3 reasons to include an embodiment practice to your self-care toolkit
You may have heard the term “embodiment practice” before but do you know what it really means? You’re not alone if you’re not sure and don’t know why it’s important to include one your self-care toolkit. An embodiment practice is designed to help you get out of your head and into your body. To feel instead of think.
There are so many different kinds of embodiment practices out there – Qoya, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, any practice that encourages you to connect with your body and stay with it. Even going for a walk can be an embodiment practice if you feel into your body and stay with it and your surroundings while you are walking. I encourage you to find the one that works well for you and here are my top 3 reasons why.
1. To quiet your monkey mind
As humans our brains are wired to be whirring away with thousands of thoughts every day. Some of these thoughts can be extremely negative and unhelpful. Add to that our modern technology which means that we rarely have a chance to shut off. We don’t allow ourselves to get bored. There’s always something new and shiny to look, watch or listen to. An embodiment practice will help you quiet the monkey mind and instead get you to focus on your feelings and how they show up in your body.
2. Can help you to work through long buried emotions
It’s well known that the body stores our emotions and trauma which can, in some cases, lead to issues like anxiety, depression, PTSD etc. Some embodiment practices can also help you to feel into your body and literally move through emotions you may have kept buried for a long time. Adding an embodiment practice that you engage in on a regular basis will aid your recovery tenfold, especially when done in conjunction with more traditional interventions for mental health issues, such as going to a psychologist.
3. Connects you with your intuition
Many of us are disconnected from our intuition, our innate knowing. Due to the fast pace of our lives it can be hard to work out what WE want. Even simple things like “do I want a snack?” or “do I want to go for a run?” can be extremely difficult questions to answer. Never mind trying to answer big questions like “should I date this person?”, “do I want to change careers?” or “what is my passion?” An embodiment practice will help you to connect to your deep inner knowing, enable you to really feel into your body and give you the answer.