Embodiment: Heal Trauma and Strengthen Your Intuition

This picture is not about yoga. This isn’t me trying to show off some asana or skill. This is me getting embodied after weeks of healing and recovering from something I could have avoided. It wasn’t until midway into my 30s that I began learning about embodiment (creating awareness and connection with the body). Until then, I’d spent most of my time in my head, never in tune with my body or aware of what it was telling me. I didn’t know the rich knowledge and amazingly keen intuitive compass I possessed right within this vessel. After not listening long enough, my body cried out loud enough that I finally heard, and in the form of a cancer scare. 

The combo of childhood trauma, fear of being myself, stuffing down my feelings, and ignoring signals from my body, on top of being raised to be hyper-masculine and completely ignoring my feminine energy, it all started to take its toll.  Add in a bunch of unhealthy coping strategies and you have a recipe for disaster.

Even though I took control of the direction of my life, faced and integrated my shadow (all the repressed parts of myself), hired my own coach, and dove in completely to my own self-improvement, including learning about embodiment work, the physical damage was there and a lot of deep shit still needed to be processed and transmuted. For me, it took a scary scare to fully go there. To go deep.

Some patterns are soooo deeply engrained, and some people (ahem) are really stubborn…

So many physical issues are caused by holding things in, not processing, and not listening to the subtle cues our body gives us.  Not everyone is destined to develop some scary oh-shit moment or health scare, that’s not what I’m saying, but I am saying that the longer you go not listening to your body and not healing your wounds, the harder it can be on your body.  There is so so SO much wisdom available to you right inside your own body, and allowing yourself to feel and process gives you so much freedom from your past, puts you more in touch with your intuition, and creates more health and balance. 

A Bit on Trauma and The Body

The NIH’s definition of trauma states “Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being”.  A traumatic event can be any situation where you had an emotional response and were unable to properly cope or process the event.  It becomes a wound, and it becomes stored in the body and is often relived in the present in various ways.  Often when we don’t have the resources or tools to properly heal our traumas and nervous systems, we cope by disassociating, overthinking, and worse, all of which lead to chronic stress.  Chronic stress exposes us to elevated cortisol levels (stress hormone), which can weaken our immune system and make us vulnerable to health issues. 

Chronic, unresolved stress and trauma impact emotional and physical health and well-being.  Embodiment and somatic awareness can help.  A lot!

Embodiment is the Path to Healing and Wholeness

Through embodiment work, I’ve learned to listen to the faintest messages. To trust the inner guidance. To tune in as often as I can. To love this body - the strength and wisdom it provides. The picture above encapsulates the moment I was cleared to move my body again and dropping into heart-opening, chakra-aligning, feminine-goddess-movement was such a treat.

The word embodiment is thrown around a LOT, but it really is so good to understand what it is and know how to apply it.  Between walking around on autopilot much of the day, carrying around old, unresolved traumas, and spending most of our time in our heads analyzing and processing, we’re often so unaware of what’s going on in our bodies….meaning, we’re disembodied.  Our bodies hold so much wisdom and information, store unprocessed hurts and emotions, and notify us when something isn’t quite right. 

When we ignore its signals enough times, or stuff things down rather than processing them, we may end up developing some kind of illness or physical condition.  On the other hand, when we listen to our body’s wisdom, we’re able to make choices that are better for us physically, energetically, emotionally, etc., and begin to heal our past wounds. 

Embodiment Practices to Try for Healing Trauma and Strengthening Intuition

• Mindfulness:  The act of getting present, which often means tuning into your body and therefore, into the present moment.  Noticing sensations.  Getting out of our heads.  There’s tremendous value in practicing mindfulness, including getting to know ourselves on a deeper level. 
  

• Breathwork: There are tons of options for breathwork, one of the simplest being box breathing.  Breathe in to the count of 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4.  Repeat. 
  

• Engage ALL of the senses: What do you see, smell, hear, etc. 
  

• Move your body!  Exercise, yoga, etc.
  

• Get out into nature.
  

• Grounding: Feel your feet on the ground, your arms on your chair, your chest rising and falling as you breathe.

Healing IS possible and embodiment is a GREAT place to start!

If any of this resonates with you, if you’re ready to go deep, to get vulnerable, to learn to listen to your body, reach out.  Embodiment truly is a key tool for healing trauma and strengthening your intuition. Sharing our stories and getting vulnerable is such an amazing part of the healing process, and I’m here for it!

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