In this podcast, we explore what “Finding Center” may mean—in mental, spiritual and physical forms. Along the way, we meet horse whisperers, hula hoopers and Muslim astronomers reconciling their senses of balance and center.

I: Finding Yourself in the Reflection of a Horse

Kelly Eide, CEO of TRUE Middle East: She combines a 20+ year corporate career, as a corporate strategist and organizational business architect working with multinationals such as Johnson & Johnson and United Arab Emirates-based businesses such as Dubai Holding, with expertise in innovative experiential development in her engagements as a master equus coach and executive coach and mentor. Eide’s leadership development work with horses has been featured on the BBC Middle East Business Report as well as Dubai One’s Studio One.

II: Finding Peace in a Hula Hoop

Teeba Alkhudairi is the founder of Flowground, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first and only flow arts center. A biomedical engineer by education, a graduate of Harvard Business School, a certified Elemental Hoop dance instructor and chief hoop fairy at Flowground, Alkhudairi wears many feathers in her cap. In her own words, “the power of the hoop is hard to see with the naked eye. It allows in its simplest form what is often restricted in our society—the freedom of self-expression and play.”

III: Reconciling Islam and Astronomy

Nidhal Guessoum is a professor of physics and astronomy and former associate dean at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. He received his MSc and PhD degrees from the University of California at San Diego; he has been a post-doc, a visiting professor or research associate at several world-class institutions; and he is widely published. Guessoum has written extensively on issues of science, education, culture, Islam and the Arab world. He has authored or co-authored many books and more than 150 articles (in Arabic, English, and French), including several ones in prestigious venues such as Nature. He has been interviewed in numerous international media, and he is a regular columnist for Gulf News and writes occasionally for other outlets.

*[This feature was originally published by Kerning Cultures, a partner institution of Fair Observer. Other podcasts can be found at the Kerning Cultures website.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.