Thoughts on Embodiment

Image / dolgachov

The term "embodiment" gets thrown around quite a bit these days, perhaps to the point of diminishing it's power. I think of it as being and expressing externally what is real and alive internally. It's a powerful practice for anyone but small children to undertake - MOST of us have been trained out of this kind of connected engagement with self and world.

Even without the kinds of severe or complex trauma that create a true lack of affect display, most of us have limited our ability to both feel and express over time: we start by holding our breath and/or changing our breath patterns, in order to hold back tears or words or rage.

This holding demands and creates a posture, in order to sustain itself. If the demands on our emotional editing were repetitive or consistent over a long period of time, the physical holding becomes fixed, it becomes our shape, our steady posture.

Without challenge, that posture will remain and harden, limiting what we are able to express to the world externally, and also the range of what we are able to feel internally. A real loss.

And being embodied is deeply related to being honest and trustworthy, within ourselves and within our connections with others. If what is being felt and experienced is being expressed and shared, then - even when it's messy or uncomfortable - real relating occurs, there is LIFE in the connection, and there can be learning and growth and vitality for everyone involved.


Dana Wyss Healing Arts
Breathe deeply, practice often, be well.
http://www.danawyss.com/