What is Embodiment? Somatic Healing? and Why is it important?

 

Embodiment is learning the language of our bodies. Our bodies communicate to us on a sensation, emotional and feelings level; however in a culture dominated by patriarchy, capitalism, supremacy culture, and colonialism we have learned to turn down the volume and our internal sensitivity, on the wisdom that comes through and resides within the body. Embodiment is where doing becomes being, we are human beings not humans doing. This means that you are inhabiting yourself and allowing yourself to occupy your body, self-actualizing fully and coming into your essence, spirit, or fully divine self. 

 

Man-made systems of patriarchy, hypermasculinity, capitalism, supremacy culture and colonialism value the rational, logical, intellectual, thinking self, which contributes to all of our energy being drawn from other areas of our bodies up into the shoulder, neck, head and mind.  That concentrated energy is projected out into the world, causing us to become consumed with what others will think about us, what is the “right” thing to do, or how we are measuring up to the expectations of others. Because of this we tend to lose sensitivity to the lower half of the body from the neck down, and we turn down the volume, sensitivity, and value of what we receive from our hearts, our wombs etc. When we have little energy left in the lower half of our body we find ourselves confused and disconnected from the emotions or cycles that we go through. We may even describe ourselves as numb or disconnected.

 

This pattern of disembodiment shows up in every body regardless of race, class, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender identity, nationality; HOWEVER for those who have had to cut off parts of themselves to survive in a culture that values patriarchy, hierarchies, hypermasculinity, white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism there are more ways that we have learned to suppress, turn down, and shut down parts of ourselves to survive in these environments that do not affirm our existence, and there are less opportunities and physical spaces that offer room for us to return back to our bodies to experience more presence, safety, connection, belonging, dignity, and autonomy.  

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When we have all of our energy in our heads and out of our bodies we may experience: 

-An inability to feel our desires, or our truth

-An inability to make decisions 

-We make decisions based on societal expectations 

-Feeling dry or devoid of pleasure in the body

-Numbness or stagnation 

-Feeling a small amount of emotional bandwidth or struggle to identify how we feel

-We may turn to unhelpful patterns like drinking, negative food relationship, or other avoidance tendencies to cope 

-We may get into patterns of overthinking and going in circles with no resolution 

-We compartmentalize and cut off parts of ourselves 

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What this means for the body:

-not understanding what you are feeling

-feeling ungrounded 

-unsafe in the body

-unable to decipher inner wisdom and guidance

-dishonoring our bodies 

-our bodies being in chronic states of survival (flight, flight, freeze, appease, collapse etc.) 

-the development of stagnation, fatigue, tension and constriction in the body that keeps us stuck

-chronic illness, digestive issues, immune system issues, dis-ease