It’s Good to Be Human
The more embodied we become, the richer we get in kindness and compassion.
I love Christmas time. Why? Because, undergirding the festiveness, generosity, togetherness, and joy it manifests:
Christmas is a celebration of life.
It’s a heavenly declaration that it is good to be a fleshy human.
Yuletide names and calls forth the light of joy, abundance, and lovingkindness that shines brightly at the center of each of us.
With that in mind, wherever you fall on the religious/nonreligious spectrum, I invite us all to take a breath, “step back”, and observe what is at the heart of the Christmas story. It boldly declares to us: The Mystery Behind Life/Reality thinks so highly of fleshy earthlings; this Divine Source became just like us, in order to grow, live, and love with, and among us.
Talk about an affirmation of you, me, and all the other people of the world! Especially, the marvelously messy and brutally beautiful physical aspect of us.
This season, I’ve been reflecting on how good it is to be human. More specifically, an embodied, fleshy, and present person. You see, while our bodies don’t define or contain us, and are but one aspect of the human experience. There is something beautifully profound that happens when we get out of our heads and into our breathing, moving bodies. It’s the gateway to inner wellness, calm, and abundance.
Our aggravations, stresses, worries, fears, frustrations, and struggles—aka the bulk our suffering—begin in our minds. While our bodies may have aches, pains, illnesses, etc., which can be symptoms of our mental sufferings, they are also the gateway to freedom from the thought bubbles that so often weigh us down and trouble us. What is more, animating and dropping into our physical bodies (embodiment), by tuning into and witnessing all the ways it communicates to us, ends up taking us “away” to a transcendent place.
Ironically, purposefully “stepping into” our bodies, takes us to the spiritual realms of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and deep wellness. Embodiment is a portal to heaven.
And, while this may sound too woo-woo, I can assure you it’s not. It’s the appropriate level of woo. ;) As a yogi and yoga teacher, I witness and experience on the daily how being embodied brightens and blesses us from the inside-out. Just this morning, a student told me: “Every time I practice, I’m glad I did, because I become a calmer, clearer, and better version of myself.” What is more, as people increasingly study the effects and benefits of yoga from a scientific lens, they tell us much the same.
This is why I love and champion yoga, and any other embodied practice, so much. They put us in our bodies, and when we’re in our bodies, we are radically in the present. Our physicality brings us into the here and now. This is incredible because, dwelling on the past and fretting about the future (even when they’re only minutes away) is where the vast majority of our stresses and struggles come from. To state it positively:
Love is in the present, so when we’re in the present, we are in love.
What is more, the more we listen to and fall in love with our beautiful bodies, the more our awareness becomes attuned to how other people are doing. Have you ever noticed how head-centric harming a person, including ourselves, is? While how heart-centered caring, compassion, and kindness are? Whether it’s physical, emotional, verbal, financial, spiritual, or _____, our heads—detached from the frailty of our bodies—are far more likely to hurt someone then our bodies are.
To put it differently, yoga teaches us there are three “outer” aspects to a human. Our physicality, breath and subtle (energetic) sensations, and thoughts/emotions. When we harmonize these by purposefully syncing our body, breath, and mind (embodiment), we gain more access to the two “inner” aspects of us: wisdom and bliss—which are, by nature, peaceful, caring, compassionate, kind, and loving.
Naturally, this is not a magical cure or quick fix type of deal. Nor is it something only yoga brings. Any regular practice of embodiment—which can be as little as three days a week for fifteen minutes—will increasingly reap these rewards, over time. Which, I imagine, leads one to wonder: What’s an embodied practice?
Any activity or practice that puts your mind, body, and breath in conversation with one another, is embodied. This can be yoga, Pilates, Thai Chi, karate, prayer walks, mindful running, barre, meditation, and/or many other things. Really, the key here is to find what fits and works for you.
Interestingly, this is not where I planned to go with this post. But it is where I was led. I hope that it speaks to and blesses you. That you have a beautiful day! And, I’d love to hear your questions, thoughts, etc. in the comments.
Hugs & Love,
Lang (aka“Dr. Love”)