trauma informed

EMBODIED: Rooted in Christ

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Grounding practices have become “popular” of late, but it is for good reason. When we stop and feel the ground beneath us, it is a practice that puts us squarely in the present moment. For any time we might experience worry or anxiety, this is a valuable body-based resource that we can tap into in any moment. This practice works to bring the presence of God into our awareness where wholeness and healing can begin.

What does it feel like to root yourself in Christ’s great love for you? Spend some more time rooting down into the foundation of His love for you as you listen to Tree by Justin Rizzo:

May you be blessed as you root down into his love for you!

You can check out more of the EMBODIED SERIES posts here!

If you’d like to learn more about embodying your spiritual life consider joining me at Rooted & Reaching Lakeside studio on the shores of Pleasant Hill Lake in North Central Ohio for a Rooted & Reaching Embodied Care (RREC) REtreat or the newly launched RREC Certificate Training Program — a year-long exploration that includes a 3-day retreat and a 4-day training at my private home studio, Rooted & Reaching Lakeside on Pleasant Hill Lake in North Central Ohio. Sign up HERE to be among the first to know about retreat, workshop, trainings and other gatherings focused on living a fully embodied, whole hearted life!

Blessings of artistry, creativity, worship & BEaUty, Jody
Shine Brightly!

Jody Thomae © 2019 All Rights Reserved

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Jody Thomae is the author of several Bible studies including O My Soul, Jesus in My Practice and Voices of Wisdom in the Body. Jody has been involved in worship arts ministry since 1997 and is a lecturer on creativity, embodiment, and spirituality with Healing Care Ministries. She is an embodied spiritual director and hosts retreats through her ministry Rooted & Reaching Embodied Care. She is a graduate of Ashland Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a doctorate in spiritual formation and relational neuroscience with a focus on embodiment and trauma-informed care at Western Theological Seminary. Her passion is for the person of Jesus Christ to be made more real through the revelation of creativity, embodiment and worship. Enjoy other Bible studies here. If you’d like to learn more about embodying your spiritual life consider joining Jody at Rooted & Reaching Lakeside studio on the shores of Pleasant Hill Lake in North Central Ohio for a Rooted & Reaching Embodied Care (RREC) REtreat or the RREC Christian Embodiment Training. Sign up here to be notified of retreats, trainings and workshops geared towards creativity, embodiment and spirituality.

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All her books are available through Amazon. Contact Jody at jodythomae@gmail.com for pricing on bulk amounts for your creative ministry team or group study. Enjoy a creative spiritual journey through her devotional CD, Song of the Beloved, available through most music outlets including YouTube and Spotify.

EMBODIED: Resources Galore!

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What is an “embodied spirituality” and what does it mean to embody your spiritual experience? How do we bring our bodies to our prayer, worship and other spiritual practices? There are many great resources I want to share with you that explore these questions.

I recommend these books…

  • Jesus In My Practice: Bringing the Questions of Jesus to My Movement, My Meditation & My Mat by Jody Thomae. On Amazon.
  • Voices of Wisdom in the Body: a Christ-Centered & Bible-Based Exploration of Energy by Jody Thomae. On Amazon. Also available in a Group Study Edition.
  • Embodied Prayer: Towards a Wholeness of Body, Mind & Soul by Celeste Snowber Schroeder. You can preview the book here.
  • The Wisdom of the Body: a Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women by Christine Valters Paintner. You can find out about both the book and an online course that accompanies it here.
  • Dance—the Sacred Art: The Joy of Movement as a Spiritual Practice by Cynthia Winton-Henry. You can preview that book here.
  • Prayer of Heart & Body by Fr. Thomas Ryan. Find out more here. NEW!! You can hear more from Fr. Tom Ryan in this video about The Theology of Christian Embodiment.
  • Praying with the Body: Bringing the Psalms to Life by Roy DeLeon. There is also a DVD to accompany this book. Read a review and find out more here.
  • New!! Body Prayer: the Posture of Intimacy with God by Doug Pagitt & Kathryn Prill. Find out more here.
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EMBODIED: Flowing Grace

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I love this short and sweet video called Flowing Grace from Paul Denniston of Grief Yoga. Whether your holiday season is busy and chaotic or filled with the pain of loss and grief, take a moment to flow in grace…

Click here for a longer chair practice that combines movement, breath and sound to connect to love, peace and grace. It is a quiet, simple practice that focuses on letting go of the negative in order to be filled with peace and contentment. If you are struggling this holiday season, I recommend exploring more of Paul’s resources on his website or on Facebook. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Abide Christian Meditation

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I’ve recently discovered the Abide app. You can listen to daily scripture meditations, as well as meditations geared towards anxiety, anger, addiction, depression, fear and grief. There are meditations on blessing and forgiveness and even ones to help you drift off to sleep. Moreover, many of these Bible-based meditations are very embodied in nature, encouraging body-oriented relaxation and simple breath prayers like….

Exhale chaos
Inhale peace

Exhale anger
Inhale love Continue reading

EMBODIED: Walking a Labyrinth

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Sending you to two different articles on the embodied practice of walking a prayer labyrinth. The first is at Guideposts and includes four different ideas of ways to pray through the labyrinth. You can find that article here. The second is at Patheos and includes a short history on labyrinths, as well. Find the Patheos article by clicking here. Finally here’s a world-wide labyrinth locator to help find one near you. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Resting in the Midst

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We all need times of rest and replenishment in order to live whole-hearted and fully-embodied lives. However, in our crazy, hectic, fast-paced society, it is really difficult to make time or space for rest. Even when we are utterly exhausted we keep pushing: one more task… one more errand… one more project… one more phone call… one more appointment… one more   fill in the blank  . Our bodies cry out to stop, to slow down, to breathe, and yet, we keep right on pushing through.  And, worse, if something goes wrong (which *news flash* it’s bound to), it’s even more difficult to rest, because we are driven to fix things, to solve problems and to make them go away.  Continue reading

EMBODIED: Beautiful Prayer for Healing

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Join Morgan Day Cecil for a short embodied prayer inspired by Fr. Thomas Ryan, recorded at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia. The choir singing in the background is so BEaUtiful!

You can check out MORE EMBODIED SERIES posts here!

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Embodied: How We “Treat” Trauma

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My husband might suggest to you that I’m addicted to the BBC series Call the Midwife, and, perhaps he’s correct. I recently viewed a powerful episode that dealt with the issue of trauma, and more specifically how we “treat” those who’ve been affected by trauma, particularly in our early response to trauma. In my mind, it conjured thoughts of sterile emergency rooms and even more sterile conversations with those required to gather evidence…  of not-so-well-meaning statements of “should’ve-known-better” judgement and “if-I-were-you” advice…  of well-meaning friends who try so very hard, but still fail in their offerings… Continue reading