What is Embodiment and Five Benefits of Embodiment Practices

Embodiment is something that our ancestors were already attuned to. So how do we benefit from embodiment in modern life?

5 Benefits of Embodiment

Mindfulness has been the ‘new kid on the block’ for a while now...and I still find the term a bit of a conundrum...after all do we really want to be ‘full of mind’..? Aren’t we already in our heads too much?

Perhaps AWARENESS might be a better word..

Mindfulness can be seen as the pared down non-spiritual version of meditation, but personally I find the word Meditation so much more rich, lyrical and well, deep. (And incidentally it does not mean that you have to grow your hair long and wear flares, or sit on a mountain for hours in orange robes.)

Then we have the ‘newer’ kid on the block ‘Embodiment.’

It seems to be on the tip of the tongue of many coaches these days….but I think our ancient ancestors who lived close to the land might know a thing or two about being embodied; trusting the messages their bodies would have given them to detect changes in the weather, oncoming danger, and essential survival skills.

So how does embodiment benefit us in our modern life? I suggest these 5 tips:

1 By being less in our heads and more connected in our bodies, we release our tendency to overthink, lessening the probability of unnecessary stress and anxiety

2 We fully experience true presence in the moment – we are fully here – rather than wandering into thoughts of dinner plans, to-do lists...mistaken projections of a situation.

3 We have heightened awareness. We are more attentive and sensitive to what is really going on around us.

4 We are more receptive to other people, their feelings and their needs. This can fuel our empathy and compassion hormones, which means we are more connected to our hearts. This in turn means we are also kinder to ourselves

5 If we are more receptive then we are also more open to connection.

So, we may not need to activate our physical prowess to survive in the jungle anymore, but by being embodied we enhance and cultivate our soft skills and emotional intelligence.

And naturally I am biased.

For me dance affords the opportunity to be as much in your body as you could ever be. Yes yoga, sports, the gym also embrace embodiment. But the opportunity to change and transform during the practice takes on whole new dimensions in the arena of free movement and somatic elemental dance. Dance can be a transpersonal experience too. That is it can take you out of yourself, which could sounds a little contradictory, but not when you think of it in eg compassionate terms nb see 4 above. And Connection is what niio dance is all about...niio stands for New Integrated Inspired Openings..

If you would like to experience some instant relaxation and grounding through your body, then check out the FREE mini course I created EMBODY, especially as it will not stay free for much longer. Your body and mind will thank you for it.

https://lp.niiodance.com/embod...

Categories: : connection, embodiment, meditation, mental health