Embodied Expressions is a practice grounded in body-based healing and the use of expressive arts to enable you to reach your goals.
What’s embodiment & why does it matter?
When we are babies, we are fully embodied beings. We live completely in our bodies and know what our bodies are feeling. We are able to let others know when we experience bodily sensations such as hunger or discomfort.
Over time, our experiences can leave us disconnected from our bodies. This might be due to growing up in a home where are needs were not accepted or valued (ex: “children should be seen and not heard”) or when we experience homes where things are so scary that facing our emotions would be overwhelming.
Any type of abuse can lead to disconnection with our bodies. If someone is physically harming or threatening us, it makes a lot of sense to not be in our bodies-the worst experiences of our lives have happened there.
Our experiences don’t even need to have been “abusive” to have created disconnection between our minds and bodies. For example, being told “clean your plate” can teach us to ignore our hunger/fullness signals. Being told to hug a family member we feel uncomfortable around can teach us to disregard natural self-protective strategies meant to keep us safe.
A lot can go wrong when we aren’t in tune with our bodies. It can lead to difficult relationships with food and trying to feel better through the use of sex, masturbation, or pornography. Rather than being able to identify and manage our needs, we can find ourselves in cycles of restriction and feeling out of control
Learning how to reconnect, identify, and express what we need is key to healing our relationships with ourselves and others. It’s what this practice is founded on. And the best part? We are all capable of doing it!
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