[While I’m on creative sabbatical through the end of the year, I’m pulling some of the most popular posts from the archives and sharing them again. Today’s post was originally written in March of 2012. I also have a special announcement so make sure to scroll all the way down for the exciting news!]
I had coffee Monday morning with pleasure catalyst and fabulous new friend Kerrie Blazek. As she told me about a weekend retreat that had put her deeply in touch with her body, one thought circled my brain, demanding to be heard:
The body is the foundation.
If we’re not in our bodies, we’re not in the moment. If we’re not in our bodies, we’re cut off from one of the biggest information centers and conduits of sensation and Love in the capital “L” sense of the word.
We are born knowing this, knowing that our bodies ground us in our lives. As infants we don’t need to think to know if we’re hot, cold, hungry, or needing to be held. Our bodies tell us. As a dancer, my body was my vehicle for expression. As I began working in physical theater I needed to know my body even more intimately as there was no choreographer to move me across the floor – every note that was hit, every word uttered, my body responded to from impulses deep within. My body was my tool and my craft.
Then I quit. I cut it off. Shut it down. Left it behind in favor of my mind. And I was miserable. It’s taken years to recover, finding my way back into myself slowly, searchingly.
The body is the foundation. If we are not present in our bodies, we are not fully alive.
It doesn’t matter what your body can do, what matters is that you live INSIDE of it. Embody your life. Embody your love. Feel life – taste it, touch it, experience it all through your body.
It can be terrifying. Our bodies hold memories we’d prefer to forget. They are scarred and wounded, vulnerable and strong. They are powerful beyond measure. As is our mind. But a mind disconnected from its body tells half-truths.
So many of us ache to escape what we see in the mirror. We judge it, berate it, cut ourselves off from it. We over-feed and under-adore. We struggle to make peace. Many religions and spiritual practices tell us to distance ourselves from our flesh, tell us that heaven is only reached when our body dies, tell us that to connect with the spirit realm we have to go up and out. I say the way to heaven is both in and through the physical. I say in order to be truly awake, we have to be able to live inside ourselves, deeply connected to our own inner wisdom. Our bodies are miracle babies, a union of Nature and the Divine. They speak powerfully. It’s time for us to listen.
What is your body telling you right now?
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And now for the news…I’m excited and proud to announce that I’m featured in the new book, Watch Her Thrive, out today! Inside you will find 83 stories of hope, courage and strength. Contributors include Jennifer Louden, Marci Shimoff, Tara Mohr and many other wonderful writers.
The book and the Watch Her Thrive Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving women who have survived rape or domestic violence, are the work of my friend Kimberly Riggins. All proceeds from the sale of this book will go directly to Women for Women International, a charity working with socially excluded women in countries where war and conflict have devastated lives and communities.
Grab your copy today (Nov 12 only!) and receive over $1000 worth of bonuses as well as helping give back to women in need. Check out the bonuses here (the next round of Shine is included!). Of course you can buy the book anytime after today too and feel good about doing good.
Click here to find out more and order your copy now!
P.S. In the book I’m sharing a very vulnerable story I’ve never written about publicly before. I’m taking lots of deep breaths and trusting that it will help someone, somewhere, feel less alone.