Discover Embodiment

A FREE EMBODIMENT STARTER KIT BY NICOLETTE STINSON

“Energy and joy stem from the capacity to be with, feel and express the deep truth of all that is within. Now is the time to come home to the wisdom of your body and to reclaim that power, joy and vitality as an embodied being”

— Nicolette Stinson

Hi Love,

I’m NIcolette Stinson, Feminine Embodiment Coach. My exploration of embodiment began with a sense of being burnt out from chasing success, being stuck in my head and disconnected from the true knowing within my body. 

In 2019 I moved to Hawaii and decided to go on what I called a joy journey, this entailed not only doing the simple things that brought me joy but also bringing awareness to and cultivating joy in my being. 

During this process I enrolled in The School of Embodied Arts and became certified as a Feminine Embodiment Coach.

During my personal mastery in the program I stopped trying to “fix myself”, broke free from the stuckness, frustration and exhaustion I was experiencing and began to feel more alive than I had ever felt before. My relationship with my husband also deepened and just before wrapping up the program I became pregnant at 40 with our first child after trying to conceive naturally for years. 

Upon graduation, I dissolved my business at the time and building upon everything I learned at The School of Embodied Arts, ultimately created a unique coaching model to support women in breaking up with stress and burnout and becoming more joyful and abundant by using the principles and practices of embodiment through my programs The Embodied Abundance (Un)Challenge, The J.O.Y.F.U.L Movement Method and Reclaim Your Joy. 

The practices in these programs support you in moving your desires from your head into your heart and body. Once stuck energy is released in the body and your desires are moved through your body or “embodied” they are free to come to life. The results of this in my life and the lives of others have been uniquely profound. 

I truly believe embodiment practices are the missing link to tapping into our most abundant lives and experiencing deep joy and well-being. I hope you enjoy this starter kit. Learning about embodiment changed my life-it may very well change everything for you too! 

Xo,

Nicolette

The history of embodiment practices

Throughout time philosophers have argued for mind-body dualism, which claims a person’s thoughts and emotions are separate from their physical self. 

These philosophies have defined much of how we view our bodies in the West today - from Western medicine to how we process stress and anxiety to how we “check out” with technology.

Thankfully, this narrative is changing in the mainstream. Philosophers, researchers, doctors and psychologists have well proven the mind-body connection; that the body is not separate from our thoughts and emotions and holds valuable wisdom for our healing and well-being. 

Embodiment practices can be used as a mind-body therapy and fall under the umbrella of somatic psychology, a form of body-oriented therapy that uses techniques and holistic approaches to help people gain awareness of the body and to heal themselves. Somatics is the field which studies the soma: namely, the body perceived from within by first-person perception.

Wilheim Reich is the founder of somatic psychology. He proposed, in 1933, that trauma stretches beyond our minds and could lead to inflammation, pain, muscular tension, and other reactions within the body.

Many other brilliant minds have contributed to this field since then including Elsa Gindler, Moshe Feldenkrais and Thomas Hanna. 

And perhaps most commonly noted is Dr. Peter Levine, author and creator of Somatic Experiencing. According to Levine,  

“Embodiment is the practice of creating a relationship with our body, by developing awareness of and attending to physical sensations and prompts, and connecting to the world through our body in a healthy way.”

This is one definition of many! Any way that it’s defined, embodiment practices can not only support us in resolving traumas, disease and dysfunction in the body ( ie. letting go of undesirable ways of being) but it can also support us to move from a more status quo baseline to having more energy, joy, pleasure and aligning our lives with who we are on the deepest levels. 

While the concept of embodiment has been around for some time, it has really only been in recent years that it has gained traction and these kinds of benefits are becoming more widely recognized. 

What exactly is embodiment?

Embodiment can be a difficult concept to put words around because embodiment isn’t really concerned with the mental concepts that language creates. Embodiment is a truth that lives much deeper in our being.

Embodiment put simply is “inhabiting self”.

But what does it actually mean to “inhabit self”? 

Inhabiting self is being in the body with all it’s feelings, sensations and knowings. Our bodies are all of our homes that we live in and yet most people are not inhabiting all of the “rooms” within their home. Inhabiting self is allowing ALL of who you already are or your true nature to occupy your body and being. 

This true nature is often referred to as your Essence or Soul. 

Embodiment is living from your essence, allowing the most authentic and true you to occupy your body to the point of overflow. When you are fully embodied you inhabit all dimensions of who you are (using the skill of sensitivity to your internal world ) which allows your essence to navigate your life in your decisions, your expression and how and where you’re investing your energy. 

Every person is embodied to some degree. Without Essence existing within us we wouldn’t be alive as our unique self. But at any given moment we are existing somewhere on a spectrum between fully embodied and disembodied. 

What causes us to move towards disembodiment and no longer be fully embodied?

