I chose a duct-taped Honda Accord over a new car
This week, we're drawing from our interoceptive deep listening practice in order to deepen our somatic parts work exploration.
But before I jump in - a little personal sharing. I'm just back from a whirlwind week in Chicago. For those of you who don't know my backstory, I was raised in Chicago and have lived out west my entire adult life. The west captured my soul when I was only 21 years old on a 4-week post-college graduation road trip. At the time I was driving a totaled Honda Accord with red tape across the back bumper so that you could see my brake lights which were missing the red plastic covering. My parents asked if I wanted help getting a new-used car for a grad present. But I said no, my duct-taped car would be fine. What I really wanted - or should I say needed, was help funding a month-long camping trip (honestly a bargain for them when you think about it).
That trip was the start of a love affair between me and the southwest where the red rocks and deep canyons welcomed me home. It was on that first trip west that I understood that being more connected to nature was not just nourishing but essential. I realized that while I loved the city, I wasn't a city girl. That said, you can never take the city out of the girl completely. At least every summer, I return, to visit my parents and old friends. Some of those friends include the Art Institute, Lake Michigan sitting against the Chicago skyline, the food, the festivals, the vibrancy and yes, the beauty. A different kind of beauty but one that continues to inspire and enliven me.
My love of both the city landscape and the mountain, river, and canyon landscapes both land in different parts of me - parts that need and are fed by different elements. To know ourselves, we need to know all of our parts. If I only paid attention to the part of me that needs the beauty of Van Gogh's sunflowers and Dali's portraits, or the stainless steel skyscrapers reflected in the Chicago River, I'd be missing the nourishment needed by my other parts that scout for moose amongst the willows and search for osprey nests along the reservoirs. And I also wouldn't understand the younger part that gets anxious when all my loved ones aren't accounted for because untimely deaths can happen (and did) and the other adventuresome part that has to be reminded not to roll its eyes when that anxiety pipes up.
Somatic parts work is a way to take the time to engage with various parts of ourselves and get to know them better. It's a way to come inside and tend to all of our parts - not just the ones that are easiest to love.
So this week, I'll offer a basic practice that takes interoception to a deeper level. If you missed last week's newsletter and guided practice, interoception is the skill of noticing the sensations in the body. It's dropping into the present moment without the story. It's noticing what I feel in my shoulder right now without telling an old story about my past frozen shoulder experience. Because that experience - which included pain and suffering - is NOT what's happening now.
But what is happening now is more than sensation. When I drop into my shoulder, I may notice sensations. But I may also notice an emotion or an image or a thought that arises spontaneously as I pay attention to my shoulder. And that too is part of my present moment experience. And paying attention to all of it, is a way to have a kind of a conversation with my shoulder and the part of me that my shoulder represents.
In the guided practice below, I'll offer a body scan which will lead to a conversation. The conversation may come in words but as likely, it will simply be an opportunity to notice sensations or images or emotions. Because that's how the body and our parts speak.
We'll spiral though the pillars as we go, beginning with a few anchoring practices to regulate the nervous system.
From there we drop into deeper listening as we use the focus of a body scan to practice interoception.
Then we'll notice what stands out and use somatic parts work to explore the places that draw our curiosity.
And we'll layer that somatic conversation with self-compassion.
And of course, that somatic conversation may also inspire a little deep imagery.
There you have it - the 5 pillars.
Click below to practice with me!
This fall, I'll be offering another round of both the Somatic Immersion and the Somatic Immersion companion training (a facilitation training for wellness professionals). In both experiences we'll use discussion, meditation, breathwork, asana, and reflection to explore the spiral together.
Put your name on the waitlists and you'll be the first to know when registration opens in September!
Stay tuned for more of the 5 pillars. Next up, a deeper dive into deep imagery.
Thanks for reading, watching and being a part of this community. I hope our paths cross soon.
And as always, I'd love to hear from you. Did you learn anything new as you moved this week?
Sending so much love,
Rachel