Taking back our agency.
why it starts with embodiment over intellectual understanding
Taking back our agency.
Something I spend maybe too much time thinking about is the lack of embodiment that so many of us experience in our culture today. I think about how we’ve all become quick to self-diagnose ourselves with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and the latest trending diagnosis: ADHD. In other words, how quickly we try to understand the problem so that we can fix it as quickly and swiftly as humanly possible, and what this model is depleting us of.
In some circumstances, these diagnoses are invaluable and life-changing. I respect and honor that. Yet in other cases, I wonder if these labels are actually taking us farther and farther away from the kind of embodiment that helps give us agency over our sense of Self. I wonder if our modern medical model that is so focused on labels and intellectual understanding rather than embodied understanding gives us a false sense of agency that actually keeps us in a loop of helplessness, exhaustion, and demoralization.
One of my first supervisors once said to me, “insight without agency is a good way to feel demoralized.” I forget the context in which he said it, but it’s conjured up a question within myself that I am constantly in the process of answering:
How can I support others in cultivating more agency over their lives?
Agency means cultivating a sense of empowerment, trust, and confidence in our own ability to navigate our life circumstances. Agency means feeling like we have the capacity and capability to take radical responsibility and action in our own lives, despite the trials and tribulations that arise and the systemic ways the world tries to keep us in places of powerlessness.
Many people who I meet in my private practice come to me because they have over-indexed in insight and intellectual knowledge, yet feel completely devoid of any sense of agency. They know what’s “wrong” with them, but they feel helpless in their ability to heal.
Cue the ensuing feelings of demoralization, powerlessness, and exhaustion.
So, I repeat, how can you begin to cultivate more agency in your life?
The short answer?
Embodiment.
The long answer:
Embodiment, in the context of healing from the wounds that ail us, is the process of reconnecting and fully experiencing sensations, emotions, and physical states in the body. Our ailments -whether they be from dissociation, trauma, anxiety, depression, shame, attachment wounds, emotional and/or physical pain, or trouble focusing, to name a few - inherently disrupts this connection as a protective mechanism.
When we lose a sense of agency over our bodies, whether from many micro-aggressions over time or more acute traumatic experiences, we lose our sense of agency, period. It’s through the process of connecting back to our bodies that we can begin to rebuild our agency and sense of hope in our own capacities to heal.
There’s no one way to come back into embodiment. As Vedic philosophy teaches us, there are many ways to the same God. It’s the same with embodiment (may I even venture to say that embodiment is a form of spiritual connection in and of itself?). There’s many ways back into the divine connection with your body, and it’s your birthright to feel embodied. To feel empowered. To feel agency.
I’m curious, do you feel like you’ve been over-indexing on intellectual insight, without cultivating a sense of agency over your Self and your body? Tell me more in the comments. I’ll meet you there.
Xx,
The Embodiment as a Birthright Part
WEEKLY BREATH AND MOVEMENT CLASS: every Monday & Wednesday at 9am EST beginning October 7th
These 20-30 minute classes are kundalini yoga-inspired and incorporate both gentle flow-y movements, more rigorous breath practices, mantra meditation, and more. These classes will support a more balanced sense of Self by playing with both down and up-regulating techniques to cultivate more flexibility and resilience within the mind, body, and soul.
If you’ve been curious about kundalini and/or breathwork for a while, this is a super welcoming environment to explore. Can’t wait!
**all of these offerings (including the conscious connected journey on October 27) are available to paid subscribers through the All Parts Home community. To join us, please use the link below:
YES! I could not agree more Eliza. Beautifully said 😊 My therapy game changed dramatically when I shifted from simply talking work to guiding people (and myself) into their bodies.
I feel so much of this. That line your supervisor shared is so accurate. I have felt that throughout the years of practice. I’m so grateful the way in which I connect and support with my clients (and myself) has evolved to this. It’s life-changing.