Talk TO your body
Relationships are mutual. They need to go both ways to thrive.
Embodiment, at its core, is about being in active relationship with your body. For those of you who are familiar with my work, you’ll know that there are some fundamental pillars to active relating. These include mutuality, interest, curiosity, compassion, and expression. When I teach about being in relationship to your body, this does not just mean your body talking to you. It also means you learning how to talk to your body.
The essential need in embodiment is relationship.
One of the traps I notice about embodiment is that there is an inclination to push listening TO the body. However, being relational to your body is a two way street. There is a tendency to need to learn “how” to listen to the body without recognizing what may come easier or require less push. Talking to the body, for many of you, may be much simpler than taking that quieter more prolonged time to listen to the body that so often involves a leap of faith into the unknown.
A lot of times what we struggle with in relationship with others is also a struggle within ourselves. These struggles show up in our embodiment. How we embody reflects your ability to be in relationship with self, others, and the divine.
Example: If you find yourself having a hard time finding compassion for others, perhaps you first need to learn how to give compassion to your body or your pain. If you over give compassion to others, there’s probably a part of your body that you refuse to check in with and be in relationship with that is fueling the urge to caretake.
Taking the time to form a mutual interest and connection to the body is essential to achieving deeper embodiment.
Today’s post is an invitation to remember that you have the power to be in deeper relationship with your body through talking to it, emoting towards it, and being curious about what it needs to hear. Your body needs communication towards itself just as much as you may need words sometimes to clarify path, intention, or desire to move in the outside world.
I know that the holidays are busy for most people. Instead of writing too much more (the longer post I have been working on is going to wait until next week to go out!), I’ll keep today’s post short and simple. Watch the video included in the post if you want a directed experience of talking to your body. If that doesn’t feel right, just try it on your own and see how it goes.
