My path to an embodied practice
after years of practicing yoga that focused on specific alignment, peak postures and attaining spiritual enlightenment, the first time i discovered embodiment was like taking my very first breath.
a huge wake up call that had a profound impact on my entire understanding of movement, and changed the course of my yoga trajectory forever.
i’d been to many classes over the years that felt misaligned to how i was feeling, or how my body was asking me to move. cues that felt jarring. adjustments that felt unsafe. breath that was forced.
and whilst i still got the buzz from being on the mat and part of a community, it wasn’t until i experienced a more somatic-based approach to yoga that i really unlocked what movement could be.
it felt like something had clicked into place, and the 4 walls i had been hiding behind had suddenly blown open to reveal a universe of POTENTIAL.
the only way i can describe my path to an embodied practice is as a waking up. like i had been sleepwalking most of my life; going through the motions and ticking the boxes, until someone (literally) shook me back into being.
i went from a practice that directed every specific instruction, breath, and body part, to being asked - “what feels right for you?”, and “what happens if you try this?”
language was emotive, sensitive, descriptive. there were no scripts being regurgitated, or strict breaths being counted, but soulful lessons based on felt and lived experience.
movement became about regulation and response, rather than performance or aesthetic. it was messy and imperfect and real.
there was no hierarchy, competition or perfection, but an invitation to honour the body. to listen, feel, sense, trust and respond to the inherent wisdom that already resides within.
practicing in this way became liberating. an open invitation to do whatever you needed to in that specific moment; get upside down, shake things out, slow down, speed up, take a rest, find stillness.
a recognition and a remembering that the only guru you will ever need is you - no one can possibly ever know your body, your nervous system, your patterns, traumas or experiences better than you.
there is nothing you need to fix or control to reach a higher realm. you are already there.
and through an embodied practice that reminds us of this, we can not only come back HOME to ourselves, but NOTICE the ripple effect this creates in the world around us.
the world needs MORE awake and embodied people in it right now.
are you ready to JOURNEY IN?
