Practical Magic: 3 Practices to Become Embodied (and why it matters)
Embodiment practices are so potent and powerful that you could consider them a form of practical magic. In our western world, it’s easy to become disembodied because our culture puts such an emphasis on the mind that it disregards the body.
We don’t have to look far to see how it’s infiltrated even the way we speak:
“Mind over body!”
We see this in religion.
“…the body is dead because of sin.” (Romans 8:10)
“The natural man is an enemy to God.” (Mosiah 3:19)
There is danger in this type of split between mind and body. When we disassociate with our bodies, we can disown ourselves and our physical experience.
In Rebecca Solnit’s book The Faraway Nearby she has a moving essay about leprosy and pain. When people with leprosy stop feeling pain, they begin to disassociate from this part of their body.
“… pain and sensation define the self; what you cannot feel is not you; what you cannot feel you do not readily take care of.”
“Your self is what you feel, and for those with leprosy that sense of self retreated … as the extremities went numb.”
Of the body, Osho says in his book, Tantra — the Supreme Understanding:
“The body is your basic truth, so never be against the body. Whenever you are against the body, you are going against God. Whenever you are disrespectful to your body you are losing contact with reality, because your body is your contact, your body is your bridge. Your body is your temple.
“Tantra teaches you to reclaim respect for the body, love for the body. Tantra teaches you to look at the body as the greatest creation of God. Tantra is the religion of the body.”
In the VITA Coaching Methodology I work with, we work with the body mind, referring to the wisdom that is inherent in our bodies, the consciousness that lives in the body.
In the west, all day long we live in our minds, so the body may go offline as a result. It may be hard to feel sensation in the body, to recognize it as you. We are at risk of not caring for our bodies, this part of us that we have disassociated from.
Here are three practical magic tips to help you become embodied.
Practical Magic Tip 1: Butterfly Hug
Cross your arms over your chest, with opposite hand resting on opposite shoulder.
Alternate tapping on your each shoulder. This bilateral cross-body kind of touching will help to bridge the divide between the right and left side of the brain and body.
When I do this, I can feel my body come back online.
(See me demonstrate the butterfly hug on an Instagram reel!)
Practical Magic Tip 2: Claim your body as yours