What Does It Mean to Be Embodied?

Embodiment is one of those buzz terms getting tossed around the psychology and wellness world right now, but what does it mean and why should you care? 

When you are embodied, you feel that your body is your home.  You feel safe and connected with all parts of yourself.  You are able to feel and identify your emotional and physical sensations.  You are able to self soothe, because you know how you feel and what helps you to shift this feeling.

These might seem like really common sense things.  If they are for you that is amazing!  For loads of people though, being present within the body is not something that comes naturally and actually takes a lot of really hard work.  We may have spent years hating our bodies, denying feelings that were overwhelming or outside of our control. 

It is common for trauma survivors to not recall a time that they have ever felt comfortable or safe in their bodies.  This is slow, hard work to bring yourself back home when the territory is completely unfamiliar.  My favourite way that I work with people to do this is through yoga.  Not your typical, Vinyasa flow, downward dog, pretzel flexibility yoga.  Slow, gentle, at your own pace, we do together yoga.  Yoga where you turn inward and really notice how it feels to turn your neck.  Yoga where you can remind yourself the whole way through that you are on your mat, taking care of yourself, at your pace, however it all might look.  You only notice your breath if you want to.  This is a yoga with a complete lack of expectations, detached from all the outcomes.  Allowing yourself to just be rather than trying to be better leads to unexpectedly beautiful embodiment.

Embodiment gets you in touch with who you were before someone else told you who you are. – Alison Post