Hey friends,
I’m writing to you from the thick air of early summer, freshly exasperated enough to finally install my AC. I just wanted the breeze but my body needed a break from the heat.
That’s such an interesting concept isn’t it? That it’s possible for you to want something but your body need something else?
As I often do, I turned to the planets as inspiration for the content of today’s newsletter. Right now, the Moon is conjunct Mercury and Jupiter while Venus is conjunct the Sun — all in the sign of Gemini (which we explored last week). The conjunction of the Moon (intuition), Mercury (cognition) and Jupiter (expansion) feels like the question “are you listening?”, whereas the conjunction of Venus (embodiment) and the Sun (life force) feels like “are you noticing?”
So that got me thinking about the body, and how wild it is that we can feel so disconnected from the very blob we call home. This is what we’ll be exploring in today’s dive into Living Curiously.
Oh, that thing?
Before my healing journey and spiritual awakening began, I just saw my body as a thing. A thing that society tells me looks wrong, a thing that ages and falls apart, a thing that’s just, well, there. Even when I began intentionally being “healthier”, I would exercise and eat foods just to change its shape. It was purely a physical relationship, if at all.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. When people experience trauma, it’s so incredibly common for them to disassociate from the body completely, to pretend it’s not there and just go through the motions of keeping it alive rather than having a relationship with it at all. With all the terrible things that happen in the world, it’s easier to think than to feel. It’s painful to feel.
Your breathing blob
But there’s a shift happening in the healing world and our perception of bodies is changing. Somatic therapies, which focus on the body for healing, are becoming more and more commonplace. Holistic healing and functional medicine are catalyzing a new paradigm where the body is considered not just a physical machine, but a storehouse of emotion and memory, essential for the proper functioning of the mind and the health of the spirit.
When I began experiencing chronic pain, it took me a while but I eventually learned enough to know that I needed to involve the body in my healing. I couldn’t ignore my breathing blob anymore.
And in turning my attention to my body, I realized it’s not a thing at all. It’s a being.
I think this is why there’s such a clear common thread in all the people who come to work with me: they yearn to feel more connected with their bodies, and by consequence, themselves.
So let’s dive into a framework that will help you do that, too.
The star and the team
When improving the connection with your body, there’s one key player and three key actions.
The key player is the one doing the key actions on behalf of the body. Can you guess what it is?
The mind, of course!
If your body is the car, your mind is the driver — deciding all the turns and flooring the gas pedal.
While the mind is a key player, it forgets it’s part of a team. It forgets it needs the car to be in good shape to really get where it’s going.
There’s another awesome metaphor for this that my Astrology teacher bestowed upon me. Mercury, which represents our mind—cognition, learning, perception, communication, and dissemination—is the closest planet to the Sun. It acts like a sort of satellite to our star. The Sun, on the other hand, represents our heart—life force, vitality, energy, passion, and connection.
With Mercury travelling so close and so fast around the Sun, it often thinks it’s in charge. Just like the mind thinks it’s in charge of you too.
Think about this though, you could live quite a while being brain dead, but if your heart was dead? Game. Over.
So your heart, the crux of your body, is really the one in charge.
Team training sessions
It’s your mind’s responsibility, then, to be a team player instead of a star player. This is key to improve the mind body connection: your mind must be in service to your body as the living, breathing being it is.
And the best way to actually do this is through the three key actions.
Listening — Just like you would a friend, training your mind to listen to your body gives it space to reveal more of itself to you. The more you ask and listen, the more you’ll understand your body’s wants, needs, desires, and wounds and the deeper your connection.
Sensing — Similar to listening, your mind can also be trained to notice sensations. Every breeze, every flavour, every sound is felt in your body and noticed by your mind. Your mind notices whether you have a pit in your stomach or swirling with butterflies. Noticing sensations is a gateway for your mind to really support what’s going on in your body.
Deciding — How often do you make decisions at the expense of your body? Fast food, late nights, not enough water. The more you train your mind to make decisions with your body’s wellbeing in *mind*, the more trusting they’ll be with each other (and the better you’ll feel).
When I finally installed my AC, it’s because I listened to my body, sensed that it was overheating, and decided to put it’s needs first. When I eat healthy and work out these days, I do it much less to change my shape and much more for my energy levels and overall sense of vitality.
Care-full questions
I use my mind to care, truly care, for my body. It’s a work in progress but they’re slowly learning to be a team. All oiled up with a full tank of gas, finally driving in the same direction.
So when you’re feeling disconnected from your body, ask yourself these three questions:
What does my body need right now? (Listen)
How does my body feel right now? (Sense)
What can I do to support my body right now? (Decide)
And notice (this is key!) their relationship bloom.
I hope this exploration offers a helpful perspective for you, your mind, and your body! I’d love to know: What is your relationship like with your body? How has it changed over time?
Wishing you a fruitful and magical New Moon in Gemini tomorrow!
Until next time…
Love,
Bry
Love these explorations of the relationship you've had with your body. As a somatic practitioner it makes my heart so happy to see people bringing the body back in conversation. I deeply relate to feeling like my body was just a 'thing', something that got in the way every now and again. I'm grateful this is no longer the case. Great piece x