” by Beethoven. Even though I messed up a couple times during the final showcase, I still felt satisfied with it, because that one-minute performance represented my journey in learning how to be more patient. I learned not to judge myself harshly and not to cling to a goal that’s too far out of reach from what I’m capable of at the moment. Perhaps this is the most important outcome I got from Embodied Learning class: I don’t need to rush or compete with others. I just have to walk at my own pace and be content with whatever arises along the path.