note on Embodiment

I wish I could say, THIS CHAPTER WILL GIVE YOU FULL AND PURE EMBODIMENT, HOORAY FOR YEAR OF JOY!

Maybe it will. Maybe this is the last key that needs to turn to help you feel fully embodied.

aaaannnnndddd….

Maybe it won’t.

We are all on our own particular and specific physical journey, and full embodiment is the path of a lifetime. Because our body is changing, our needs are changing, our external circumstances are changing, our intentions are expanding. Deepening our relationship with our body, the vessel through which we bring our magic, is ever-evolving. We can know everything, we can understand all the tools, but until we bring them into our regular practice, our lived experience, healing stays etheric and brain-bound.

I say this as someone who’s been brain-bound for much of her existence, and spends more time than I’d care to admit saying, “GODDAMNIT, STILL?”

Embodiment is the process of truly embracing your messy humanity. Embracing your emotions, embracing the body that doesn’t always behave the way you want it to, embracing the younger you who experienced trauma - and having heaps of love and compassion for the current you who needs to process that trauma. Embracing the part of you that just inhaled a cupcake or a bag of Hershey’s kisses. ;)

Embodiment is a quest that allows us to live as souls in this physical world, that allows us to be creation in form.

If it’s a challenge, that’s okay. Maybe it’s supposed to be a challenge. Maybe the challenge is designed to guide us into deeper understanding of ourselves. Our lives, our souls, and this magnificent physical technology we get to inhabit while we ride around the planet. Even if it tends to feel like a weird, uncomfortable, and often misbehaving meat suit.

Personal Story:

When I set some big intentions for myself - for my work, for my life, for my health, for my wealth - what followed was a deep journey into the proverbial heart of darkness. Something that required me to give my body more love, more care, more attention, and more nourishment than it had ever received.

Doing this looked like not working (yikes) and resting despite what my brain yelled (double yikes). It looked like working with a naturopath to heal parasites, infections, mold toxicity, gut health, adrenal burnout, and my immune system. It involved surrendering in a way I never had before. Going through this process required a lot of me, like overhauling my mindset and cleaning out my body on an epic scale. It required learning more about my brain. Healing trauma and my nervous system and my relationship to everything - including my partner, my home, my family, my work, and myself.

It still requires a lot. (I’m writing this to you a week after giving myself a concussion which will take a month to heal and makes me feel seasick if I stare at a screen for longer than five minutes. Meaning, dialing back the work I was just starting to get excited about again and doing a lot more resting, only without the Netflix this time.)

Obviously, this won't be everyone's journey - honestly, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, it's been a LOT, yo - but it can be quite an adventure.

After a year of being fully committed to my own healing, the rewards are piling up. Better sleep, better mood, feeling better in my body, emotions and brain, lost twenty pounds, my thinking is clearer, my channel is clearer, my energy and creativity are returning.

AND YET THE JOURNEY CONTINUES. (See, concussion-healing, trauma transmuting, and wondering what the hell is actually going on in my brain.)

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Embodiment is bringing everything you know, everything that resides in your mind, down into your body, into your lived experience. Embodiment is akin to building muscle memory. Doing the things you know help you feel better. Moving knowledge out of your brain and into your life. Feeling your emotions, rather than thinking about them. Getting out of your head and into your body. Taking a walk and feeling your limbs move and enjoying the sensation. (Or taking a walk and feeling your wonky hip start to ache and your concussion start to make you feel seasick and regretting leaving your house.)

As much as I would love to be able to tell you exactly how to do this, teaching embodiment isn’t really possible. Because I’m speaking to your intellect right now, not your body. This is why I love the healings that are also a part of this year together - because they skip the brain and work with your energy on a level that helps you embody things much more quickly and easily. (The money healings from the last chapter also serve as powerful embodiment healings, so dip back into those if you'd like more support.)

I’d also love to hear how the information I share helps, where you’re able to practice it on your own, and where you’d like more somatic support. Like everything in life, Year of Joy is a work-in-progress and I’d love your input.

We are always finding new layers of embodiment, new layers of healing, new layers of “Oh, so this is how it feels”.

Lots of love,

Amber