The Body is a Doorway

plus a guided meditation and a warm invitation to join me on retreat

The body is a doorway into every experience.

Not the pretty, airbrushed ones we’ve become familiar with packaging and performing, but the raw experiences of aliveness which prick and bristle, expand and rush.

Like the scent of a rose which pulls us to our knees as its warmth rushes through our veins. Or the slap of cold water on skin which brings us to the surface like newborns speechless at the miracle of breathing. Like the swaying bluebells and wild garlic which wake up the dancing life curled dormant in the belly. Or the crisp sound of a knife slicing through firm stalks, the tart taste of rhubarb spooned from the pan, bringing us home to an immediacy of relationship.

The body is a doorway into an immediacy of relationship.

Not only with the ideas in our minds which display and defend their polished beliefs, but with the intimacy of tending to this embodied moment with kindness and curiosity. With the relational flow of receiving and giving back that is alive in every breath. With the currents of emotion which tug and pull us deeper into the ocean of love.

The body is a doorway into the alchemical dance of emotional life.

Not the censored version of pseudo spiritual feel-good feelings, but the wild currents which invite us to expand into the fullness of their power. A doorway where equanimity is birthed from embracing anxiety, where compassion blossoms through befriending anger, and courage grows as we rest beside grief. A doorway where trust expands its mycelial web of belonging while offering a safe home to fear.

Walking through life with equanimity, compassion, courage and trust, the body becomes a doorway into freedom, grace, strength and peace.

The body is a doorway to love.

But for most of us, most of the time, the doorway of the body remains half-hidden, overgrown with ivy, hanging off its hinges. Hard to find, harder still to enter.

Because when we’re disconnected, dull, contracted, tense and collapsed, we are more likely to fall into patterns of reactivity. We demand, defend and distract from life in desperate attempts to feel alive.

Yet what the body really longs for is to be guided back to remembering its essential nature: grounded, awake, open, relaxed and spacious.

This is why we go on retreat: to meet the body with kindness and curiosity, exactly where it is, and bring it home.

With yoga, breathing, meditation, nature immersion, silence, nourishment and connection… the body returns to its natural state.

We start to feel grounded, awake, open, relaxed and spacious.

And then everything else responds.

Because here in a body which feels like home, the mind is more willing to move in too. It learns to release overused and outdated patterns of reactivity. Liberated to share its creative wisdom, the mind helps us respond wisely to pain, gives us the courage to open wholeheartedly to pleasure, and remains curious in the face of simplicity.

And here in a body which feels safe and strong, the heart learns to feel what it feels without suppressing or drowning in stories. When we feel what we feel and find ourselves still here, alive and breathing, we become less afraid of truth.

We remember that it’s ok to feel this way. It’s ok to love this deeply. It’s ok not to know all the answers.

We remember that it’s ok to be who we are.

We’re no longer quite so compelled to hold onto the things that we once believed might make us ok. Or push away the things we once deemed unlovable. Or search restlessly for something else more stimulating than the life unfolding right here.

Instead we find ourselves to be right here.

Powerful, free and alive.

The body is a doorway to a soft hearted, open minded sensitivity which allows us to live a life that is more powerful, free and alive.

The body is a doorway to love.

Guided meditation: grounded, awake, open, relaxed and spacious

(with smiling apologies from my youngest son who enthusiastically opened and closed the door whilst this was being recorded, reminding us that here we are, grounded, awake, open, relaxed and spacious in the midst of life, just as it is!)

Join me on retreat

On retreat in France

If you feel called to explore and embody this truth together, I warmly welcome you on retreat.

My next retreat is in France from September 29th to October 5th

Retreats allow us to cultivate an atmosphere of loving presence which extends in all directions: towards each other, the natural world, and this very tender human body, heart and mind. ​

Everything is taken care of for us, with teachings and practices woven amongst the simple supports of a warm bed, delicious food, a river to swim in and walks through nature.

Our practice is to inhabit, align and enliven the body so that we are able to embrace this immediate, embodied moment with love.

We practice yoga every day, which invites a stable and relaxed presence in the body.

We practice meditation every day, which anchors and aligns our attention with the luminous warmth of this presence.

In the afternoons, after siesta and swim, yin yoga and enquiry supports a graceful and liberating relationship with our mental and emotional states.

We are held in the healing, nurturing warmth of a sacred silence that is digital free, to help us relax habits of distraction and connect more deeply with life.

A devotional relationship with nature allows us to be held and guided in profound and mysterious ways.

And together, the body, heart and mind become doorways for emotional, relational, intuitive and mystical threads to be woven into the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.

Our practice is a path of love.

Let’s walk this path of love together, one step, stretch, breath and smile at a time.

Read more about my next retreat in France from September 29 - October 5.

Read a conversation about “should I go on a retreat?”

Read more about the beautiful retreat venue in France, le Moulin de Chaves.

Register your interest to join the retreat.

I look forward to welcoming you there 🌹

Other news…

Sangha Live daily meditations June 2-6: we will be exploring this same theme of The Body is a Doorway to Love each morning from 7-8am UK time (recordings available).

HOME yoga and meditation class: I will be offering a yoga and meditation class in Primrose Hill, London at the new HOME studio on Fridays 10.30am-12.30pm, weekly starting from September 5th.

New website: if you’ve clicked any of these links you may have noticed that I have a new website, designed by my brilliant friend and neighbour Kaz who I highly recommend (he’s a great artist too).