Why Am I Here?

By Jennifer Kelleher

Embodiment is “the representation or expression of something in a tangible or visible form.” To be embodied as a human being means to have your awareness or spirit present inside the full body.

Most people struggle with being in the body at some point in their life. Escapism comes in many forms, for example, keeping an overfilled schedule, living in the mind’s stories, using substances, and distracting through entertainment. But why can being in the body feel so challenging? Why do we try to escape in these ways?

Perhaps it is because the physical realm is dense, and we come from the other side of the spectrum. The innate nature of the spirit is light, so integrating into a dense reality can feel hard because it is new and different. If we place the gamut of emotions on a scale measuring from dense to light, we would likely agree that the ones weighing in as light or high-frequency, such as love, joy, and peace, feel “good”, and the heavier, lower frequency emotions, like loneliness, anger, and regret, feel “bad.” But what if the dense emotions weren’t bad, rather here to ground us, and the light ones, to remind us where we come from? If we could peel away the mind’s labels, cease judgement, and have the feelings for what they are, we would be left with the human experience of being in the body, which I believe is why we are here in the first place.

Have you ever, throughout your life, sat and wondered what your purpose is? At our core, we all want to serve. We want to be useful, and we want our lives to be meaningful. In today’s culture, we have a lot of options and can easily get pulled in all sorts of directions. This can sometimes cause us to second guess our inner truth. When we go out of the body into the mind and try to figure it out from up there, we start to derail. The spirit is always talking to the body, and the body talks to the mind, but if we are not in the body, it is impossible to receive spirit’s guidance. The mind wants to know, it wants to control. But wisdom does not come from the mind. Wisdom is translated through the body to the mind, so we have to teach the anxious mind to listen and trust.

The body is our home, and we all share the same fundamental purpose– to be in it. I see living in the body, through the senses, not only as an incredible opportunity for expansion, but also as its own work of art. Every breath, decision, action– every moment– is painted by you; a stroke on the canvas that is your life. Are your brushstrokes intentional and heartfelt? Presence in the body creates the masterpiece that is our life and legacy.

Embodiment is a worthwhile practice, beneficial for you and those around you. We become more vibrant and naturally helpful when we are embodied. How we can serve is an effortless outcome of embodiment. We are more connected, more heart-centered, and our lives feel fulfilling, purposeful, and aligned. A few of my favorite tools for embodiment include yoga, meditation, central channel breathing, and vocal toning.

If you are tired of feeling uncomfortable in your own skin, ready to take ownership of your life, or even slightly curious about how to feel consistently well and balanced no matter your circumstances, I invite you to come join classes and workshops at our studio. We are located on the 3rd floor of the Belle Harbor Yacht Club (126th Street and Beach Channel Drive). New members welcome; parking available. Discover opportunities at oceanblissyoga.net or call or text me (Jen) at 917-318-1168.