on body wisdom | SUMMER SOLSTICE 2022
Happy Solstice and Juneteenth, everyone!
With all that’s going on in the world recently, how are you holding up? What is your body saying about how you feel? I’m thinking lately about how hopelessly big it can feel to create the major shifts that need to happen in American communities to end mass violence—the generations of harm towards ourselves and this land. And I’m humbled and galvanized to remember: community healing starts in our individual bodies.
Throughout our lives we are repeatedly taught in both overt and covert ways that the mind, particularly a neurotypical one, is what’s valuable, and the rest (emotions, the physical body and its sensations) is generally fickle matter to suppress. “Mind over matter” is a normalized way of saying “Your feelings aren’t important” and “You can’t trust your body.” It dampens the enlivening reality that we are our bodies. The mind-body connection create a personal ecosystem that is interdependent, wildly resilient, and capable of self-healing.
When there’s trauma, which most of us will experience to varying degrees, we cannot simply think our way out of our triggers as they’re established to protect us from a future occurrence, always informing how we manage perceived stress. However this mechanism, when left “turned on” post-trauma, often results in hyper-vigilant reacting instead of intentional responding. In many cases, the harmed will begin to cause harm. Unintentional or not, this harm has its communal impact, showing up as anything from passive aggression and freezing to physical and emotional violence to greed/scarcity mindset.
It’s vital that we acknowledge our full experience beyond the logical brain in order to move through the held stress. How might our individual healing be different if we began to listen closely to our bodies’ information? How might we treat ourselves and others if we saw the body, sensations, and emotions as equally wise and intelligent parts of us?
I’ve been reading the new, beautifully written book on embodiment by Hillary L. McBride called the Wisdom of Your Body. (For anyone who’s been slightly overwhelmed by the breadth of the Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, this one’s for you!) If you'd like to learn more about how we heal ourselves and our communities through embodiment, please check it out!
This Summer Solstice, try spending some time noticing your feelings and sensations. I recently learned that solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still). What a gorgeous reminder! As the Sun sits high and “stands still” during this longest day of the year, think about how you might like to practice standing still in curiosity with your body. Watch what grows from it, attune to what supports it, and take good care of your whole selves out there. <3
For deliciously hopeful, radical examples of black liberation and embodiment, I invite you to watch these interviews by one of my favorite projects, What’s Underneath, and some of my fave people:
adrienne maree brown: My Body is the Right Body Because It’s Mine
Non-Binary Activist Janaya Khan is the Future’s Brightest Light
“The root [of mass violence] is a culture that passes on pain, repression, and disconnection. Where we cannot tolerate the realness of others, but use each other as screens where we project our self hatred. Trauma always multiples when the rituals and pace and concern of the culture will not hold it. This country’s refusal to feel will be the death of many.Every inch of progress, every ounce of love, every truly meaningful action from here on out will happen through courage, not comfort.””Embodiment reveals our bodies as central to change and transformation. It awakens our felt sense of choice and deepens our connection with ourselves, each other and the world around us.”
the above two photos are the morning view from a recent trip to Black Balsam Knob, Pisgah National Forest.
B I Z N O T E S
LATE SUMMER BOOKING
As we approach midsummer, I want to let you know I will be planning quite a bit of travel for the months of September and October. If you do not have a standing appointment and would like to get on the schedule, please try to book by the middle to end of August for September. You may also choose to book for August by the end of July, as September spaces will be limited.
In the case that you do have a standing appointment, I will reach out to you before September to reschedule if needed.
CLIENT SURVEY
This July marks the 3rd year of my practice, and I would love to hear from you about your experiences! Regular client feedback, steady personal growth, and the continuous process of attunement are paramount in how I choose to work. If you could make the time to participate in this anonymous 8-question survey, I would so appreciate hearing from you! Thank you for choosing me as part of your web of care; it truly is such an honor to hold space for your healing.
ARCHIVES
Since I began sharing my newsletters in this format, I’ve been archiving them on my website’s blog, which you can find here!
If there is info you’d like from a previous newsletter or you just started following and are curious, feel free to swing over.
C O M M U N I T Y I N V E S T M E N T
This March-May a percentage of my profit was donated to Together Rising, founded by Glennon Doyle, a queer mother, author and philanthropist. They were accepting donations to the Ukrainian Family Relief and LGBTQIA2S+ Youth and Family Relief funds.
Throughout the rest of the Summer I will be sharing a portion with Yellow Springs’ local 365 Project, A volunteer group of local professionals, educators, parents & youth promoting diverse African-American heritage, Black culture, and racial equity 365 days a year.
Take courage, stay tender.
yours in health,
Zoey Bryant, LMT
photography by nikita gross