It should be simple. After all, we carry the body with us everywhere. Day and night, moving and still, we’re held together by cellular matter. We’re sinew and bone. Tissue and  tooth. Nail and hair. A complex array of joints, organs, muscles, limbs, veins, and blood pumping. And yet, commonly, and all too easily, the body is left vacant.

Our attention is elsewhere. It’s wandering in the land of infinite tomorrows. Planning. Dreaming. Hoping. Or, it’s caught up in yesterday’s joys and heartbreaks, the mind entangled with remembering and regretting. This was true some 2,500 years ago when the Buddha first taught about mindfulness of the body. And, it may be even more true today. Indeed, with our computers, tablets, phones, and watches all vying for our attention 24/7, it seems we are drifting further and further from the corporeal.

Why embodiment matters

Consider for a moment any time you truly felt joyful and alive. Perhaps it was while watching a sunset, climbing a mountain, making love, dancing, or following the birth of a child. I’m willing to bet that regardless of the past memory you’re conjuring, when I ask you where your mind was in that precise moment, you’ll tell me it was only absorbed with the experience itself. That it was neither caught up in remembering the past nor predicting the future. In other words, you were fully present.  

The reason for this is simple: vitality can only be known through the body. Any idea or thought about aliveness can’t compare with the actual experience itself.

And, unlike the mind, the body is ever present. Thus when we inhabit the corporeal, we’re brought into the now.

In addition to connecting us to the present, the body is the keeper of a powerful wisdom. When we tune into what it’s saying and honour it’s guidance, we can heal old wounds and become more healthy, confident, and self-possessed.

Understanding the reasons we leave the body

If inhabiting the body bestows a bounty of benefits, why do we leave? Though the specific reasons may vary from person to person, there are some universal experiences worth noting.

To begin, the biggest contention with the body for many is that it can’t be controlled. Like storms and earthquakes, moon cycles and tides, it’s a force of nature—governed by powers outside the reach of our influence. It’s subject to hunger, disease, age, emotion, growth, pain, and various other phenomena. The body may be under our stewardship, but it’s not ours to command.

And, for many of us, the most challenging truth of all is that the body is impermanent. Like all things in nature, it will grow, age, decay, and eventually die.

So, between our lack of control over bodily phenomena and the body’s impermanence, there’s plenty of scary stuff to contend with.

However, things can get even scarier when unresolved trauma is involved. (Note that the term “unresolved trauma” serves here as a useful shorthand to describe the ongoing impact of trauma that isn’t fully integrated. However, for many, trauma won’t easily fit into a binary of resolved and unresolved. It’s important to acknowledge that healing from deep wounds may involve ongoing cycles of integration and care.)

The fact is that traumatic experiences can leave a lasting imprint on the nervous system and become enmeshed with the body’s somatic awareness. Plus, the nervous system is likely to become dysregulated as a result, leading to a heightened sensitivity to stress and acute physiological responses to various stressors and triggers.

A variety of physical sensations and health conditions can be manifestations of trauma including headaches, migraines, gastrointestinal issues, chronic pain, and even a heightened sensitivity to touch. Typically, these issues will exist alongside psychological manifestations such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

If trauma is locked up within the body, however, and a person doesn’t yet have the resources to heal it, remaining in a disembodied state can become a key coping strategy.

For all these reasons, vacating the body is more common than not in many dominant cultures across the globe.

How we leave the body

Some people turn to alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications to escape . Other individuals turn to food.

Compulsively over-working, binge-watching TV programs, obsessively gaming, and excessively scrolling through social media posts are also common ways of leaving the body.

Still other individuals withdraw by creating emotional barriers or distancing themselves from people and situations that elicit strong feelings.

In extreme cases, individuals may resort to self-harm as a way to numb pain and protest the body’s perceived inadequacies.

How we can return to the body

Inhabiting the corporeal involves cultivating a connection with the body and enhancing awareness of somatic sensations, movements, and experiences. Here are some practices that can help foster embodiment:

Mindfulness meditation

A regular meditation practice can significantly enhance and help foster an embodied experience. By establishing a connection with bodily phenomena in the present moment, meditation can help you transform the way you relate to your body.

