Be Here Now: When the Body Demands Embodiment
It’s a balmy 4 degrees Fahrenheit on this late winter morning and the sun is blissfully streaming through the bay window in my living room. I’m parked on the couch, fluffy dog friend snoozing next to me, legs propped up so they’re above my heart.
You see, a week ago, I stepped out to go for a walk and didn’t even make it to the end of our icy driveway. Down I went, giving my poor ankle a nasty fracture times three (trimalleolar, for the science nerds in the room). After a panicked phone call to my people inside, my family came out to retrieve me and we assessed the damage inside on the couch.
Yep, just as I had feared. It all looked really, really wrong and my nerves were on fire. I knew in my gut that I needed emergency attention, so off we went to the ER for care.
And thus began a whole new adventure in living in this human body of mine.
Growing up, I never went to doctors. My mother was a whole food nut and herbalist, and I’m pretty sure I ate more vegetables in a week than most kids eat in their whole childhoods. Her school of thought wasn’t the most enlightened (I’ve got another article brewing in my mind about this). But she tried her best and I came out pretty darn healthy.
Up until now, I’d only been to the hospital to visit sick friends, attend a handful of births, or to get blood drawn. I’d never had antibiotics in my life. And I’d certainly never needed surgery. But here I was, stepping into a world I’d only lived on the periphery of and never directly participated in.
I’ll spare you the long, process-driven story-telling and skip right to the part I came here to discuss: embodiment.
Embodiment: Connection with the Soul
What the heck is embodiment, really? It’s become a kind of buzz word, it’s true. It could be bordering on cliche at this point, but that would be unfortunate because it’s a truly beautiful concept.
The core of embodiment to me is about being really, truly all the way IN your body. In a culture that is so in love with the mind, this is easier said than done. We value reason and logic. Our bodily sensations are shushed up and our physical knowings and experiences are filtered through a culture that doesn’t understand the deep wisdom that the body holds.
The truth, as I see it, is that our bodies and souls aren’t different things. By getting into your body, you’re also grounding your soul. You’re being as authentically present in as much YOUness as you possibly can be. You’re digging into your center and tethering your sacred anchor there.
I’m not an embodiment expert. But I do live in a body and I’m an expert in that experience.
And so are you.
For the past few years I’ve found myself quietly pulled toward the body. All my life I’ve been hyper focused on using my mind. I’m good at intellectualism and I’ve never been quite as good at using my body. I sucked at sports as a kid, I’m scared of falling, and I’ve gone through plenty of phases where my body just felt awkward.
But now, at this midpoint in life, my body has been quietly and urgently calling me back home. I’ve had many gentle tugs and some of them I’ve followed. But the urgency didn’t quite make it onto my priorities. Until last Monday.
In that instant, I was called back into my body and out of my mind. Out of the worries of the day.
Fully present. Full attention.
Three days ago, I went through surgery to pin all the bones back together again. As someone very unfamiliar with being a patient in the dominant medical system and who leans super holistic in her beliefs, this was a radically different experience for me. It involved a lot of going with gut feelings, staying open to the process, and knowing that this experience was an invitation to break me open and soften me more into being fully present in my life.
Business + Embodiment
What does all of this mean for my business?
Well, I believe that every experience is a sacred opportunity to find more meaning and become more grounded in all that life is and can be. This particular experience has been a very loud demand from Spirit for me to put embodiment at the very top of my priority list. No more delays.
So you might see some changes around here in regards to my approach and offerings. As I commit to seeing my work through the lens of embodiment, I must shift to accommodate this different perspective and commitment.
As our world begins to feel more and more disconnected, embodiment invites us deeper into connection. It invites us into community. Into feeling. Into wisdom. Into being fully present with what is.
And so I’m here for it. Healing. Feeling. Connecting. Community-building.
Let’s come home to our bodies in all aspects of our lives. Only there will we find the wisdom that we need to heal our world and ourselves.
Everyday Embodiment for Healing
Since I’m me and I always prefer philosophy combined with focused action, I didn’t want to leave this article without a solid list of activities I’m working on while healing. So here are a few to spark your imagination. Healing through the lens of embodiment isn’t just about injury either. It’s a useful perspective for being well in all aspects of your life.
So here’s what I’m doing in my days while healing...
Holding acceptance and hopefulness at the center of my perspective in this journey — this is a challenging right of passage that I’ve been given to learn more about my edges and strengths, while also calling me into my body with softness.
Gentle rest and relaxation + permission to let the world go in my mind — I can’t be the go-getter business owner + mother I was last month and that’s okay.
Getting up lots to keep my circulation going and give me diversity of movement and scenery.
Drinking tons of fluids — teas, herbal infusions, water — even though it means I have to get up a lot (see above line for perks of that).
Gentle nature videos with relaxing music playing to help my nervous system feel held and soft.
Stopping often to pay attention to my injury and just listen to the sensations — what does my body need in that moment?
Lying on the floor for gentle, free-flow stretching to help with sedentary muscle cramping and promote general body bliss.
Listening to my hunger and thirst — what is my body craving and how can I give it the nutritional building blocks it needs to rebuild my bones?
Noticing — the way my dog’s soft ears flow against the couch pillow, the marbled sunlight streaming into a corner of the kitchen, how the tulips a friend sent over beautifully open each day, the way the pillows under my legs make my whole body feel held, the softness of the warm water lapping against my skin when I bathe, the caring hands of my family members as they bring food to me with love.
Allowing my mind to drift and then bringing it back to the present moment by anchoring my awareness in my cozy surroundings.
Noticing pain, sending it love, and accepting that pain is the body’s way of working through healing — and affirming that I am capable of being present in it without fear.
Finding ways to laugh and to bring humor into my days — belly laughs trigger oxytocin release, allowing us to generate more feel-good hormones.
Looking for ways to create more oxytocin in general — loving on my dog, asking for hugs from my family, eating food that is deeply comforting, setting up my surroundings for gentle joy, self massage, and finding little things that make me feel connected and happy.
Releasing the need to say “I’m sorry…” and instead saying “Thank you.”
Sinking into this vulnerability and allowing my children and partner to care for me for the first time ever (truly good for all of us).
Feeling in absolute awe of my body and how it always wants to heal — it’s truly a miracle to be alive in these magnificent bodies of ours.
Forgiving myself for not being present in my body when I fell and forgiving my body for not being made out of titanium — affirming that broken bones aren’t a malfunction but just another mystery in our body’s incredibly wise processes.
Letting this experience sink me deeper into acknowledging my own mortality and peeling yet another layer back in the process of death acceptance — not today but one day I’ll be asked to flow into the ultimate letting go…and it’s beautifully okay.
Quietly sitting and letting gratitude and present moment awareness wash over me — just being here now, in my life, fully alive, practicing deep self-love.
What would you add to this list? How have you brought embodiment into your everyday life and healing journeys?
