by Alison Killeen
I was sick this week — the kind of sick that shows up mysteriously and knocks you off your feet. I tried to push through, but my body had strong opinions against that. In the end, there was nothing left to do but lay my body down.
Our bodies know the way. As I experienced this week, a body can hit the brakes when we've pushed our productivity too far.
If we listen, our bodies can reveal emotions swelling up from our chest that we hadn't even recognized were there - but which desperately need expression.
And sometimes, the thing we are looking for is not in found in a word or idea - but in the hearty flavor of a home-cooked soup, the soothing sound of crickets outside the window, or the embrace of a loved one coming home - experienced only through our bodies.
Healing doesn't come through our head and heart alone. If we listen, our bodies will show us the way.
There's lots happening at Leaven right now to get your heart, head and body engaged:
Show up with your body at A Place to Call Home: Statewide Assembly on March 10
Explore sacred texts through an embodiment lens at Sensing the Divine on Wednesday evenings
Dig your hands in the soil at the upcoming Garden Work Party on March 16
Check out our Upcoming Events to learn what else is happening at Leaven — to explore with and through your one and only, precious body.
Curious to learn more about the body, trauma and healing? Check out My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem and The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk.