Dearest Friends,

Thank you for your presences and your participation in our most recent gathering!

In our last session, we continued our explorations of how the body can be a support for meeting stress and anxiety, focusing specifically on practices that can help us return and attune to our bodies. As we discussed in our previous gathering, personal and collective factors often converge to make the body feel inconvenient, unreliable or downright threatening. Yet the dharma reminds us that the body is not an obstacle, but the very vehicle that facilitates awakening. The following approaches present practical ways for rebuilding trust in the body as a field of intelligence, presence and wisdom:

• Body Scanning: Body scans give us a simple and systematic method for attuning to our bodies. We move our attention slowly from the head to the toes, noticing sensations along the way with a non-evaluative interest and curiosity.

Recommendation: Start small. A two‑minute body scan before going to bed can help you rebuild trust in your body’s voice.

• Somatic Journaling: The body speaks in sensations, but meaning emerges when we reflect. Somatic journaling invites us to write down what we notice after our check‑ins and/or meditations. Over time, patterns emerge: headaches might be linked to stress, hyperacidity might be linked to anxiety. Journaling turns fleeting sensations into a map of the body’s intelligence.

Recommendation: Keep a notebook with you. One line a day, e.g., “I felt heavy in my chest before the meeting”—is enough to begin decoding your body’s signals.

• Inquisitive Movement: Movement isn’t just exercise; it’s dialogue. Yoga, t’ai chi, or even free‑form stretching allow the body to express itself beyond words. Instead of giving in to the compulsion to perform movements in a certain way, we can ask this instead: “What happens if I move this way?” Movement then becomes inquiry…and inquiry then becomes trust.

Recommendation: Choose one movement practice where the goal is exploration, not achievement. Let the body lead.

• Breath Awareness: The breath is the body’s most accessible rhythm. Observing its flow teaches us how the body regulates itself. Breathwork can calm, energize or simply remind us that we’re alive. By returning to the breath, we learn to trust the body’s innate capacity to restore itself.

Recommendation: Notice your breath at transitions—before a call, after a meal, stepping outside, etc. These pauses can anchor you in your body.

• Compassionate Self‑Touch: Touch is a primal language of safety. Placing a hand on the heart or belly when we’re distressed signals to the nervous system: “I am here, I am safe.” This simple gesture restores trust when words fail.

Recommendation: When overwhelmed, pause and place a hand gently on your body. Let the warmth remind you of your own care.

To summarize, embodiment isn’t a destination but a practice of returning. Each of the approaches described above is a pathway back to the field of luminous presence that is the body.

SUGGESTED PRACTICE:

Sit quietly and attend to your breath with your gaze lowered or your eyes closed. Then recall a recent situation that triggered a sense of stress or anxiety. Notice the thoughts, emotions and sensations that are evoked by this memory. Then rest a hand on your heart and gently stroke your chest with small, circular movements. If it feels appropriate, accompany the movements with soothing vocalizations. After a few minutes of practicing in this way, pause and notice what’s shifted in your mind, your heart and your body. Carry whatever sense of spaciousness, ease and comfort the practice grants you into the rest of your day.

RECOMMENDED POEM:

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s A Woman Addresses Her Body

REFLECTION PROMPTS:

1. What personal and collective factors have made it difficult for you to trust your body’s signals?
2. What have you found supportive in terms of restoring trust in your body? This might include approaches similar to the ones discussed in the gathering or other strategies altogether.
3. How can you weave embodiment practices into your daily routine in a way that feels sustainable?

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I’m delighted to share about an event that I’ve had the privilege of co-creating! Alchemized Women is a free 10-day online series for women navigating change, loss and the work of coming home to themselves. I’m one of a dozen teachers who are offering teachings, practices and pathways back to peace and presence. In a world characterized by constant disruption on multiple levels, it’s vitally important that women find sources of stability, refuge and balance.

The series is completely free with offerings being delivered straight to your inbox and it begins on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. You can reserve your place by clicking here.