Embodiment and breath work
These days, we’re hearing more about embodiment and breath work – and for good reason!
As a clinical therapist, I recognized early in my practice that, while working with the cognitive mind is a crucial piece of emotional health, developing body awareness is also key. This is known as somatic therapy, and it can aid your ability to find inner grounding and support.
Somatic therapy, as it exists today in Western culture, is fairly new. It’s a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection between mind and body. It uses both psychotherapy and physical therapies to create holistic healing. It brings balance to your nervous system, releases tension held in the body, and grows your capacity to be anchored in the here and now.
"Participating in the breath workshop was a profound transformative spiritual experience. Summer’s guidance through the healing breath practices opened my heart and body to experience healing within my soul. Her compassionate, gentle care created the safe, nurturing space I needed to unbind my fears and pain. I felt deeply loved in the core of my being."
—Rita Proctor
Body Intelligence
I believe Indigenious and Eastern cultures have a lot to offer the West about body intelligence and how our bodies can serve as resources for attunement to our environments and inner lives.
While the body is most often used to help us be human doings, it can also help us to experience ourselves more fully as human beings.
I have been deeply impacted by the insights of embodiment expert, Phillip Shepherd. His books and body practices reveal our cultural blind spots, particularly the West’s imbalance of valuing head intelligence over body intelligence.
Shepherd challenges us:
“Why does a head count refer to live people and a body count refer to dead people in our culture?” The Japanese word for belly is ‘Hara’ which means, ‘where we encounter our truth.’”
Shepherd guides us towards what the Japanese and many other cultures know about the wisdom of the body – it can root us in the present.
Shepherd’s work is paradigm shifting and profoundly informs my teaching and practice. At Embodied Intelligence, we believe wholeness lies within the harmony and unity of all three centers of intelligence: body, heart, and mind. We’re here to support you as you discover how your body can facilitate your inner wisdom and well-being.
We’re here to support you as you discover how your body can facilitate your inner wisdom and well-being.
Conscious Connected Breathing
One somatic practice we feature at Embodied Intelligence is conscious connected diaphragmatic breathing. We see breath as a pathway to presence and well-being.
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh
The ancients observed the healing power and life force in our breath. Breath is with us always. It welcomes us into life and it will be the last action we take.
Its intelligence nourishes our cells on the inhale and removes what we no longer need on the exhale. Breath is such a natural impulse that were largely unaware of it. And yet, unnoticed patterns of tension and constriction inhibit our breath, leaving us anxious and ungrounded.
Conscious connected breathing is designed to shift old patterns of shallow breathing, allowing you to feel the effects of full, deep breathing. This gives you more energy, openness, and support. Conscious connected breathing enhances all levels of your body, with physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits that greatly promote your well-being.
I first experienced my first conscious connected breath session in 2014 and was blown away by its ability to create an integrative state within. I recognized and experienced its ability to integrate unconscious patterns and wounds, open to receive insights and experience mystical states of being. I knew this was a powerful vehicle for transformative work and began my journey of becoming a student of breath work that same year. It is my joy to educate others about this self empowering healing modality.
"I participated in Healing Breath with Summer Estes both in person and on Zoom. I found both sessions to be transformative in getting in touch with buried emotions. Her commitment to embodied healing is inspiring.”
– Nancy Thorton
Breath's Healing Benefits
Benefits of conscious connected breathing include, but are not limited to:
❖ Increased energy
❖ Tension release
❖ More compassion for yourself and others
❖ Decreased anxiety
❖ Awareness and integration of repressed emotions
❖ Connection to your spiritual side
❖ Feelings of more inner peace and joy
Benefits of conscious connected breathing include, but are not limited to:
❖ Increased energy
❖ Tension release
❖ More compassion for yourself and others
❖ Decreased anxiety
❖ Awareness and integration of repressed emotions
❖ Connection to your spiritual side
❖ Feelings of more inner peace and joy
“If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.”
–Dr. Andrew Weil
At Embodied Intelligence, we’ll create a personalized breath practice for you, moving you towards a fuller and healthier life experience.
We offer one-on-one facilitation, as well as in-person breath retreats and online workshops. We will journey together through the breath to bring your body, heart, and mind into a greater alignment and harmony.
To participate in a session, complete the questionnaire and sign the liability statement:
Team Workshops
Explore how you can bring breath workshops to your team.