We live in a society that calls us out of our bodies from a very early age. Being required to sit still and quietly as young children, lest we be labeled troublesome or inadequate, sets a perfect stage for ignoring the body’s signals. Fast forward to our adult working lives, and many of us have jobs that hold similar expectations.

Layer trauma on top of it, and a culture that highly associates pleasure with escape: screens and substances provide entertainment and respite from stress without ever having to feel anything. It’s little wonder that it is very common for a gulf to exist between our everyday awareness and what’s going on in our bodies. We are largely disassociated from our somatic experience, often treating the body as a nuisance or a chore.

Many years ago, I underwent a period of trauma therapy, one of the impacts of which was to make me aware of my bodily sensations so I could learn to respond to them. As basic as that sounds, it opened a whole new world to me.

I came to understand that feelings really are physical sensations, and if I address them as they arose, my life was happier and healthier. Over time, I recognized that I frequently disassociated: overeating, being swept away with stress and worry, numbing out on my phone or in front of the TV.

And, as I meet my habit of disassociating with more constant connection to my physical form, I find I fall into those habits less and less. Or did, until my current stressful period. Because, of course, it’s not typically the pleasant sensations that cause us to flee toward the comfort of disassociation.

But that compassionate witnessing, the tethering to my body even when the heart and hips ache, has yielded unexpected benefits. Yes, I feel terrible, my heart is broken, I fear for what the future holds. AND I have both a strong sense of what I need to do and a connection to my inner voice unlike anything I’ve previously experienced.

With practice, I’m getting better at activating through my frozen moments. And when I find myself in dark places, I’m able to get out of them more quickly.

I am always touched when you share what’s going on in your bodies, even moreso when we have an opportunity to respond to whatever’s arising. I believe these are acts of profound self care, those moments when you tell me that a movement or pose is hurting your back or your knee and we address it.

Years ago, I came across the term “spiritual reparenting.” And that’s what I consider these practices of embodiment to be: opportunities to feel ourselves and respond to them. Opportunities to be our own best parent, healing old wounds and rebuilding self-esteem in the process.