EMBODIMENT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is Embodiment, and Why Be More Embodied?  

 

Many of us have lived outside of our bodies without recognizing it.

 

The signs of it become obvious to us; lifelessness, meaninglessness, unhappiness, angst, and illnesses. Anat Baniel, author of “Move into Life” said that even small changes in attention to our body will result in vibrancy.

 

Embodiment is at least in part living with more vibrancy and presence. When we are not embodied, chances are we are living habitually and automatically, which leads us into habits, addictions and  other dependencies.

 

The process of disembodiment is gradual, it begins early. Because it is  gradual, it goes unnoticed.

 

We grow to be more connected to concepts, memories, and meanings, and less connected with our beingness. It may seem painful to move from a disembodied state to an embodied state.  We unconsciously resisit. Did we move from the body because the environment was somehow too hot to handle?  

 

But as we retreated, we also sacrificed vitality and the joy of living. The process of reoccupying one’s self is gradual, and there are a multitude of approaches. The most popular today is Hatha Yoga. However, yoga  practiced habitually is no longer yoga.

 

The key to yoga is attention and exploring body and sensation in greater detail. So often, our sensory-motor circuitry is sleeping. We wake it up by educating it, by noticing what is happening and beginning to see connections with our being; how we live in this world, and by beginning to engage in the soupiness of life.

 

Do we want to want to pull away from uncomfortable experiences?  Or can we choose to move toward discomfort  with a combination of curiosity and love. This practice alone changes lives. 

 

Both the practices of Kum Nye and Psoma Yoga focus with a gentle precision and kindness into the body. These practices provide great hope for us, not only individually, but as a culture.