Movement, Mind & Gifted Souls
Interview with Katja Ujčič, Slovenia
1. As a yoga enthusiast and recreational ballet dancer, you embody a strong connection to the physical and creative self. How do movement and embodiment practices support the gifted mind in grounding, healing or expanding?
Movement has always been my language—first as a child through climbing trees in the backyard of my parent’s home, later through ballet and yoga. For gifted individuals, whose minds are often hyperactive and abstract, embodiment and connection to the body and to the body’s abilities and pains is essential. It offers grounding and structure to otherwise overwhelming inner experiences, which can often be misunderstood. Practices like Viniyoga, dancing, intuitive movement or just jumping and having fun at your favourite music, help regulate the nervous and energy system by working through the body - not against it. They support healing by anchoring the most primitive, reptilian brain in safety, calming the emotional brain, and allowing the cognitive mind to relax and function more freely. Movement, understood as a healing process, can become a gentle, subconscious language that processes stuck emotional or creative energy without needing to verbalize everything. It's especially important for those who struggle with overthinking, disconnection or emotional intensity.
2. In your view, how does the philosophy of Viniyoga align with your therapeutic approach to giftedness? Are there particular principles you find especially relevant?
Viniyoga aligns significantly with my therapeutic work because it emphasises adaptation to the individual, rather than fitting the person into a rigid system. This mirrors my approach to giftedness: no two gifted individuals are the same. Neither their experience nor their expression in the world. Each one requires a unique path to healing, development and empowerment. Furthermore, what I find especially valuable in Viniyoga is its multidimensional impact - it works on the physical, energetic, emotional and symbolic levels all at once. We don’t force trauma processing through verbal retelling; instead, we invite transformation through subtle, individualized sequences, creativity, breathwork and inner imagery. This creates a safe container for deep inner movement - without re-traumatisation. Viniyoga helps in many ways where traditional therapy cannot help anymore and is still lost. It addresses the most subtle, yet the deepest, parts of ourselves that are hard to reach, to understand and to heal successfully.
3. You’ve created a unique method that integrates multiple disciplines. Could you give us a glimpse into what a session might look like with one of your clients, especially a child or young adult?
Each session is deeply intuitive and adapted to the person’s current state and his or her history. For a child or young adult, I often begin just by connecting with them on a topic that is important to them. It could be Formula 1, football, cosmetics or any kind of subject. It is important for them to feel that they can be accepted fully, without judgment and criticism. If they are open, we do a lot of creative expressions - drawing, painting or storytelling - which allows subconscious material to emerge safely. Children like gentle breathing, physical exercises, and movement with meaning, as well as stories from their own narratives. We might also play special card games with fairy tales on them and develop a healing process. I may also incorporate guided meditations, journaling, or dream work with teens. Almost all love breathing that can be incorporated into their daily lives, for example, when they feel stressed before exams. The session closes with a small take-home ritual - like a drawing prompt, a breathing practice or a grounding movement - to support their inner process between sessions.
4. How can yoga practitioners or therapists better identify and support gifted individuals, especially when giftedness manifests as emotional intensity, anxiety or nonconformity?
First, we must learn to recognise giftedness. Which can be disguised as intensity, sensitivities, procrastination and see giftedness beyond just achievement and weirdness. Emotional intensity, existential questioning and sensitivity are not disorders—they are often signs of depth and gifted perception. In my opinion therapists and yoga practitioners need to understand the multi-layered experience of giftedness. When a gifted child expresses anxiety or intensity, it’s often a form of emotional intelligence that lacks grounding or context. Instead of trying to "normalise" them, we can support their inner experience through safe embodiment practices, symbolic work and environments that validate their complexity. Even more important is to recognize spiritual over-excitability that can often be misunderstood and even shamed by society, peers and also parents. I have many young clients who are spiritually gifted and in need of proper support and guidance, before they are lost in the world where spiritual intelligence is not recognised and respected. Recognising over-excitabilities (from physical, emotional, sensory to spiritual) - not pathologising them - is key. And creating a space where gifted individuals feel understood and celebrated makes all the difference.
5. What practices keep you grounded and connected to your own essence and creativity? Do you have a daily ritual or routine that nourishes you?
My opinion is that while all people are born with the possibilities of connection to their essence, some are born with a strong connection and don’t need a lot of routines to keep it, whereas some are trying hard all their lives and are still lost. I try to keep a deep connection to my body, my creativity and my soul. I also have regular supervisions with my mentors, which contribute to recognising my ego states and following the guidance of my essence. My personal practices include Viniyoga sequences, breathwork and meditation. I find great nourishment in walks in nature and in creative pursuits, like painting or sculpting. I also set aside regular time for silence, reflection and dream work. These moments are sacred - they help me reconnect with my essence, listen to the symbolic language of the psyche and renew my creative energy. My rituals aren’t rigid, but they are consistent and intuitive, evolving as I do. They play an important role for me, as a therapist, as a form of self-care.
6. If you could share one piece of advice, what would it be? And to whom would you address it?
I would share the Michael Meade quote: “Our greatest gifts and our deepest wounds reside in the same area". This message is not just for the gifted individuals who have felt out of place, misunderstood, or too intense, but for all of us. We are not broken or strange - we are complex beings and each one of us holds extraordinary potential. We have to honour our uniqueness, stay curious about our inner world and trust the creative process that unfolds when we stop trying to fit in and start listening within. Our depth is not too much. It’s our gift.