When we are operating on the disembodied end of the spectrum our energy moves up into our minds, out of our body and into the world. We turn the volume down on sensation, become busy “doing” and are usually using our time, energy and decision making power based on someone else’s truth.

You can’t inhabit your body if you are not listening to it and in a world that values the mind and efficiency over feeling, it is easy to get disconnected while listening to the demands of life instead.

As we are all socialized, sold our social norms, experience traumas and become domestically civilized many of us begin to shut off parts of ourselves.

Many, if not most of us, are trained to ignore internal sensations or what the body is telling us so we can follow the rules of life implied by school, work or culture- ignoring our bodies’ needs especially in the name of productivity. Or, alternatively, suppressing and controlling our emotions or aspects of ourselves to fit in, be loved or not “rock the boat”. Or perhaps there is a physical part of our body we don’t like so we stop inhabiting it or we desensitize that part of our body.

It is not often (if ever) that we are rewarded for feeling and often we may even be shamed, silenced or deemed “too emotional” for expressing big feelings in certain settings or relationships…so why would we?

But just because we don’t feel it doesn’t mean it’s not there. These signs from our body do not go away and will have to eventually be reconciled. Any time we ignore, reject or repress our feelings and sensations they become stored as frozen tension inside the body.

This frozen tension drains our energy and life force and can create highly undesirable situations that show up as “symptoms” of disembodiment. However, when we start to practice embodiment we will begin to feel and experience the other end of this spectrum.

Signs of Disembodiment

Burnout

Disconnection from your desires and people in your life

Inability to access your true gifts and express your truth

Anxiety and Indecision

Low Self Esteem (feeling unworthy or like a failure)

Numbness

Diminished capacity to feel and prioritize pleasure

Unclear boundaries with others and self

Stress and disease

Signs of Embodiment

Increased life force energy

Deeper connection with yourself and inside your relationships

Easily access and express your divine gifts

Clear decision making

Healthy self esteem and self love

Congruence with the truth of who you are (a life of alignment)

Healthy boundaries

Reduced stress and increased pleasure, joy and ease

Magnetism- the ability to attract what you deeply desire

What is feminine embodiment coaching?

My training is specifically in Feminine Embodiment Coaching (FEC) which has a particular approach including powerful practices and skillful inquiry designed to bring you back into your body so that you can move towards your goals with more magnetism, grace and ease. 

As a feminine embodiment coach I am trauma informed, meaning I work in ways that absolutely minimize the risk of doing harm or re-traumatizing someone. I aim to increase the sense of safety and resourcefulness that my clients can find within their own bodies but I’m not actively working on present or past traumas. Rather, together we are working towards embodied goals or desires and moving towards thriving.

Although I typically work with women, Feminine Embodiment Coaching is not only for women, it can benefit all humans. So it’s important to define feminine in this instance.

Feminine refers to the aspects of life that are ….

  • Feeling

  • Flowing

  • Changing

  • Dynamic

  • Sometimes chaotic

The feminine is every kind of internal sensation and feeling that we can possibly feel. 

She is reflected in Mother Nature, in her cycles and seasons and how everything in nature is always moving in dynamic flow. 

Feminine is this “flow” aspect and is opposed to masculine which is the “go” aspect.

So while the feminine is cyclical, and lives in the often nebulous world of feeling. Masculine is forward focused, purposeful, logical and linear. 

Every human has both masculine and feminine qualities that live within them regardless of gender or sex. No one is all masculine or all feminine, there is actually fluidity between the two, both are required and one is not better than the other.

However, in our modern world the masculine aspect is generally viewed as more valuable and this ideology is embedded into culture. This can be seen in an overwhelming emphasis and value placed on achievement, productivity, rapid results and idolizing reason or the intellect. 

Feminine embodiment, on the other hand, values inhabiting the body and coming into contact, through vulnerability, with all the feelings, sensations, emotions and knowings that exist within our entire body. In this way we access the wisdom of the body before taking actions in our life (referred to in FEC as depth before direction). When we allow this order the answers we find within can guide our actions to be heartfelt and stem from our authentic truth. 

Some feminine embodiment practices support you in building the skill of sensitivity to your internal landscape, some allow you to liberate any undesirable thought, emotion, feeling or sensation in the body, others allow you to expand your capacity for pleasure and joy and others will support you in attracting abundance or building your inherent magnetism for whatever it is you desire.

It’s important to recognize the skills of feminine embodiment are already deeply known within us and are as fundamental as breathing. Except, as mentioned, we live in a hyper-masculine culture and for many of us we live in societies that do not encourage us to inhabit or cultivate these feminine qualities. 

Because of this, in many ways these practices are a way to remove the layers so we may remember what we are already capable of and what we may already know to be true deep down.  

What makes feminine embodiment practices work and what makes them so powerful is that they don’t label one end of the sensitivity spectrum as wrong or invaluable. We do not get to feel the bliss, joy and pleasure without also equally fully feeling and inhabiting the felt truth in our pain and sorrow. And this core principle of embracing, loving, and welcoming in your full spectrum from dark to light or pain to pleasure is vital to remember when you begin to explore feminine embodiment. 

