Originally published in TEACH Magazine, April 2026 Issue
By Lesley Machon
As a teacher, when a fifteen-second video clip makes your students lean forward in their seats, listening intently with bright eyes and bated breath, you don’t take that kind of attentiveness for granted. In my case, that’s what happened when I first showed one of Dr. Christine Gibson’s enlightening TikTok videos.
It was an explanation of the nervous system and how somatic techniques can help us attend to our well-being. Easy to understand and digest, without inaccessible jargon, Dr. Gibson’s content cut through the social media clutter to reach my students, meeting them where they were in the vernacular of a generation accustomed to screens.
Lesley Machon loves literature and the humanities and is passionate about bringing stories and ideas to life for students. She also serves her community as an interfaith chaplain at several hospitals and hospices. At the intersection of education and spiritual care, Lesley is deeply committed to helping people explore meaning and mine the depth of the human experience.
