Embodiment, or being more 'in-the-body', or 'grounded' is a term used in mindfulness courses, sometimes yoga, acupuncture and tai chi.
‘Being-in-the-head/thoughts’ is often seen as an opposite. Certainly if one has issues with anxiety or insomnia, this is relevant as there are highly charged thoughts. The issue however is not the thoughts themselves but their charge: if the thoughts of tomorrow's meeting are just quiet background noise then it is not a problem.
So if the thoughts are highly charged then I may want to become more embodied. How can I do that? By making the body feel more alive. This is why things like body scan meditations, ice baths, exercise (especially high intensity) and slow deliberate movements such as tai chi, help. For example someone my brother knows has a cold plunge before sleeping.
It is good to have a tool kit of embodiment activities for when thoughts are highly charged.
Author: JD
Image by Daniel Perrig from Pixabay
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