What Is Embodiment and Why It Is Important Right Now
When things seem so uncertain, and the world turned upside down, there can be a rise in confusion and anxiety about what is to come.
We live in a world where things have been hidden, and we don't always know who to believe. We have been taught for thousands of years that the answers lay outside of ourselves, and we have to turn to others to find those answers. That we have to go through someone else to connect to divinity... this couldn't be further from the truth.
The answers are, and always have been, within us.
Embodiment isn't an easy path or something that comes naturally for many of us. Sometimes, and more often than not, it takes years to undo the conditioning and programming that we have grown up in...
play small
keep quiet
don’t be “too much”
give power to others when making decisions
This is actually pretty 'normal' for our time, but I do see that this is changing and it is changing because we are reclaiming our own truth and sovereignty more and more as a human race. I see more and more women who are ready to live from their own deep, innate inner wisdom. Who are ready to understand their bodies, to feel their own energy, maybe for the first time, and when they do, it is a powerful force that they almost always choose to follow. This choice makes a huge impact in their lives, creating a ripple effect not only in their lives but in all the lives of the women and girls in their life.
What is Embodiment?
You might be wondering what embodiment actually feels like or looks like.
Philip Shepherd explains it in a way that I think you might like. He says that "Embodiment isn't about sitting in the head and paying attention to the part of you we call the body—it's about fully inhabiting the intelligence of the body and attuning to the world through it. It's about listening to the world through the body. It's about feeling the world through the breath. For our purposes, then, we might say that embodiment is a state in which your entire intelligence is experienced as a coherent unity attuned to the world. In that state, any distinction between 'mind' and 'the body's energy' becomes meaningless."
The impact of true embodiment, during this time, is important because it allows us to feel inside of ourselves. To have gnosis (an inner knowing - or - intuitive spiritual knowledge that comes from knowing your 'self') of what is true and what is false for us. It opens up our perceptions. We gain our strength in our voice and in our inner knowing so that not only do we see our truth, but we can also speak it and speak up for what isn't in our highest alignment.
When we stay grounded and connected to our own feminine wisdom (regardless if you are a man or woman), we realize that what we are searching for outside of ourselves it already within. We just need to make time to go within to find our answers. We know our YES and our NO, and if we don't, then all it takes is going a little bit deeper.
Embodiment is something that has to be experienced in order to really understand it, but the importance of it is huge, and the impact that it makes is a change that is needed now. During a time when where our world is going seems so uncertain, having the ability to access and live from our own internal compass is the key to moving through it in an empowered and heart-centered way.
Awareness of your body serves as this compass to help you feel more in charge of your life, and learning how to listen to and trust your body's signals is key.
Like most of us, I can become very disconnected sometimes. I find that I disconnect when I am trying to do too many things at once or if I'm sitting in front of the computer for too long. Often I see people disconnect and zone out when they are watching television too.
The truth is, it is easy to disconnect from ourselves.
When I do feel that I have become disconnected, I come back to my center through a mindfulness and movement practice that immediately shifts me back into my own embodied awareness.
If you sometimes find yourself in this same situation of disconnect, then I can offer you a simple practice.
Take a moment to check in with yourself.
What do you feel inside of your body?
Feel your heartbeat. Notice your breath.
Are there any areas of tightness or tension?
Are you aware of any emotions, and if so, where do you sense these emotions in your body?
Then self regulate according to the answers to these questions.
Maybe you need to move, or stretch, or adjust your posture. Maybe your body is craving some embodied yoga or movement. Maybe you are hungry or need a drink. Maybe you need a quick power nap.
Train yourself to check in with your sensations on a regular basis. This will help you become more and more attuned to your inner nudges and awareness, and little by little, that inner voice will become louder and more noticeable, and it will be easier to pick up on.
You have all of the answers within you, you always have. All you need is just to re-learn how to listen and to trust.
My Shamanic Feminine Embodiment Sessions can help further detox yourself of old limiting self-perceptions so that you can step into the next version of you!
AUTHOR: Tamar Gail is an OSYL Shamanic Priestess & Teacher of Feminine Embodiment. She uses her studies in Sacred Female Yoga, Shamanic Healing, Tantra, Coaching, Women’s Healing Arts & Feminine Mysteries to help you awaken and integrate the gifts and powers that you already embody. Together you can unravel the beauty and wisdom already within you. She is here to guide you to living a life aligned with your highest potential.
Find out more about Leanne and her services HERE.