Deeper Dive - Bodyfulness

In today's episode, I'm introducing the theme of bodyfulness, or mindful embodiment, which will be our MTM Deeper Dive for the next month! We'll talk about what "bodyfulness" means, how it relates to mindfulness, and why it's something that can enrich your life and your practice, if you pay attention to it.

Embodiment is a huge topic - it's a subject that's looked at through different lenses by researchers, scholars, thinkers, and practitioners in a variety of fields. I'll give a little background here, and discuss different terms that may be used to describe how we consciously inhabit our physical form.

But more importantly, you'll hear about why bodyfulness (or mindfulness in the body) is something you'd want to bring into your practice. Many of us feel somewhat disconnected or distanced from our visceral, embodied existence, and coming back to the body is about being fully here in this life.

You'll also hear why the term "mindfulness" may not be fully capturing the full scope of what is actually included in the practice, since the body is actually the foundation for developing present moment awareness.

This is a pretty far-reaching discussion! So give it a listen, and let me know what your take-aways are.

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Resources and links:

• The book Bodyfulness: Somatic Practices for Presence, Empowerment, and Waking Up in This Life by Christine Caldwell, PhD
• The Satipatthana Sutta (Four Foundations of Mindfulness) translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Access to Insight
• Episode 33 of the MTM Podcast – Human-Centered Embodiment and Yin Yoga with Amanda Hanna

As mentioned at the beginning of the episode, to receive the Deeper Dive worksheet on this month’s theme of Bodyfulness, you can sign up for the MTM email newsletter here. The worksheet is designed to support your personal, creative exploration of this theme, and it’s coming out the first week of June!

(P.S. If you missed the newsletter because you're listening to this later, you can still get the worksheet. All you need to do is email me at mail@movedtomeditate.com and ask.)

To connect further with me (Addie), check out my main website movedtomeditate.yoga.

You can find on-demand yoga classes and guided meditations in the Moved To Meditate Class Library that align with all that we discuss on the podcast. Let’s practice together!

And, I’m on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).