Mina Roustayi

Mina Roustayi, PhD, values learning as a universal, essential life skill accessible to some individuals more so than others through no fault of their own. Research shows that learning is not an isolated activity of the mind, but that it is dependent on emotional and physiological wellness.

As a neuro-integrative learning specialist and licensed educational therapist, Mina is dedicated to nurturing embodied learning. Her years of teaching and research confirm that the ability to learn is a full mind-body endeavor. However, schools usually emphasize academic performance and behavior with rewards or punishments.  Many students are discouraged and often wounded. Performance anxiety has cost many the joy of learning, even leading to school avoidance. School phobia, or school refusal, is underreported, and without a specific formal diagnosis, it goes largely untracked. Many wounded learners struggle with self-worth, motivation, anxiety, depression, and other stress-related conditions throughout their lives. Learning anxiety can lead to wide-ranging adaptive behaviors, including dropping out of school, addiction, and suicidal ideation, which have been rising at alarming rates.

It does not have to be this way. Mina teaches fluid cognitive, emotional, and physical learning in an embodied way, one-on-one, in person, on Zoom, or in educational settings. As an integrative learning specialist, she partners with individuals, institutions, and families. She invites them to experientially integrate mind and body through awareness and applied processing practices. Individuals create a uniquely embodied roadmap of themselves and unite their personal and cognitive intelligence into embodied and resilient learning.

Mina’s strategies for learning fortitude are both verbal and non-verbal. She speaks 5 languages—English, Spanish, French, German, and Farsi—and she is developing a 6th language, Polyvagal-ease. It is a restorative, body-mind intelligent language that Mina models proactively in trainings, presentations, and in her work with individuals of all ages in attuned, relational partnerships for them to unlock their full potential and thrive.

In addition to her credentials in education, Mina has had years of immersive intercultural lived experiences abroad and trainings in trauma-responsive body-mind modalities. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, a certified FSPM Facilitator, a Polyvagal-informed Focusing-Oriented Professional (PFOP), and a Transforming Touch Professional. Mina’s non-verbal approaches feature sound therapy as a Unyte-iLs Associate, who facilitates Safe & Sound Protocol, Focus System, and Rest and Restoration Protocols. Last but not least, Mina holds a Ph.D. in art history that sustains her work with depth and creativity. 

Please visit her website, https://wecanlearn2learn.com, and her YouTube channel for families, individuals, teachers, and caretakers on advanced education-related interviews with experts on neurosavvy learning and mind-body wellness. She is available as a dgest speaker for presentations, trainings, and panel discussions.