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An archive of all past Queerly Embodied emails is now available. Simply scroll down to “Archive” on my website.
This is part 2 in a new series about something very real for so many trans and gender expansive folx: Waiting for gender affirming care. Access part 1 here. In part 1, I invited you to map out the parts of your system that are present during the waiting process. You may have noticed parts that panic, parts that are angry, parts that are scared, parts that are joyful, parts that feel urgency. In part 2, I’ve recorded a guided meditation that leads you through a process of offering supportive presence to any parts that are arising in the moment. Read on to access the link below. The power of presence Often, when we feel a part coming online, we feel a rush to fix it, numb it, or push it away. When we’re dealing with a process like waiting for gender affirming care, it can feel like a game of whack-a-mole. I get it, and I’ve been there. When I was waiting for my surgery date, I had multiple setbacks, insurance hiccups, and moments when I was deeply scared it wasn’t going to happen. My parts showed up like a raging fire, all trying to react and protect me in their own unique ways. Somatic practices alone didn’t feel like enough, because as much as I wanted my body to calm down, my individual parts needed to feel seen and understood first. The ones that were panicked needed me to know I saw them, the ones that felt urgency needed me to know that I understood the stakes, the ones that were angry at the system needed me to see their anger and let them express it, the dysphoria needed me to know that things in my body weren’t aligned. By slowing down and tuning into our parts, it gives us a chance for our system to feel listened to and understood. This can offer relief and a pause in the internal chaos. It also gives your entire body a chance to catch its breath and feel into some safety and support. In this guided meditation, I invite you into some light somatic grounding, and then guide you through a process of saying hello to the parts that are present right here, right now. I also invite you to draw on the supports of your community and your transcestors so that you feel what’s holding you as you hold your parts. Access the meditation here. (Getting real: Thanks for bearing with me on the audio quality of the meditations! I’m not an audio wizard but I’m slowly working on being able to improve the audio quality of the recordings.) Doing this type of parts check-in takes practice, so it’s okay if it feels a bit abstract or difficult. Your system is unique, so also honor that your system of parts isn’t going to look like anyone else’s. That’s the beauty of it all. In care and 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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