How did we become so disconnected from our bodies?
How did we become so disconnected from our bodies?
It’s not just about understanding our past; freedom also comes from learning how to bring ourselves out of our heads and physically into the present.
I have these conversations with people so often, in the spaces I get to hold. And I totally relate. How did we get to a point where it can feel so unbearable just to be in our own bodies? If stillness practices are supposed to be so peaceful, why can they feel so torturous at times?
For as long as I could remember, I felt disconnected from my own body. Just being in the world often felt too much, so as a kid, I wished I was a little driver pulling the levers inside my own head. Up there all safe.
I was talking in a recent class about how any mention of ‘connecting to our bodies’ used to bring up a strange fear in me. Like it was something deviant, or embarrassing, or outrageous. Not something good girls do, that’s for sure.
It makes me sad that I was so afraid of being alive in this body I literally live in, wanting to stay firmly in my head. With my busy thoughts and convenient mental distractions, to pass the time with ‘doing’, rather than ‘being’. (Because how are we making ourselves ‘useful’ if we’re just sitting around content with being alive…?)
I didn’t want to feel anything out of my control. I didn’t even know how to feel. If I ever did feel anything, I certainly didn’t know what to do with it. Feelings were overwhelming. Numbing and distracting was, I believed, safer.
For any number of reasons, you may relate to this. There are many potential sources of pain and conditioning that can lead us to diminish our humanness, with no relationship to our bodies.
It’s so powerful when we learn how to become embodied. When we commit to staying with ourselves, being present in our bodies with deep quiet, tuning out all the mental chatter and the outside noise. Trusting our inner knowing and becoming more empowered to know that we have the answers we’ve been looking for. Maybe for our whole lives.
I LOVE supporting people to do this. To really meet themselves like never before. To find out what it’s like to stay the distance and push through discomfort, see what’s on the other side of fear.
I’m still on this journey too. We’re in it together. I can’t wait to be with more courageous, curious people who want more for themselves this year. 💛
