by Jen
Landing Softly in the Jungle with Soma Tending
Landing softly in the jungle was a recent experience when I traveled to Costa Rica. The night I landed in the jungle, I was exhausted. But I couldn’t help but notice and record in my journal…
I have arrived. The rain is gentle yet forceful, the frogs are animated, and the crickets are singing. This place…
This place…
If you know, you know. I don’t always have the words to describe it. It has the capability of slowing you down. If you’ve heard the song Northern Attitude by Noah Kahan and Hozier, it helps to explain. We are sometimes so tightly wound in the Northeast US, stiff, uptight, with dysregulated nervous systems. There is a carryover from Puritan times of hard work. Also, that of following the rules. Winters are cold as fuck. And that just makes life more challenging. The urge to nest is strong and the guilt of not always working is stronger.
Safe Place
Landing here has allowed me to let go safely. There’s no TV. I haven’t even needed to play music because the jungle provides its own music, the birds, the critters, it’s pure peace.
As a recovering follower of shiny objects, wanting to ‘do’ things from arrival is tempting. I’ve gotten to know people in this community that I want to see. I want to go into town. If someone invites me to do something, my default is almost always yes, even when my body says no.
Luckily, I have a jungle kitty who has taught me to rest. She just came into the house and made herself feel at home. I’m 100% ok with that. Her presence convinced me to just chill the fuck out in this hammock for a good part of the afternoon on my first day here.
Soma Tending
All this allowed me to fully embrace the one thing I wanted to do: the Soma Tending with Jessi Magik. This experience is almost impossible to describe in words, but I will try…
First, let me say that I have been following Jessi’s work for over a decade. She’s the kind of person you just want to be in the presence. While she offered words to describe soma tending, it is challenging to understand on paper. But I trusted her.
When I entered her space, we tuned into the body sensations. After a day of travel that started at 2 AM, everything hurt, from my back to my shoulders, down to my neck. It was almost like I wanted to escape from my body. She permitted me to collapse into myself rather than holding a stiff posture. Next, she invited me to start some gentle movement while tuning into the unpleasant sensations without trying to fix them. We moved into what felt similar to yoga, but at a pace that was slower than slow, like slow as fuck.
Her training and intuition gives her the ability to see things. She asked for permission to offer gentle touch. She referred to many of my movements as going into the primal seat. I need to look into this more; I’m fascinated. The chronic pain that I have in my psoas muscle, she noticed a bubble…inflammation. I’ve been to many practitioners over the years, and they have never told me that before.
Intuitive Movements
Soon, the movements began to feel intuitive with very little guidance. I’m the one in a yoga class who’s usually looking around the room, wondering if I am doing the right thing, often admiring those who flow so gracefully when I’m hiding in the corner, feeling like an elephant who crossbred with a poodle focused on how awkward I am. All of that goes away when you are in the presence of someone who offers safety. And when you learn to trust your body, your relationship with it can change.
If we look at babies…
If we look at animals..
They move intuitively. They trust their bodies. They rely on their instincts and intuition without the baggage we seem to carry as humans.
Somewhere along the way, we lose that connection to ourselves. While the digital age has its benefits, we’ve lost touch with ourselves. We glue ourselves to our screens. For instance, WE make time to spend hours on Instagram or Netflix or our exploding inboxes. We don’t make the time to move intuitively or to be still. We don’t allow for flow or for the soupiness that comes from getting into the flow state. Instead, we meticulously track our time in a way that doesn’t allow for transitions. And transitions are so important.
It’s time to rethink the way we live.
If we can feel our bodies, we can feel the feelings.
We can allow ourselves to bask in the pleasure. We can resource for the unpleasant and painful.
If we do this, we can live with intention.
Watch this short video to dive deeper into my Soma Tending.
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