Why We Disconnect from Our Bodies

…and how to begin coming home again

Have you ever gotten to the end of a long day and realized you never once paused to feel your breath, your hunger, or your heartbeat?

You were functioning — probably even performing well — but some part of you wasn’t fully there.

I know that feeling. For years, I looked composed on the outside while constantly overriding my inner world. I pushed through headaches. I ignored tightness in my chest. I made myself smaller, quieter, more productive — just to feel safe or worthy. I wasn’t broken. I was disconnected. And disconnection, I’ve come to learn, is a deeply intelligent response.

We disconnect from our bodies to survive.

Sometimes it's due to trauma — other times it's from chronic stress, emotional overload, over-responsibility, or even the simple noise of modern life. For many of us, especially those who were taught to be “the strong one,” disconnection is what allowed us to carry on when our nervous systems couldn’t process it all.

We may not even notice it happening.

It can look like:
• Going hours without a deep breath
• Tensing your shoulders so often it feels normal
• Feeling “floaty” or checked out around others
• Always scanning the room, but rarely checking in with yourself
• Overgiving until you're exhausted — then wondering why you're resentful

The body is brilliant at adapting. But when we stay in disconnection too long, we start to lose access to important parts of ourselves — our intuition, our boundaries, our sense of joy, our yes’s and no’s. We become strangers in our own skin.

The good news is: disconnection isn’t the end of the story.

Reconnection is always possible — and it doesn’t require massive change. Often, it begins in the smallest of moments:

• Placing your hand on your chest and simply feeling

• Taking three slow, conscious breaths

• Noticing where your body touches the chair, the floor, the air

• Asking, “What do I need right now?” — and listening gently

These acts are simple, but they are radical in a world that encourages disembodiment.

When we reconnect with our bodies, something begins to shift. We come back to ourselves — and from there, everything changes. Relationships feel different. Our energy returns. We begin to feel both more grounded and more alive.

That’s what I’ll be writing about next week:
How Reconnection Heals Everything. Because it really does.

And if you’re feeling the call to explore this now — not as a concept, but as a lived experience — I’d love to invite you into my new 6-week somatic offering. It’s a space to return to yourself through breath, movement, and presence — slowly, safely, and with support.

We start May 21. Details here.