When first establishing a mindfulness meditation practice, one anchor or point of focus that’s often recommended is the breath. This can help direct attention away from wandering thoughts and toward physical sensations in the body. Often considered a foundational step, focusing on the breath helps cultivate a heightened awareness of somatic experiences, thereby building a holistic connection with the body.

Additionally, there are practices specifically designed to help meditators tune into corporeal sensations.  In particular, the body scan meditation, a practice that involves systematically directing attention to different parts of the body, trains your mind to notice physical sensations without judging or trying to change them.

This gentle exploration of physical sensations can help you become more attuned to your body’s signals. As you progress through the body scan, you develop the ability to observe somatic experiences without becoming overly absorbed by them. This can enhance your awareness of the mind-body connection and help you recognize how emotions and mental states manifest as physical sensations in different parts of the body.

Indeed, this type of meditation practice is valuable for developing greater awareness of (and compassion toward) your body.

As a whole, mindfulness meditation is largely about refining an awareness of the present moment, training the practitioner to observe their experiences with gentle curiosity. This framework fosters a direct and immediate engagement with bodily phenomena, sensations, and emotions.

Mindfulness practice also encourages individuals to recognize and acknowledge their thoughts and emotions as they emerge, without trying to change them. This awareness extends to identifying how psychological forces are mirrored in the body. The meditator may discern, for instance, that stress materializes as tension and joy evokes sensations of lightness.

Mindfulness practice also nurtures the integration of body, mind, and heart, highlighting the interconnectedness of physical, mental, emotional states. By embracing this integration, mindfulness contributes to a holistic sense of self-awareness, fostering an embodied experience.

Moreover, mindfulness encourages an open and accepting stance toward all experiences, including bodily sensations. This approach allows individuals to approach their physical self with compassion and acceptance, which in turn helps cultivate a positive relationship with their body.

As mindfulness practice advances, many practitioners report heightened body awareness. This entails increased sensitivity to nuanced shifts in bodily sensations, an amplified recognition of physical needs, and an increased capacity to heed the body’s cues.

Incorporating mindfulness into daily activities helps extend the practitioner’s sense of embodied presence beyond the meditation cushion. By developing a compassionate awareness of bodily sensations, both during everyday experiences and while meditating, you can facilitate the growth of a grounded and balanced sense of self.

Mindful movement

Mindful movement practices like tai chi, qi gong, yoga, and walking meditation can deepen your connection with your body and provide an avenue to explore embodied presence. These practices emphasize paying close attention to sensations within the body as it moves through space.

With focused awareness it becomes possible to tune into the subtleties in each individual motion, which may encompass contraction and expansion of various muscles, sensations of stabilization or balance, and feelings of fluidity within a particular movement or sequence. This type of exploration allows you to nurture your connection to the body.

Practising mindful movement typically leads to an increased awareness of the body’s patterns, strengths, and areas of comfort and discomfort. This heightened sensitivity will eventually extend beyond the practice itself and enrich your daily activities with a sense of embodiment. Plus, through consistent practice, you’re likely to become attuned to how your mental and emotional states influence your physical experiences, thereby fostering an integrated mind-body understanding of yourself.

In mindful movement practices, the breath is often synchronized with movement. This integration anchors awareness in the present moment, offering a bridge between the mind and body. As you co-ordinate your breath with various movements, you cultivate a heightened sense of being physically present.

Similar to other mindfulness practices, mindful movement encourages non-judgmental self-observation. Practitioners are invited to notice their experience without attaching labels of good or bad and foster a compassionate and accepting relationship with the body.

Incorporating mindful movement practices into your daily life can be transformative. By engaging in movement with awareness, presence, and self-compassion, you can create a bridge between your physical experience and your innermost self.

Several types of mindful movement practices foster embodiment by encouraging individuals to connect deeply with their bodies and the present moment. These practices emphasize awareness, breath, and the sensations experienced during movement. Here are some examples:

• Yoga involves engaging with a series of postures and breathing exercises. Practitioners focus on aligning the body and breath while noticing the sensations that arise during each pose. Various styles of yoga, such as Hatha, Vinyasa, and Iyengar, offer different techniques and modalities.

• Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that consists of slow, flowing movements and deep breathwork. Practitioners move mindfully through a series of choreographed sequences, fostering relaxation, balance, and a connection between body and mind.

• Qi Gong involves gentle movement, breath control, and meditation. It aims to cultivate and balance the body’s vital energy (qi) and promote awareness of the body’s internal sensations.

• Pilates focuses on controlled movements, primarily targeting the core muscles. Mindful attention is given to breath, alignment, and sensations experienced during each posture. This practice promotes body awareness and strength.

• Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, a system of movement re-education, emphasizes gentle movements and mindful awareness to improve movement patterns, flexibility, and co-ordination. As practitioners move, they’re invited to notice how muscles, joints, bones, and everything else works together to make movement happen. Then, they make tiny adjustments to see how that changes the movement. Through small adaptations, a deeper awareness develops and the ability to communicate more directly with the body is established.

• Dance meditation practices encourage spontaneous and expressive movement as a means of self-discovery and embodiment. Participants move freely, connecting with their emotions and physical sensations.

• Walking meditation involves mindfully walking at a slow pace and paying attention to the sensations in the feet as they move. It cultivates a deep connection with the act of walking.

• The Alexander Technique is a movement education technique that teaches skills for observing the habits of movement and teaches practitioners how to change their movement patterns to facilitate more efficient movement and better co-ordination. It focuses on posture, alignment, and the relationship between the head, neck, and spine. Practitioners learn to release tension and move with greater ease and awareness.

• Somatic movement practices, such as Body-Mind Centering and Hanna Somatics, involve slow and mindful movements aimed at enhancing body awareness and releasing muscular tension.

• Running may be approached as a mindful movement practice. Runners can pay attention to their breath, footfalls, and bodily sensations as they jog or sprint, fostering a deep connection with the body.

Incorporating mindful movement practices into your routine can help you cultivate a strong sense of embodiment. The key is to approach them with awareness, focusing on the breath, sensations, and specific movements as you engage in each activity. Over time, these practices can lead to a deeper connection between your mind and body, promoting a sense of well-being and presence.

Somatic therapies

Body-based therapeutic approaches emphasize the mind-body connection and focus on bodily sensations, movements, and experiences as a means of promoting healing, self-awareness, and overall well-being. Since they foster awareness of bodily sensations, these therapies can be highly effective in helping a person become more embodied.

Many somatic therapies involve techniques aimed at releasing stored physical tension and stress in the body. This can include hands-on bodywork, guided relaxation exercises, and movement practices that promote tension release.

Somatic therapies are particularly valuable for individuals who’ve experienced trauma. Since trauma often manifests in the body through physical sensations and symptoms, somatic therapy approaches can help people process and release the trauma stored in their body and facilitate healing.

Somatic therapies often teach individuals self-regulation techniques to manage stress, anxiety, and emotional distress. These techniques can include breathwork, relaxation exercises, and self-soothing practices.

Importantly, these therapies emphasize the integration of the mind and body, allowing individuals to recognize how emotions, thoughts, and memories are expressed through bodily sensations, thereby fostering a holistic understanding of the self.

This integrated approach to healing considers not only physical symptoms but also emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of well-being. Working with a qualified somatic therapist allows individuals to tailor therapy to their specific needs and goals.

Somatic therapies encompass a variety of therapeutic approaches that emphasize the mind-body connection and aim to promote healing, self-awareness, and overall well-being. Some notable examples include:

• Somatic Experiencing (SE), developed by Dr. Peter Levine, focuses on resolving trauma by paying attention to bodily sensations and helping individuals discharge the physical tension and stress associated with trauma. It emphasizes the importance of completing the body’s natural responses to traumatic experiences.

• Hakomi therapy is a body-centered psychotherapy that combines mindfulness, somatic awareness, and experiential techniques. It aims to uncover and transform unconscious patterns by exploring bodily sensations, emotions, and memories in the present moment.

