What is embodied wisdom and why use it in self care?
We ground in the senses of the body to root our experiences in the here and now, to tap into a less cognitive form of wisdom and to move forward from a place of honesty and integrity. Embodiment wisdom practises can be interwoven into the self-care sessions and workshops we have together.
I started working more with the idea of embodied wisdom as it was a significant part of my Art Therapy training. It seems like a grand title but it’s actually very simple.
When working in our sessions together, I pay attention to the whole of who you are. Our minds are fabulous machines that allow us to reflect back and tie the pieces of our stories together. Our minds also help inspire us into what may be possible in the future. We often spend much time in our heads, rehashing the past or daydreaming about the future. There are times when this seems perfect.
But there are times when we need to consider more than just our minds, but our bodies as they move through space and our senses as they take in the world around us. We have a whole range of senses that are providing us with information all the time.
Our bodies are often more in the present moment as they take in the direct environment around them. As for our senses, we have such valuable information being screened and sifted through this skin of ours.
What does embodied wisdom feel like?
Sometimes things just smell off. Sometimes we get an impulse from our guts. Sometimes we have a hunger to do more. Sometimes the tone in someone’s voice just sounds off.
In our sessions together, we might pay as much attention to our embodied wisdom as the connections we are making with our minds. Things get really interesting when something comes out of our mouths and our whole body tingles or moves in some way. We interconnect all our senses and allow the whole of us to respond, translate and navigate.
These practices allow us to explore at a much deeper level the places we find ourselves in life. It also helps us connect into a deeper wisdom about the changes we are experiencing and allows us to develop a highly personalised understanding of our way forward.
