BODY: a respository
Hey, thank you for opening this newsletter. Our very turbulent but cathartic journey through the “BODY” theme has come to an end. We thought the best way to string our experience together was by asking you to share your thoughts on body. The responses were intimate and heartwarming. Here is a glimpse of what everyone had to say:
If your body could talk to you, what would it say?
I have stopped talking to you as you never listen. As a result my messages are just desperate screams for attention. I am happy that you are paying attention to me and listening to me now. It makes me feel heard and acknowledge that I matter. We are in this together. Let's be gentle and kind and walk this journey of life supporting one another.
You need more rest!
Something on the lines of "I got your back, but please keep me hydrated"
Our body does so much for us but we tend to focus on how it looks. We are wondering if there's a way we can work with how it makes us feel or what it does for us - how all our feelings are encased in and arise from the body. So let’s take this moment to check in on one part of your body and see what comes up?
Body for me is so much more than what it looks like. It is a whole internal system of energy that brings so much power in me. I am so grateful for all my body parts and how they enable me. It is so unfortunate that we are so pre-occupied with how our bodies look rather than what they do for us.
My legs - I stood all day during an event I was hosting yesterday. I don’t know if it was nerves or just plain anxiety but I could not get myself to sit in one place. The consequence of this was terrible pain at night. And I just didn’t know how to overcome that.
The two feet we stand on are often taken for granted. As someone who recently got back into dancing I have really been aware of how we technically exist in the world and find our way around in it on our two feet, literally. I'm learning to be grateful and conscious of my relationship to my body - still at the awareness stage however. Just this morning I was in the state of parasomnia- not quite awake but not asleep either when I wiggled my toes to prepare for the day ahead.
The part of my body that feels alive at the moment is my feet, i notice how it grounds me, supports me, moves me , allows me to run away or hold my ground firmly, to dance with pleasure ,to thump with anger, i notice the gift of sensations when it touches the earth, the soft sand , the warm water, the green grass, the memories that these invoke, i notice the trembling of my feet when I'm scared, the restlessness it holds when I'm anxious, i see the pain and exhaustion as it barely gets rest, i notice the need for rest and care, i notice the anguish for not acknowledging it's role, for not seeing it, for shaming it for not being strong enough, functional enough, fast enough, soft enough, fair enough, for the cracks on my heels and how it makes them look and many more.
It’s absolutely mad how much my body does for me! It processes not only the very tangible physical stuff (food, menstruation etc) but it also processes my intangible stuff (grief, anger, happiness, fear etc). It’s insane how for whatever reasons I have reduced it.
Some more thoughts:
I often wonder how to think of the body - is it a singular entity composed of smaller parts or the other way around? I book I was reading about the hand specifically made me ponder this question. Where does the hand begin and end? We might have an answer for the anatomy but we can feel our hand because of signals sent out by the brain. So is each part of our body similar because it's actions are controlled by the brain? Just something to think of
My body holds wounds, as well as a plethora of resources, but it's more than both, it's alive and it breathes and experiences and holds wisdom in it's depth, its vulnerable yet powerful and it's a long journey of unlearning and learning that lies ahead , there is a lot of pain but when offered a lot of tenderness and safety , body opens up and tells it's stories.
Love and light