Accessing Our Inner Wisdom

I’ve always loved learning. 

I’ve loved reading books, listening to podcasts, going to workshops and trainings. 

But there became a point when I realized that by constantly consuming information from others around me, I was neglecting to access the wisdom inside of myself. 

It felt unsafe and scary to sit in stillness. To listen to my body and ask my body questions. To create time and space for what wanted to create and express from within. 

If I did this, there was fear around what would come up. What if emotions came up that were too big, too scary, too intense? What if my body/intuition wanted me to do something that I didn’t want to do? What if I took action and it wasn’t received well? What if I failed? Oh the spirals and journeys our minds can take us on!

And I realized that the constant stream of outside information became a survival strategy for me to avoid connecting to myself and avoid stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking action. 

I started creating intentional time to connect with myself each day. I started doing a few minutes of breathwork in the morning. Taking a bath at night. As time went on, I was able to tune in and see what my body wanted. A walk? To bake? To just sit outside in the sun? To ground?

And connecting to my body became a little less scary. A little more natural. 

I began to trust my body more. To develop a relationship and check in with her. 

Connecting to ourselves can feel scary and overwhelming at times, especially if we’ve had trauma and/or chronic illness. 

But the key is small doable steps. 

Cultivating Safety From Within

I used to be addicted to “knowing”- I couldn’t get enough. I would constantly consume information, courses, social media posts, podcasts.

And then I realized that I had a belief that the more knowledge I had, the safer I would be. 

I had untangle the belief that safety meant always knowing, absorbing info, constantly listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos.

That my safety was based on external people and situations. 

Of course this is helpful and important to a degree.

But I learned that safety is not something I could find from outside information. 

Safety is a feeling I needed to cultivate from within- by learning to be in my body, connect to my body, listen to my body. By healing trauma, patterns, and beliefs stored in my body. 

What is “Embodiment?”

When I first saw the word “embodiment,” I had no idea what it meant. I saw “embodiment coaches” and “embodiment exercises” on Instagram and wondered if this was just another trendy buzzword.

For me, I couldn’t really understand what embodiment meant until I experienced what it meant to truly be in my body- which happened during my first breathwork session. It was the first time I felt truly aware and present in my body while feeling safe. And it made me realize how I had lived my whole life escaping my body for protection.

I started doing breathwork on a regular basis and also started working with a somatic coach. Our sessions involved me noticing the sensations and emotions in my body as I spoke, becoming aware of what trauma responses felt like in the body, noticing when my nervous system was activated, and doing lots of inner child and parts work. I became better at noticing what certain emotions felt like in my body and over time created more safety in my body to feel and process them.

And over time, I discovered what “embodiment” meant for me- becoming more aware of my body on a daily basis. Acknowledging the wisdom and intelligence of my body. Involving my body in decisions, checking in with it throughout the day. Noticing the emotions coming up, where I feel them in my body, and determining what I need to do. Feeling more connected to my intuition and trusting myself more. Overall, living life with a greater awareness of my body.

As a society we are so disconnected from our bodies, living life on auto-pilot and unaware of how our thoughts, behaviors, and actions are affecting our bodies- and how trauma in our bodies is affecting our thoughts, behaviors, and actions. I lived this way for most of my life. And when we operate solely from our minds, we miss out on all of the information our body has to share.

Becoming aware of our bodies allows us to heal limiting beliefs and unhealthy patterns from not only our minds but from our bodies as well, where trauma is stored. This allows for mind-body congruence- which can provide deeper healing than mindset work alone. And when we have mind-body congruence, we can actually start to embody and radiate love, joy, abundance, empowerment, and confidence.

If you feel like embodiment is something you would like to explore, book a free clarity call here, book a breathwork session here, or email me at hello@laurenjill.com for my coaching package options.

One Simple Mindset Shift To Become More Empowered

For years I looked for the right treatment, for the right doctor to heal me. And while some treatments did help more than others, and I did make more progress with some doctors, I was ultimately disappointed. It was an endless search to find something that would cure me- and I was willing to try anything.

Then I started doing breathwork, which helped me connect to my body on a deeper level, and I had the realization that my body is able to heal itself. Yes- I need the help of doctors. Yes I need supplements and treatments. But when I saw these things as ways to support my body as it heals- not as things that will cure me- things completely changed.

What if the power of healing was in me all along, and everything outside of me was there to facilitate, guide, support me on the road to healing?

What if we see doctors as guides, sharing their expertise and guidance as our bodies heal?

What if we see supplements, medications, treatments as methods of supporting our bodies as they heal?

What if instead of outsourcing our power, we choose to remember that our bodies are extremely knowledgeable and resilient, and they know exactly what they need to heal?