e m b o d i e d ☽ l i t u r g i e s

Most of us understand liturgy in the context of religious tradition. There are liturgical churches and non-liturgical churches, and in recent years I’ve been drawn to those that observe liturgy, for a few reasons. First, I love the embodied nature of them: sit down, stand up, kneel, sing, participate in the Eucharist, be still, rest in silence. Second, the preset, understood rhythm is comforting to me. And third, this comfort invites blessed rest.

Liturgy literally means ‘work of the people’ and a liturgist is one who leads people in worship. I created Embodied Liturgies as a way of honoring nature and our embodiment, grounding these realities in the Divine, something most churches do not do. My main goal is to write about what I truly think, feel, believe, and aspire to, in my deepest embodiment, while allowing nature to teach me her ways day by day. As a writer, I believe words help us ponder the deep questions of life, instruct our beingness and give voice to our innermost thoughts and longings.

Embodied Liturgies seeks to highlight words grounded in the real and the raw of life … embodied experience, the grit we wrestle with, the felt sense of joy, the wonder of the natural world. Offerings include prayers, ponderings, practices, book and podcast recommendations, art, breath prayers and more.

A few thoughts on the purpose of this work …

  • To create a body of work that uplifts our human embodiment and all of the created non-human world as beloved, exquisite expressions of the Divine
  • To live into an alternative lens in which to view God–one that is non-humancentric–that values and is reverent of all of creation
  • To grow deeper in our human embodiment, the whole truth of our humanness, moving away from the separated story we’ve been given (and subsequently lived into for millennia)
  • To establish and nurture strong communal bonds of shared connection to and with all of creation
  • To dismantle the patriarchy within ourselves, through the consistent application of this work

NOTE: this work derives from a Christ-centered hermeneutic with various Eastern, Contemplative Perennial influences. As a yoga teacher, grounded in an ancient, non-dual philosophical worldview, I am influenced by various spiritual traditions while at the same time being grounded in a ‘Christ-soaked world’ (phrase borrowed from the Center for Action & Contemplation). You will find no dogma here, and please note the distinction in the leading sentence … Christ-centered not ‘Christian,’ herein lies an important distinction. ALL are welcome, wholeheartedly and without judgment.