What does embodiment have to do with Human Design?
I have said it before and I’ll say it again, the Human Design system is not meant to be intellectualized. It is meant to be embodied.
The Human Design system is a framework, a tool that I use in my counseling sessions to help folks understand themselves at a foundational level. The bodygraph is similar to a blueprint of your body and mind outside of conditioning and transits. The centers and channels are relatable to the chakra systems and the tree of life, but they also directly correlate to organs, systems, and neural pathways in the body. When a center, gate, or channel is defined, you have consistent access to the energy of that element—you have a defined relationship to that part of the body. Your design is your default and knowing who you are at an elemental level is necessary in order to realign with yourself and make decisions from a truthful and harmonious place.
Many of us grew up being told what we should do in order to meet the necessary standards that would merit us a certain recognition or compensation; which we were then expected to use as a way of acquiring specific and tangible expressions of achievement. Translation: go to school and do well enough to get (into a good university so that you can then be “qualified” for) a good job that will pay you enough to afford to own a house with two cars and make 2.5 children. Bada bing, bada boom! You’re successful and happy, right?!
Well, suffice it to say fewer and fewer people are buying into this one, very narrow idea of how a life should be well-lived. Not that education, a home, or children can’t bring you experiences of happiness, but happiness is not measured in numbers. It’s not a thing to be racked up nor is it a final destination. Happiness is a feeling and a state of being on a spectrum of experiences. This is where embodiment comes in.
How can we achieve this elusive h a p p i n e s s if we’re not even aware of what we are feeling moment to moment?!
When we reconnect to the messages from the body, we make decisions that are more aligned with our natural gifts and our wellbeing. Thereby alleviating unnecessary stress and empowering us to approach challenges with confidence.
From the time we were young, each of us experienced moments, maybe even fleeting impulses, about something that was right or wrong for us. As we grew up, the web of rules and expectations from outside of ourselves constrained and reshaped many (sometimes all) of these very personal understandings, bending us to fit into the generic shape of the collective. This process cuts us off from our personal strategy and inner authority, from hearing and understanding those messages from the body.
Embodiment is a practice of awareness and attuning to signals from our physical being. First we must begin to notice our body with regularity. What does our resting heart rate feel like? Where are we holding tension when we lay down to sleep? Noticing cues like an increased heart rate, a vibration in the gut, the tongue pressed against the teeth, a flushing of the skin, a spark, a jolt, a kick, pins and needles, indicate changes in our current state. And then, where do you feel it in your body when someone tells you that they love you? What signals do you notice when you see your pet?
Learning one’s Human Design without embodying it is the equivalent of looking at a sandwich and saying “Wow, that was a great meal, I’m stuffed!” You have to actually pick it up, bite off a piece, chew, swallow, and then give yourself time to digest it; to process it through the physical body.
Say you have. defined Sacral Center. Knowing this information intellectually is great for conversation, but how do you practice Sacral awareness? How do you feel that motivational vibration from your core? Practicing Sacral awareness through somatic awareness techniques like sense-memory meditation and movement can feel very fulfilling, amplifying, and validating. Strengthening your connection to this area and helping you to practice your strategy of response. If you are undefined or open in the Sacral, embodying the inconsistency of this creative energy within you can make it easier to recognize when you need more rest or when you are acting out of not-self behaviors, such as not knowing when to quit, when enough is enough.
Human Design and the practice of embodiment are inextricably linked. When we are living embodied, we are making decisions in alignment with our innate gifts, our health, and wellbeing. These decisions lead us to more satisfying experiences, progressive growth and a greater sense of true h a p p i n e s s.
