Happy October! All this month, we'll be discussing and reflecting on our physical dimension of well being. That means lots of talk around our bodies, hence the question, is your body invited? Think about when you make decisions, both big and small, or when you show up for different moments of life, do you connect and invite your body along for the ride? Or does your body stand outside of you as a whole?
Also, our Inner Co-Working session for the month of October will be on the 10th. Mark your calendars and RSVP Here!
Welcome back to Inner Warmup, where your inner work begins. My name is Taylor Elyse Morrison, I'm the founder of Inner Workout, and you as always are our expert guest. Thanks for being here. You know, I like to start episodes with something to bring you into the present moment. Today it's pretty simple. If you're comfortable, I want for you to put one hand on your heart, and then we're going to take a deep breath together. On that exhale, after the exhale, or both, see if you can let something go whether it's something you've been telling yourself that's unkind or it could be the wrong thing that you said in a meeting that is sticking with you or an expectation that isn't serving you. Whatever it is, during that exhale, let it go. Even if it's just for the next 10 minutes or so. Ready, deep breath into your belly. Exhale out through your mouth. Let something go. Maybe take another breath for good measure. I just let go of some of my need to to overachieve and to do things, do a lot of things and I do them really quickly. I'm really trying to lean into slowing down and experiencing the journey and I need to remind myself of that often.
So the question that we've got on the table for today's interview is, is your body invited? And before I get into...what does that mean? invited to what? Friendly reminder that for the month of October, we're exploring the physical dimension. And so the questions of this month will be more geared to the physical. Thus this first question, is your body invited? And I left that open ended on purpose because it could be invited to anything or not invited to anything. Is your body invited as you are making big life decisions? Like do I take this job? Do I switch careers? Or small life decisions like do I get up and work out today or do I sleep in for that extra 30 minutes? Is your body invited as you experience emotions, as you experience, embarrassment, or joy or sadness? Is your body a part of that? Is your body invited as you move through your day? As you go between in person meetings or zoom calls and you switch tasks, is your body invited to be a part of that? I was thinking about how to describe what I mean because what we're trying to talk about this week is embodiment. And really embodiment, in my definition and opinion is inviting your body along. And it sounds silly because yes, your body is always there. It theoretically should be invited, but in my experience, I can treat my body like it's a neighbor on a sitcom.
Have you ever watched Sister Sister? Roger came to mind where they're like "go home, Roger!" And sometimes they let him tag along and sometimes they close the window and didn't let Roger in. And we can treat our bodies like that, like they're this thing that is here, it exists. But my body at least can sometimes feel like it's in the way, like it's slowing me down, like it's hindering me from where I could go if I was just a mind, if I only had my intellect.
And that's not a helpful way of looking at our bodies, especially when our bodies have so so much to offer. And as I sat here and reflected, I could see where some of this is coming from, some of this disconnect, this hot/cold relationship with my body. Sometimes I want to invite my body in, sometimes I want to turn it off and just ignore it. I want to stare at my computer even though my eyes are really dry, or I want to get like five more minutes of stuff done and not go to the bathroom, and just pretend that peeing and going to the bathroom isn't a bodily function that I have to do. And I could trace it back to a few of the things that I experienced growing up. One is I grew up in a religious tradition that told me mixed messages about my body.
I was told that my body was a temple, but also that it could only be used in certain ways. And also, I should be really suspicious of it because my heart is deceitful and my flesh wants me to sin and do bad things. So my body is like this beautiful thing that is made in the image of a creator and also my body is this deceitful thing that I need to be afraid of. And sometimes, instead of navigating that gray area, it could just be easier to say, okay, I'm just going to disassociate or not engage with my physical body because there are parts of it that are bad. And I don't fully understand which pieces are bad and which aren't, so I'm just going to focus on my mind.
And then, I was thinking, I've talked about dancing, and I was a late bloomer when it came to dance but, that teaches you so much about being in your body. And almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, could have you, had me hyper focused on my body, what it could do, what it couldn't do, how is in comparison to other people. And as so many things, when we talk about doing inner work, there's this beautiful in between that we have to find where we see our bodies, and our physical dimension as a whole, as a piece of ourselves. It's not all of us, our body doesn't have all the truth about our situation.
But it also does have truth that we might otherwise be ignoring. And that's why I ask, is your body invited?
Have you gone to an extreme where your body is all that you listen to and pay attention to? And maybe that conversation that you're having isn't the healthiest? Or have you decided, you know what, it's easier to just shut out the data from my body because I want to get more done. Or I'm afraid that what of what would happen if I truly allowed myself to feel in a way that included my body? So think about that. Is your body invited? Maybe you contextualize it a little bit more, maybe you want to think about is my body invited to my work day? Is my body invited as I am doing my hobby? As I'm engaging with my partner? Whatever is helpful to you. I'll pose the question to you, is your body invited?
Thank yourself for taking some time to reflect today.
And I'd invite you, I would encourage you to see if there are small ways that you could invite your body into what you have going on for the rest of your day. I also want to literally invite you to the October Inner Co-Working Session. It will be next Sunday, if you're listening to this during the week that it comes out, that's on October 10th. Inner Co Working Sessions are free low pressure ways for you to do whatever self care or inner work thing you keep meaning to do. And for whatever reason, it gets de-prioritized. And this month might be kind of fun for you to do something involving your body, whether it's a movement practice or a body scan, but you can do whatever you want. It's up to you. It's free. It's an audio room, no need to get dressed up. I hope to hear your voice in the room.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for your expertise. If something sat with you or something resonated with you, feel free to dm us. You can also screenshot the episode and share it in your stories. Inner Warmup is a labor of love and people find it because people like you share it. So thank you again and take care!