How do you practice embodiment?

Practicing embodiment is as simple (although often deceptively simple) as slowing down to feel all the dimensions within our body, including the physical, mental, emotional and energetic bodies.

An embodiment practice is a practice that helps us to enhance our sensitivity to the feeling, feminine qualities within us, gain new insights and become fueled by our essence. 

This can be done in formal practices and in a more informal way sprinkled into our lives. 

Formal feminine embodiment practices are…

  • Non-linear, mat based movement practices

  • Are less about fitness and more about feeling

  • Have no prescribed poses or set poses, like in yoga or dance

  • Self sourced and allow your body to lead

  • Done in any environment that feels comfortable and safe

  • Not rigid in structure

  • Can be done in any time frame desired. (The suggested time frame is somewhere between 20-40 minutes as this time frame generally allows for a somatic shift)

  • Practiced in silence or with music

We don’t need to spend all day seeking our way into a perfect state, which makes these practices very practical as well. Overall, they can fit into our day to day pretty simply. 

However, it is in engaging in the practice with consistency when you will notice the biggest difference, usually 3-5 times per week or more.

It’s recommended that when you first start you practice for at least 7 consecutive days then you’ll find a rhythm and timing that works for you.

When you do these practices consistently for a few weeks you will begin to notice the difference. 

Like with driving, at first you may need some lessons and guidance but ultimately you can get into the car and drive yourself as often of you’d like! (ie. once you learn these practices it’s a skill you have for life) 

Below is a short guided feminine embodiment practice to drop into the body and access the wisdom within today. You’ll also find a link to a checklist of the items you’ll need to get started with embodiment practices . Enjoy!

Online Programs

The J.O.Y.F.U.L Movement Method Masterclass

A Somatic Embodied Movement Practice

Introducing a gentle embodied movement practice for those craving more energy, aliveness and depth. To be J.O.Y.F.U.L. = Journey Of Your Full Unconditional Love. Break up with burnout and learn to strengthen and cultivate the innate joy within you with this powerfully healing movement practice.

The Embodied Abundance (Un)Challenge

Tap back into abundance and joy in only 5 days.

Stop struggling to fix your mindset and start letting your body lead. This mini embodiment course and moving meditation series is the loving jump-start you need to begin attracting and experiencing the abundance and joy you long for

A new paradigm of well-being; why the world needs embodiment now

It’s one thing to practice and reap the benefits of embodiment for yourself but can it really make a difference in the world?

To that question I would give a resounding YES YES YES!!

Unfortunately, our current culture is creating an epidemic of disembodiment. The structures, systems and values within our culture which have become normalized and that we have been socialized into are not created for the well-being of our bodies. They were not created with intimacy, depth and resiliency in mind.

The truth is we are embodied beings. We are soul, essence, spirit that has come with a body and yet our culture consistently seeks to disembody us, which can be seen through dominant systems and circumstances such as……

  • Capitalism- profit over people; valuing the human body less than profit and productivity

  • Climate collapse- extraction over sustainability; convenience over working with nature

  • Patriarchy- men/masculine traits and energies valued over women/feminine traits and energies

  • Racism- a system where white bodies are dominant over bodies of color

If inside your life you have ever…….

  • Craved more but felt there is never enough time

  • Yearned for more depth but felt obligated to show up in a certain way or appropriate manner

  • Been hungry for more but are exhausted and depleted and don’t have many resources left

  • Felt that your body does not fit into the demands and expectations within the traditional corporate 9-5 workspace

  • Felt held back by personal or collective traumas

  • Had a consistent nagging feeling you are not doing enough despite a packed calendar

  • Devalued or disregarded the importance of any creative endeavor that hasn’t made a profit

  • Felt that when your personal embodiment and deep joy does arrive, it is difficult to maintain because of a lack of community that supports it

…… then you’ve likely felt the effects of living within the structures, systems and values that are creating this disembodied world. These systems are happening on the macro level which in turn show up on the micro level; within our bodies.

The work to shift and change this epidemic of disembodiment must happen in our bodies first and then we can create embodiment for the collective. We won’t be able to envision and create a better future unless we are sourcing it from the truth of who we are and underneath the system is where our truth is living.

This change is more than a mindset, you can’t simply change your mindset around these systems because they have been built into your body since you were born and for many generations before. Through the work of embodiment we can unwind and liberate the tension and scaffolding that has been built into our bodies as a result of these systems and transform them from the inside out.

Embodiment has the potential to create a world that puts people, their well being and the well being of mother nature over profit, productivity and convenience. A world built with healthy communities and ecosystems that views all feeling bodies as valuable. I believe there is hope for this more embodied future and I hope you will join me in creating and cultivating it today!