EMBODIMENT MUST READS
So let’s talk books. If you’re desiring to go deeper in your embodiment journey this is a great place to start. The following books are a few must reads that provide insights on the importance of the mind-body connection, the nervous system’s role in embodiment, and the possibilities that open when one lives embodied.
1. Your Body is Your Brain: Leverage Your Somatic Intelligence to Find Purpose, Build Resilience, Deepen Relationships and Lead More Powerfully By: Amanda Blake
Amanda Blake does an incredible job of simplifying the science of embodiment and revealing the brilliance of the body. With each chapter she provides powerful and heartfelt testimonies that highlight what is possible when we come back home to our body’s.
“It turns out the less you can feel yourself, the less you can “suffer with”, or have compassion for, another. Conversely, the more access you have to your own sensations and emotions, the more empathy and compassion you can access. We feel with by feeling ourselves.”
2. Embodying the Mystery: Somatic Wisdom for Emotional, Energetic, and Spiritual Awakening By: Richard Strozzi-Heckler
Richard Strozzi-Heckler shares profound personal stories that will inspire and spark a curiosity to explore embodiment as a spiritual self realization journey. This book offers a more “zoomed out” perspective on what it is we are capable of embodying and thus experiencing in this life. I especially loved the reflections and prompts offered at the end of every story allowing one to participate in the author’s journey.
“Among many other things I learned during this time that if we truly inhabit ourselves, if we live an embodied life, there is space for contradictions that may have no solution other than to accept and make space for them.”
3. Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory By: Deb Dana
Deb Dana provides a road map to befriending your nervous system which is the main “information highway” of the body. This book is filled with simple and brilliant practices for regulating and connecting with your body.
“Listening is an act of autonomic awareness and an essential ingredient in learning to regulate our systems. With awareness comes understanding and with understanding comes choice.”
