What energy and emotion is stuck in your body?

We all know that being in our bodies is a good thing, and physical practice is important. But have you ever wondered exactly WHY embodiment and movement practice is absolutely essential to our energetic and emotional health and well-being?

Today, let's look at one really important reason that has to do with hidden, trapped emotion and energy.

Any physical structure is encoded with the energetic frequency of its creation. Think about examples in your life or things we see in the world: if you're trying to work on a creative project but you're in a bad mood, your art will show it. Many women who are pregnant will go out of their way to surround themselves with positive music, art, jokes and loving messages so that their babies will grow with these energies. In Like Water for Chocolate (one of my favorite Latin American magical realism novels), the main character fills whatever food she's making with the essence of her emotion in the moment, and people experience that emotion when they eat the food. In other words, we can experience the energy that was involved in the creation process of a physical structure, even after the structure is "finished." Energy sticks around.

The same goes for the physical structures within our bodies: we are constantly forming and breaking down our cellular structure. In fact, the average adult human body creates over 200 billion new cells per day!

And each of those 200+ billion cells is encoded with your unique energetic and emotional frequency at the time.

"Wait, Michelle, that means if I'm feeling anger, grief, bitterness, depression, or anything else, that this emotional frequency is literally built into the physical structure of my body?"

Yes, it does! But don't worry, there are lots of ways to work with this. You're all good. Keep reading.

Instead of shaming ourselves or launching into a worry spiral (which will only create more of these stress-cells), let's gather some more information:

1. Humans are infinitely complex beings composed of myriad energies. Having some cells in your body that are encoded to "negative" emotions or energies does not mean that you as a holistic being are stuck in that energy.

2. In addition to building cells every day, our bodies also break down cells every day.

3. Our bodies are a holistic community of frequencies that resonate together, and it is possible to change the vibration of a physical structure by surrounding it with a higher-vibration frequency.

What does this mean? Let's apply our points to an example:

Imagine that you went through some really hard stuff last year. (I know I did--2019 was rough for a lot of people!) Maybe you lost a loved one, maybe you separated from your partner, maybe there were just a lot of smaller crappy things that felt like they really wore you down. You did your best at the time, but it was really hard. You felt angry, you grieved, you felt bitter, you felt all sorts of uncomfortable things. But you did it! You made it through and you can start to see the light again. Maybe the circumstances haven't changed, but you've come to a slightly better place about it, and now you're looking ahead at your healing and rebirth.

Your body built a lot of cellular structure during that time, on the order of trillions of cells. That's a lot of physical structure holding the energy of anger, grief, bitterness and other stuff. But remember:

1. You are an infinitely complex being. Even though your body might hold trillions of these cells encoded to anger and grief, your body also holds lots of cells encoded to other frequencies like joy, love and empowerment. There are people who dwell in that anger, grief and bitterness, and the proportion of their cellular structure is skewed accordingly. It doesn't mean they can't make a change, it'll just take more time and conscientious effort.

2. In addition to building all those trillions of "sad cells," your body also broke some of them down.

3. Your body is a collaborative community of cells that communicate with each other and adjust their frequencies for a harmonious collective reality. This means that some of your "sad cells" are interacting with "happy cells," and their vibration is shifting to align with these healthier frequencies.

"But what about those hidden, trapped emotions you mentioned earlier? I still feel those energies in my physical body."

Right. That's a thing for sure. Even though the body has lots of mechanisms to heal itself, it needs some directed support and practice in order to make bigger changes.

Your body needs intentional, proactive, embodied practice to break down hidden, trapped emotions and unhealthy cellular structure, and rebuild new cells that hold the frequencies of health, joy and vitality.

Sitting on the meditation cushion and doing forgiveness practices is not enough. Yes, it's important to work in the realm of consciousness, but until it actually lands in the body, it's not a full transformation.

Doing a "workout" is not enough. Going for a run or going to the gym to mentally check out and listen to a podcast or think about all your stressors isn't helping to cleanse those frequencies from the body.

What is the solution to releasing hidden, trapped emotion and "negative" energetic frequencies from our physical structures?

The best way to release hidden, trapped emotion and "negative" energies from the body is to cultivate your embodied awareness and practice, in order to bring all the magic and love of your pure Soul essence into your physical structures.

This will allow you to:

• Ensure that your body is built with more intentional, healthy and vibrant cells than "sad" ones

• Express your pure energetic Soul essence on the physical plane

• Live with more connection, freedom and personal power than ever before

• Intentionally send your awareness into your body to cultivate health and vitality

• Feel strong, empowered, confident and fully alive

• Go from feeling stuck, ungrounded and disconnected, to fully present, aligned and resourced

• Experience more pleasure, connection, vitality, peace and safety than ever before

When you do this, it means that your holistic physical structures will hold a higher vibration that will affect every other area of your life. It will improve your overall sense of well-being, your relationships, your career, your energetic practice, your community involvement--EVERY area of your life. No joke.

Are you ready to fully release hidden, trapped emotion and energy from your cells in order to live a fully Embodied, empowered life?

Apply now for Embody Wild!

What would be possible for you if you released all the hidden, trapped emotion and energy in your body?

Scroll down for a practice prompt from me!

Many blessings,

Questions to meditate/journal on:

What hidden, trapped emotions and energies are stuck in my body? Where do I notice them? What do they feel like?

What does this area of my body want to feel instead? What would embodying that new energy make available to me?

Eagle Creek and the Waters of Renewal

Eagle Creek was one of my favorite hikes before the Gorge fire in 2017.

I know other people loved it, too. Of all the beautiful hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, Eagle Creek was one of the most popular, with good reason. Not only was it a comfortable hike through gorgeous forest, but it took you along the creek to a spectacular waterfall and swimming hole. I traversed that trail many times and have enjoyed several epic picnics at the waterfall.

When the Gorge burned for months in 2017, I was devastated. Everyone was devastated.

In an interesting twist of timing, I had hiked that very trail not long before the fire, and had collected some water for ceremony from the creek. I had no idea that would be the last time I visited that sacred place for years to come (the trail is still closed), and that this rejuvenating spring of life and flow would soon be engulfed in flames and choked with ash.

When the fire began, I used some of my collection right away as part of a water blessing ceremony. But after that, the jar of Eagle Creek water stayed closed for over a year. It felt as though the water itself was in shock, and needed to rest and be still.

Sometime last year, the Eagle Creek water started calling to me. It was ready to work again, slowly and gently. I started using it on my altar, and noticed the energy it brought to the container held a profound mastery of Death and Rebirth. The Eagle Creek water held the burning fires of transformation.

At the end of last year, as I was going through my own major Death process, the Eagle Creek water made its presence known even more powerfully, and brought to my healing work a deep sense of surrender, trust and allowing. The Eagle Creek water held the wisdom of letting go, of releasing the unnecessary, of purification.

This morning as I redid my altar and was replacing the water, Eagle Creek water shouted at me with its strength and power. I felt it bursting with life, renewal and creative potential. Eagle Creek is alive and thriving. The burn scars are still there, but aliveness is exploding forth from the purified Earth. This morning, the Eagle Creek water showed me that it held the sacred rage and grief of all those who loved this place. It held the death and sacred destruction of the fires. It held the burning, the release, the purification. But the Eagle Creek water also holds life, renewal, vitality, and resurrection. It holds the aliveness of growing things, of new form, of building new structures. Eagle Creek water offered to support me in cultivating these energies, in my life and in the world.

This was the last of the water that I collected 2 1/2 years ago at one of my favorite places on Earth. As I meditated this morning with my revitalized altar, the powerful energies of Eagle Creek and its rebirth were undeniable.

I am so grateful to this sacred place and to the elements of this place for holding space not only for my own healing and transformation, but for so many people. This place was beloved by many. So many people walked the trail, swam in the pool, enjoyed its magic. So many people grieved as Eagle Creek burned.

I can only hope that as many people are receiving the powerful aliveness and renewal that is emanating from Eagle Creek now. As I embody the wild, untamed, pure life-ness of Eagle Creek and let this rejuvenating force express through me, may it benefit all beings.

If you've been to Eagle Creek, I invite you to tune in to your embodied, wild awareness of that sacred space. What energy do you notice there?

If you've never been to Eagle Creek, I still invite you to tune in to this sacred space. What do you notice in your embodied awareness of this powerful place?

What would be possible for you if you had full, uninhibited access to expressing the most wild, free, untamed, powerful parts of yourself? What would be different in your life, in the lives of your loved ones, and in the world if you were to embody your own, wild nature?

Are you ready to join me in the Embody Wild™ movement? Apply here

Many blessings,

Eagle Creek before the fire (image from Oregon Wild)

You did not come here to be a spiritual being.

You did not come here to be a spiritual being.

You already have access to all the mysteries and all knowledge. You are already connected to the infinite, the Divine, the whole perfection of Source.

Your soul is already perfect.

But you did not come here for that. You came to Earth for something else.

You came to Earth not to live as a spiritual being, but as an Embodied one.

You made the choice, long before you were born, to actualize your consciousness into a body on this beautiful, unique planet. You chose to gift yourself the experience of a lifetime on Earth, in this beautiful, unique body. You chose to embody a new form, born as a soft and tender animal, and explore this physical plane through your beautiful, unique life.

So why aren’t you living fully in your body?

I promise, you’re not alone. Most other humans aren’t fully embodied, either.

Most people are living their lives checked out of their bodies. Maybe they’re up in their head all the time, maybe they’re using spiritual practice as an escape from Earthly life, maybe they use crutches like Netflix, food, alcohol, sex, drugs, shopping, social media, being busy, their careers, the news, drama—anything to avoid being fully present within their own bodies. Anything to dilute and distract themselves.

I get it. I didn’t fully land in my Earth body until my early 20s. But I’ll tell you that story another time.

You might be wondering, “So? What’s the problem? Earth is hard. My life is busy. Why should I care about being Embodied?”

Oh, my dear human friend, you can’t afford NOT to care. None of us can.