• Sensorimotor psychotherapy, developed by Dr. Pat Ogden, integrates cognitive and emotional processing with bodily awareness. It’s particularly effective for addressing trauma by helping individuals regulate their nervous systems and release traumatic memories stored in the body.

• Body-Mind Centering (BMC) is a somatic practice that involves movement, touch, and voice exploration to develop a deep understanding of the body’s anatomy and physiology. It emphasizes the connection between physical and emotional experiences.

• Rolfing Structural Integration is a hands-on therapy that aims to improve body alignment and balance by manipulating the fascia, which is the connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs. It often results in increased mobility and a sense of physical and emotional well-being.

• Somatic psychology encompasses various therapeutic approaches that emphasize the importance of the body in mental and emotional well-being. These therapies explore how bodily sensations and movements relate to psychological experiences.

• Craniosacral therapy is a hands-on therapy for the craniosacral system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. Gentle touch is used to release restrictions and promote balance in the body.

Each somatic therapy approach has its own unique methods and techniques, but they all share a common emphasis on the body as a gateway to healing and self-discovery. Depending on an individual’s needs and goals, one or more of these approaches may be incorporated to foster embodiment and overall well-being.

Self-care practices

Self-care can be instrumental in cultivating embodiment. Among other things, it encourages mindfulness and a keen sense of the present moment. Whether it’s taking a leisurely bath, practising deep breathing exercises, or indulging in a spa day, self-care activities encourage presence and attention to bodily sensations.

Moreover, self-care practices are effective in reducing stress. Activities like meditation, yoga, and massage help alleviate physical tension. By lowering stress levels, the body enters a more relaxed state that’s conducive to embodiment.

Self-care rituals often emphasize the importance of connecting with one’s body on a physical level. They invite individuals to tune into their physical sensations, fostering a deep understanding of their bodies.

Adequate rest and relaxation are essential for embodiment. Self-care practices that prioritize sleep, relaxation, and downtime provide the body with the opportunity to recover and rejuvenate, allowing individuals to connect with the body’s needs.

Engaging in physical activities is another facet of self-care that promotes bodily awareness. Whether it’s going for a walk, dancing, swimming or weight training, movement practices can help individuals feel grounded in their bodies and cultivate a sense of embodiment through motion.

Additionally, proper nutrition and hydration are vital for overall well-being. Paying attention to what one eats and how it affects the body fosters a strong connection with the body’s needs and sensations.

Self-care involves listening to one’s own needs and responding to them. This includes recognizing when rest, nourishment, movement, and emotional support is required and acting accordingly.

Furthermore, self-care can contribute to a body-positive mindset. Engaging in self-care activities that prioritize self-acceptance and self-love fosters a healthy and more caring relationship with the body.

Sensory experiences are often incorporated into self-care practices. Elements like aromatherapy, soothing music, and time spent in nature deepen the connection with the body’s sensory perceptions.

In sum, self-care practices offer the opportunity to prioritize physical and psychological well-being, which is integral to the development of embodiment. By engaging in activities that promote relaxation, mindfulness, self-compassion, and physical awareness, individuals can nurture a harmonious relationship with their bodies.

Remember, cultivating embodiment is a gradual and ongoing process. Be patient with yourself, and approach these practices with gentle curiosity. It can also be helpful to seek guidance from trained professionals, such as mindfulness teachers, somatic therapists, and body-oriented practitioners, who can provide additional support and expertise in your journey toward greater embodiment.

A word about compassion

Self-compassion is key when practising embodiment, especially for anyone with unresolved trauma. Adopting a compassionate mindset will allow you to create a safe container and approach somatic experiences with kindness and self-care. It will help you navigate uncomfortable sensations and other challenges in a supportive and loving manner.

In addition, self-compassion supports emotional resilience by offering a caring response to challenging emotions. It allows you to acknowledge and hold your emotions with understanding instead of suppressing or avoiding them.

Finally, when practicing embodiment, it’s common to encounter sensations, emotions, and experiences that trigger self-judgment. Self-compassion will empower you to meet these experiences, including the self-judgment, with acceptance, curiosity, and friendliness.