EMBODIED LIVING

PAOLA CÁCERES

EMBODIMENT

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• Our body and personhood are intimately connected and can never be separated
• The body is a being, conscious, and the place where our sense of “I” exists and engages with the world.
• The experience of being a body in a social context.

Embodiment is influenced by:

• Who you have been allowed to be
• What has been encouraged/discouraged
• Your sense of safety and agency in it all

The Tripartite Model of Influence proposes that the three primary sources of influence are:

• Parents
• Peers
• Media

COLLECTIVE

DISEMBODIMENT

• Thinking about the body through the lens of possession: “I have a body”
• Normative discontent', a feeling of constant unhappiness with our bodies.’
• Mind over matter mentality that shapes our social and political ideologies
• Belief that we are rational individuals who can exist and thrive outside of community
• Greek thought and Enlightenment ideology woven into our social fabric

PLATO’S CONCEPT OF THE SOUL

• The soul is imprisoned in the body. The soul pre-exists the body and is divine and immortal, while the body is a source of corruption and illusion that the soul must free itself from through philosophical contemplation.
• True knowledge comes from the soul's connection to the eternal Forms or Ideas, not from bodily senses which are unreliable. Philosophers should practice "dying to the body" by separating the soul from bodily appetites through reason.

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RENÉ DESCARTES

• Descartes made a mind-body distinction in his philosophy, postulating that the mind or soul (res cogitans) is a non-physical, thinking substance that is separate from the physical body (res extensa).
• This allowed for the possibility of the mind existing in a disembodied state apart from matter.

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THREE DOMAINS

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MENTAL

PHYSICAL

SOCIAL

MENTAL DOMAIN

DISEMBODIMENT

• Mental corseting
• Buying into constraining social ideals.
• Seeing the body as an object
• Body as existing in the public domain (happens early in development, especially to girls)
• Narrow definitions of gender
• Losing the ability to challenge cultural distortions —> silence —> depression / anxiety

EMBODIMENT

• Ability to challenge societal ideas about the body
• Ability to challenge rigid gender stereotypes
• Ability to freely express ourselves
• Ability to passionately engage with the body in ways that have nothing to do with appearance

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PHYSICAL DOMAIN

DISEMBODIMENT

• Body being unsafe, neglected, or violated
• Limited freedom of movement
• Externally imposed restrictions on desire, appetite and comfort
• The result of gender-based discrimination or gender scripts (e.g. ladies “keep your legs closed” and boys don’t “cross your legs”)
• Script that “as we age, we become more mature” → we should have more physical restraint / be sedentary

EMBODIMENT

• Freedom to accept our physical desires, appetites and developmental changes without shame
• Paying attention to our desires and needs
• Reassessing what we learned growing up (e.g. religious beliefs, what food we can eat, what we can do for fun)
• Engaging in movement that feels comfortable and playful
• Physical safety, care, respect, rest, movement, and confidence

SOCIAL DOMAIN

DISEMBODIMENT

• Occurs when we are treated with prejudice or are objectified, or when we feel we must use our appearance to maintain or reclaim social status
• Because social power is identified through appearance and ability, those whose bodies are faced with oppression or marginalization or who fall lower on the made up “body hierarchy” are more likely to experience disembodiment and feel unsafe.

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EMBODIMENT

• Freedom from feeling as “other” and feeling empowered to stand up to inequity
• Addressing socio-cultural context that marginalizes certain bodies
• Accessing resilience and validation in relationships
• Creating spaces where all bodies are valued

EMBODIMENT

• A way to heal the mind-body divide we experience within ourselves and more, systemically, within Western culture.

DISEMBODIMENT

• An experience of disconnection from our body.
• The idea that one's subjective experience or conscious mind can exist independently from a physical body or corporeal existence.

PRACTICES

• Interoception: The ability to be aware of internal sensations in the body, including HR, respiration, hunger, fullness, temp, pain, and emotions.
• Media Literacy: View and analyze media critically, noticing bodies that are underrepresented. Look for what is missing and/or altered
• Pay attention and act on the creative nudges that linger within you.
• Experience your body outside of the restrictions placed on you – move, play, dance!

LIST OF TRUTHS

• My body and my mind can be friends
• Integration —> Wholeness
• Treat your body as a deep friend, with kindness and respect
• My body is a resource
• Pay attention to its messages and sensory signals
• Instead of criticizing your body be critical of the contexts that limit your freedom

LIST OF TRUTHS

• My body is a resistance
• Our bodies are political and wield power in public spheres – A voice and expression of ourselves.
• If you have power, stand with bodies that are marginalized to resist injustice.
• All bodies are good
• Practice rest and stillness.
• Resist urge to constantly perform.