You see, common understanding (and societal conditioning) tells us that human bodies are machines to be exercised and fed according to numbers and formulas. It tells us that bodies are prone to sickness and need medications to be normal. It tells us that we need to cover them up with fashionable items and that some bodies are more attractive and worthy than others. It tells us that our bodies are primitive—merely houses for the true power of the mind, heart and soul. Common understanding would have us believe that the body is the least important, least powerful aspect of our existence.

All of this could not be farther from the truth.

Friend, your body is a miracle. Your body is a perfect child of Earth. Your body is a powerful, magical animal that holds all the power and wisdom of Gaia within each cell.

Living fully in your body is the key to your own liberation.

Fully inhabiting your body will give you more power, life force, vitality, trust, creativity and pleasure than you ever imagined.

What would be possible for you if you had full, uninhibited access to expressing the most wild, free, untamed, powerful parts of yourself? What would be different in your life, in the lives of your loved ones, and in the world if you were to embody your own, wild nature?

Are you ready to join me in the Embody Wild™ movement? Apply here

Many blessings,

“The Church says: the body is a sin.
Science says: the body is a machine.
Advertising says: the body is a business.
The Body says: I am a fiesta.”

― Eduardo Galeano, Walking Words

You don't actually want exercise, you want this instead

Have you ever thought, "I need to exercise more," or set a workout goal for yourself, that you never seem to get around to? Or maybe you start strong and go to the gym a few times, then something comes up and you never go again. Or perhaps you keep working out because you' know you should," but it feels unfulfilling. Or maybe you have a very dedicated physical practice that you enjoy, but it seems like something's missing.

What if I told you that the thing you needed and truly desired wasn't exercise at all? What if I told you that there's a reason your workouts feel unfulfilling, you find it hard to stay consistent, and moving your body feels like an obligation? What, then, do you actually desire?

The thing you're actually craving is true embodiment: a deeper sense of connection to the wild animal of your body, and your own cellular intelligence.

To embody: to express, to inhabit, to make tangible, to live, to anchor.

Unfortunately, most people on the planet aren't actually fully embodied. Many people live in some state of disassociation pretty much all of the time. Not being fully embodied can mean that someone's higher self isn't fully grounded into the Earth plane and their energy bodies aren't fully engaged with the physical body.

Not being fully embodied can look like being in your head all the time, feeling unsafe and anxious, greater tendency towards overwhelm and depression, difficulty making decisions, heightened emotional reactivity, easily influenced by outside energy and opinions, chronic health challenges, self doubt, lack of confidence, difficulty interfacing with other people, challenges with money, feeling "checked out" or disconnected, easily exhausted/depleted, addictive tendencies... the list goes on. All of these to varying degrees, of course. I invite you to take a look at this list and notice what areas you experience, and to what extent. If any (or many) of these resonate with you, you're not alone. And there is a very simple solution!

There are so, so many reasons why someone may not be fully embodied, I'm not even going to go there for now. That's a topic for another time.

No matter the reason, we live in a world where most people are not fully embodied, and this is not common knowledge. In general, people don't even know that this is a thing. They just know (consciously or subconsciously) that it feels like something is missing from their lives, and their solution usually comes either in the form of numbing out and avoiding it, or trying to address it with some attempt at landing more fully in the body: exercise, sex, food, etc. (Since we're at the beginning of the year, let's look at exercise, as this is a big resolution theme.)

There's a big difference between "exercise" and "embodiment." One moves your body through some activities, and the other one gives you the kind of power, vitality and confidence you're actually looking for. One treats the body like a machine, and the other recognizes that the body is a sentient, powerful being with unique cellular intelligence and innate wisdom. One is a "should," and the other is a "must."

Don't get me wrong--there is absolutely some intersection between the two! True embodiment practices can include intense training, but an embodiment practice might also be snuggling with an animal.

An embodiment practice is something that helps you consciously connect more fully to the physical body and ground the Higher Self and energy bodies into the Earth plane for their full expression through form.

When you are fully embodied, an entirely different way of being becomes available to you. Instead of being in your head all the time,  anxious and unsafe, you'll feel grounded, calm and resourced. Instead of being reactive, easily swayed and challenged making decisions, you'll feel attuned, confident and centered in your Self. Instead of difficulty with money, people and other Earth-plane realities, you'll feel more trusting, more supportive, open to connection and flow. Instead of feeling depleted and needing to check out, you'll discover new strength and vitality, and abundant capacity for connection.

Embodiment is the key to freedom: the missing piece that will help you fully inhabit and express your own, untamed, original nature. Being fully embodied will help you show up more than ever for your wild and precious life.

Are you ready?

There are so many ways to practice embodiment, and I would love to invite you to experience one such practice with me!

Embody Wild: to fully live and express your original, pure, untamed nature.

Are you tired of being in your head all the time? Do you have an energetic/spiritual practice, but feel like it's not translating into your 3D experience? Do you feel stuck, stagnant, unsure, ungrounded, fed up and bored?

Are you ready to have full access to your Wild, powerful self?

Join me for Embody Wild!

Many blessings,

"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."

~Mary Oliver