I recently had someone say to me, "what do you mean when you invite me to 'be in the present'? I'm right here, aren’t I? How can I not be in the present?"
And while it is true that your body IS always here, as a noun, a “thing”, it is not always actively present as a verb. The body is always trying to be actively present right here in this moment as a living, sensing, moving being because that is how it was designed, however, without an active practice of allowing your body to be fully living, sensing and moving (known as the act of embodiment) your mind can easily convince your body that it is NOT in the present. This is because we’ve all been deeply deeply trained to disconnect from the body and to let our Selves be led by the mind. Without practice the physical Self can lose its ability to stay connected or return to the present real experiences of this moment, and will yield to your mind’s beliefs and thoughts of the past or of the future as IF these are what is real right now, while they are not.
While this experience of feeling the past or future as if it is happening right now can be a wonderful way to relive and reconnect with the sensations of a fond memory or to anticipate a future hoped for event, it can also be the foundation for incredible unease and dis-ease in the body, especially if one’s memories or expectations are of danger and overwhelm.
As a somatic movement therapist, I believe that deepening one’s capacity to actively BE in the body as a living, breathing, sensing, moving experience with more and more ease is essential for spiritual, physical and mental health.
Because I believe this, I invite you to consider prioritizing the practice of embodiment in your life.
What does that mean, you might wonder?
Let’s explore!
if you would prefer to explore with video support, check out these videos on my Youtube channel, and if you like what you see, please subscribe!
Checking in: Experiencing the Body in the Present Moment
Otherwise, I invite you to join me now in this written guided embodiment practice:
I invite you to Pause.
Right now.
I invite you to stop reading for a moment and let yourself notice where your mind's focus is, without judgement.
And when you return to this reading, I invite you to give yourself permission to take note - was the thing your mind was focused on about you and the environment you are experiencing right in this moment or was it about something that is outside of what was actually present in the moment?
Whatever you noticed, I invite you to let go of anything the mind is focused on that is not right with now, in this moment.
I invite you to let your mind practice focusing on the experience of the breath and then let the experience of your breath soften. Let your breath go.
let your eyes gently close or rest softly on an object on the room that causes your body to feel neutral or pleasant or safe, until you are ready to return to this guided practice.
As you return to the reading, I invite you to let go of any thoughts that arose and pulled you out of this present and then return your awareness to your breath. Let it go with a gentle sigh, and perhaps a yawn
invite your focus to shift from reading at the end of this paragraph and to shift to the experience of your physical weighted body being supported right now. Feel the experience of being in contact with the bed or the couch or the chair or the floor and, ultimately, by gravity. Notice the sensations you notice. Allow yourself to soften into the support and, when ready, allow yourself to continue to feel the support when you choose to return to the reading.
As you return to the reading, I invite you to honor the sensations you are noticing, even as you read. Be curious. Again, shift your attention from this reading after this paragraph and give your sensations and all your body parts permission to move, if that is what they desire in this moment. Give them permission to breathe and sigh and sound. Give them permission to open and/or close, to stretch or to tighten. Repeat this until you feel a little bit of satisfaction, a little bit of ease, a little bit of ease, until your body is ready for your eyes to return to reading.
Give yourself permssion to let go some more.
Each time a thought comes up that is not about this moment, let it go.
Invite yourself to let go of reading to return, over and over again, to the practice being present with the sensations of the experience of your breath moving into and out of your body, and the sensations of the experience of your physical body receiving the grounded energy of the planet, and with the sensations of the experience of what you are seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching, in this present moment, even as your also focusing on reading this blog post.
I invite you to give yourself permssion to practice being present with yourSelf and your physical environment right now for as long as you desire.
And when you decide that the time to finish reading this blog post and exploring this practice with this guidance, I invite you ask yourself these questions:
”Do I feel any different - in my spirit, my body and/or in my mind?”
“Has anything changed from when I started reading this blog?”
“Did I feel any challenges?”
I’d love to hear your answers. Whatever you experienced, please know that this practice is not only valuable, but essential for spiritbodymimd health!
If you’d like more guided support in your practice of living, breathing, sensing and moving more fully and with more ease - whether as an individualize or in a group - please contact me for more information.