002 Embodiment: How it works and why it matters

I hope you enjoyed last week's inaugural email. It's a pleasure and privilege to share my passion and life's work with all of you. Please let me know what you're enjoying, what'd you like to see more of, and if you have any questions by replying to this email.

I'll be including Q&A videos as a regular feature of the newsletter so send any questions related to embodiment, somatic practices, and energy healing here. I'll answer them directly or feature them in a video response!

Speaking of videos, make sure to check out the guided video meditation at the end of this email.

“Do not turn your attention elsewhere in your search for the Truth, for it is nowhere else to be found but within your body.” Eckhart Tolle from ‘The Power of Now’

The How's and Why's

Last week I got us started with an introduction to embodiment. Though it’s a term many of us have heard (and heard and heard), it’s hard to find a decent explanation of what it actually is and why it’s a big deal.

If you missed last week’s email or you’d like a refresher, you can find it here. I’ll be posting all past writings on this page and there will be a link to it in every email.

Anyway, we spent last week knocking on the door of embodiment. Now it’s time to open it up and take our first look inside. First, let’s review our definition of embodiment.

Embodiment is the ability to experience and influence physical, emotional, and cognitive states (including the subconscious) through the perception of subtle physical sensations throughout the body. 

Yup, still confusing. To make things easier, we’ll break this down into parts.
 

Part 1:

First we quiet our mind and put our attention towards our body. If we're patient and open-minded, subtle feelings will start bubbling to the surface. Common sensations include tightness, warmth or coolness, vibration or tingling, pressure, stuck-ness, movement and even numbness. 

Part 2:

Then we observe these sensations as gently as we can. They’re shy so we let them come to us. If we're receptive, they will open up and reveal deeper layers. Tightness in the chest may produce feelings of grief or anger. A tingling in the knees might stimulate worried thoughts. A feeling of warmth, movement, or space could give rise to joy, peace, or a fond memory. 

Great, but why does this matter?

By working with these subtle sensations, we are gaining access to the root of our physical, emotional, and cognitive experience. 

How is that possible?

These sensations in our body are actually produced by our energy system (aka energy body, subtle body, etc).

We are made of energy, which means our body, emotions and thoughts are made of energy too. Working with the subtle feelings in our body actually gives us access to the foundation of our whole being.

And here's the key:

The uncomfortable sensations (tension, heat, anger, fear, etc) are disruptions in our energy system that give rise to emotional and physical injury and illness.

Part 3:

When we keep these disruptions in our awareness, without any attempt to control or repress, they're able to be expressed and released by the body. Once the energetic disruption is released, the physical/emotional/cognitive issue can begin to heal.

This is A BIG DEAL.

Many of the most persistent and debilitating mental and physical conditions of our time (auto-immune disorders, chronic pain/fatigue, chronic depression and anxiety, gut problems, and many others) can be fully or partly treated by working at the energetic level.

And, with guidance, people can learn to heal these issues for themselves.

Sounds pretty straight-forward, right? It is...but also isn't.

There are a lot of cultural, interpersonal, and individual barriers that impede this process. I’ll spend next week talking about the personal obstacles we encounter when we begin this journey. The following week, I'll talk about how energetic disruptions are created in the first place.

Now that you’ve learned about how embodiment works, click the image below give it a try.

Enjoy and let me know what how it goes for you. See you next week!

Energetically,
David