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An archive of all past Queerly Embodied emails is now available. Simply scroll down to “Archive” on my website.
A theme I’ve been returning to again and again over the past several months, with myself and the folx I work with is the metaphor of sips of safety. In this moment, the embodied safety for many folx is compromised. And becuase of the ways that systems of oppression weave themselves into our embodied lineages, many of current threats to embodied safety that folx are experiencing carry with them echoes of intergenerational experiences. Caring for our bodies and our nervous systems during times of escalating fascism is a complex dance. We honor all aspects of our experience, while also allowing ourselves to tap into moments where we can find a sip of safety, come up for air, and resource ourselves enough to stay connected to ourselves and others. Our world needs you and your body, in all its expressions. And when our nervous systems are put in a state of constant survival, whether it’s sympathetic activation or shut down, our ability to show up for ourselves and community becomes limited. You may have felt some version of this cycle showing up for you over the past few months. I certainly have. Instead of fighting the cycle, or pathologizing ourselves for having human reactions to what is happening, we can shift the relationship. Being with our bodies’ reactions with tenderness and care, and offering our bodies and our system sips of safety, gives us the opportunity to sustain ourselves and our communities for the long term.
I intentionally use the word sip because for many of us, taking in full gulps of safety can feel inaccessible. We may have parts that arise that feel like we don’t deserve to feel safe because of what is happening to our communities. Or we may have parts that feel that gulps of safety are not possible or safe. That’s ok. When we take in sips of safety, we honor the parts of us that need to go slow, and we show our bodies that we can have micro moments where we notice something that feels safe enough in the present moment to focus on. Over time we can teach our bodies to find and trust the sips of safety. Sips of safety can come in many different ways. Over the next few months, I’m going to be sharing different types of safety sips that you can engage in, both individually and with community.
Today’s newsletter is sharing two guided practices, both of which contain links to the full guided practice on my T4T meditations Soundcloud page: Practice #1: Finding sips of safety by focusing your attention on a neutral area of your body. This practice is best for folx who feel that bringing awareness a place in their body that holds a neutral (or possibly even grounded) energy feels accessible. If being in your body for any reason at this time, whether because of trauma, dysphoria, chronic pain or illness, feels inaccessible, that’s ok! That a sign to turn toward practice #2. Link to a full recording of practice #1: Click here.
Practice #2: Finding sips of safety by focusing one of your senses (sight, taste, smell or touch) on an object that feels grounding and supportive. Even if the first practice feels accessible, this is another way to give yourself a chance to pause, slow down, and take in a sip of resourcing. Link to a full recording of practice #2: Click here.
The goal of these practices is to sustain, and to give your body a moment to feel held and resourced. It’s important to name the both/and nature of these practices. Right now, embodied safety is compromised. And, you deserve to have micro moments where you can take in a present moment experience of safety. In solidarity,
Eula For more T4T mindfulness practices, visit my T4T meditations SoundCloud page. More will be added regularly.
I have several slots open for pro bono, time-limited, virtual somatic resourcing sessions. For a full description of this offering, visit this link.
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