What would it be like to move through your life more connected to the knowing that lives in your body? And how would you feel if you knew how to turn toward your body, rather than away from it, when considering what you want and need?
What the Body Knows is a body-affirming movement and truth-telling writing practice. And if these questions feel like some of your questions, then you’re in the right place.
In late 2021, I was in a desperate place, in the throes of a two-year fertility challenge while also wading through the muck of an ongoing trauma healing process and all of this during the pandemic. I felt like my feet were regularly slipping, few footholds in sight.
There was a truth I needed to tell myself in those days that I could only get to through moving my body and through writing. And I’m not talking about writing a five paragraph essay or something with a neat and tidy linear trajectory. I’m talking about putting pen to paper and writing as fast as I could, letting what was in my body come forward onto the page. I surprised myself, I cried, and I gasped when I caught a glimpse of what I was having such a hard time saying to myself: we were not going to have another baby. I do have to end that particular relationship. I have done so much healing work, and I still have so much to do.
I was so far from my body that if I tried to just sit down to write, I had a really hard time finding a way in. But if I spent even a few minutes moving my body intentionally first, it was like a channel opened. Combining body-affirming yoga with writing in this way made me both remember and want more of my own aliveness.
What the Body Knows is a body-affirming movement and truth-telling writing practice. I put the two together without realizing I was making something I’d eventually share during a challenging season in my life. This was a time when I deeply wanted to hear from my body (honestly, that’s every season for me) and needed a way in.
“What the Body Knows is TRUE mind-body connection, with myself and with others, in a shared, safe space. It’s unlike any other practice I’ve experienced and it continues to nourish me in ways I didn’t know were possible.” -Julie M.
Body-affirming movement
We begin with the body because that is where we always begin. I am a longtime yoga teacher, so our movement is of course inspired by that. But what we’re doing here is just as rooted in embodiment and listening to your body. So sometimes we may do more familiar yoga poses, but other times we will do simple movements to see what your body wants next, or we’ll shake out our body from head to toe, do guided meditation, lie down and rest, or some combination.
You do not need to know anything about yoga or consider yourself “flexible,” and you can do the practice from seated in a chair, seated on the ground, standing, or lying down. You are always in choice.
Truth-telling writing prompt
The writing portion of the practice begins with me reading a poem and giving you a few jump-off lines to get you going. You know how we usually start our movement with a few breaths? That’s what the jump-off line is: an inhale. It gives you a way to begin.
Then I’ll share the poem again (I think of the second read as when your body really gets to feel what you’re hearing), offer the jump-off lines again (and an alternate in case any of those aren’t calling you), and then you’ll set your timer and go, pen never leaving the page (or fingers never leaving the keyboard if handwriting isn’t available to you, but if it is, I encourage it) until you hear the timer sound. If you’ve ever done any type of freewriting, you’re already familiar with the process. We write quickly to try and outwrite the inner critic.
You do not need to consider yourself a “Writer” or know anything about poetry to participate. But if you do, or if you are craving more writing in your life, this is such a beautiful practice. It helps you cut right through to your own voice on the page in ways that very little else has for me.
We use poems to open a door into feeling, and all you need for that is a willingness to listen and see what stirs within you. And we write to hear our own voice and truth; no one will be giving you feedback on structure, grammar, or anything else. This portion of the practice is inspired by a teacher training I did with Laurie Wagner in Wild Writing in 2022.
Transformative-witnessing community
The third component of community is really what brings the experience together because it is so incredibly rare that we find ourselves in a witnessing space. When your words get to stand without feedback, simply encouragement for showing up, something can start to shift within you. What that something is is a bit different for each of us, but for me it has helped me to feel both more connected to my own truth and stronger in choosing to live from it.
This is the part that feels scariest to most people at first, but it’s also what ultimately makes the practice come fully alive for most people. When I said this is what keeps people coming back to one of the groups I lead live, I’d never seen a group of people nod their heads so fast and so hard!
“What the Body Knows is literally the highlight of my week. Anna creates a warm, welcoming and safe environment that provides a container for creativity, honesty and vulnerability. I don’t know how Anna does it, but I eagerly await each session knowing it will be revealing and inspiring.” -Amy A.
There are two ways to practice What the Body Knows! Some people choose one or the other, but many people do their own combination of both.
1. What the Body Knows live on Zoom: there is space for 8 participants in each group, and I generally do one or two groups in the winter, spring, and fall. I always open registration first to folks on the waitlist. Click the button below to get first heads up when registration opens again (+ a discount!)
2. What the Body Knows on Substack: Each week, free subscribers receive a new video practice that begins with body-affirming movement and then moves into a truth-telling writing prompt. Paid subscribers are also invited to share their writing in community (we keep this to paid because you’ve been in an open comments section before, right? Yikes! This gives us a way to create a container where people feel comfortable sharing). This is a great way to give the practice a try, supplement the live classes if you’re someone who likes both, and just generally get more of this practice into your life! Because if you’re anything like me (and many of our participants), once you try it, you definitely want more!
“Anna’s gentle, vulnerable presence, trauma-sensitive embodiment practice, and outstanding selection of poetry writing prompts created a safe container to listen in to what the body knows. I looked forward to every practice, as a way to come back to my body and to remember my own creativity. I encourage anyone who has a body and is looking for a tool for self-care and self-expression to participate in this practice.” -Susan W.