Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Begin.
This is the final piece of a three-part series where we explore the construct of Home and collectively redefine not only what it is, but how we take action to create the homes we need. In this third part of our exploration of Home, I invite us to look at what it means to be at home with the bodies we experience life through. With deep reverence for the land, in connection to our communities, may we tenderly and courageously pull ourselves in with kindness, curiosity, and grace.
As we round the corner into another breathtaking autumn may we let the land be a role model. With the days growing shorter, may we move slower to honor the shift from outward focus to inward reflection – the final harvest of the season. Reap, pick, and gather the lessons, the wisdom, the experiences, and the gratitude. In our harvest, witness levity – a letting go of that which has completed its cycle as we prepare to preserve energy for winter. The land calls us to soften into our own bodies – into our own homes. Each piece in this series will offer invitations for reflection and reclamation. May we rebel through connection and love.
Part Three: At Home Within
We speak often of listening to the body – as if it’s easy. As if it isn’t something that’s been trained out of us. The body carries joy, strength, and wonder and also grief, tension, and history – from our lifetime and beyond. It can be a place we celebrate and honor, commodify and avoid. Some days it feels like a trusted friend, a miracle to behold. Other days it feels like a stranger, an enemy, a vault locked tight with secrets unknown to even our own consciousness.
To be at home within the body is not to love every sensation or appearance, but to remember that this body is the only home we are guaranteed from our first breath to our last. It is the place where every experience lands, where every story begins. It is the gift, the bridge, the connection between our consciousness and all that is, was, and will be. This body is the lens through which we experience this life.
But – from the moment we are told to “stop crying”, “finish your plate”, “sit still”, the world programs us to be suspicious of our bodies – to judge them, reshape them, ignore them, push them past their limits. We learn to listen to other people’s opinions and instructions more than our own inner knowing. Over time, it is more “natural” to check out than check in.
But homecoming is possible.
When we turn toward our bodies with curiosity and trust instead of criticism and doubt, we begin to listen – to witness that the body speaks its own language and you too are fluent in this way of communicating. A sudden yawn might be a call for rest. A racing heart could be fear, excitement, or both. A lump in the throat might be the grief we’ve been holding back for months. A tightening of the belly warns of danger or misalignment. The body speaks in sensation and rhythm, in cycles and seasons.
And like the land, the body moves through changes. Times of expansion, contraction, blossoming, and rest. Some seasons ask for stretching and growth. Others invite us to curl inward, to protect, to nourish, to restore.The more we practice listening and responding to the subtle but profound ways the body talks to us, the less loud it needs to be to catch our attention. When we learn to honor these shifts instead of resisting them, the body begins to feel safer, softer, more like home.
This homecoming is not a single moment. It is a lifelong practice of tending, of noticing without judgment, of offering kindness even when we don’t fully understand. It is a remembering: This body is mine. I live here. I belong here.
Invitation to Practice: Coming Home to Your Body
Notice
Pause once today to feel into your body without trying to change anything. What sensations are here right now – warmth, tension, tingling, heaviness, ease? Simply notice, without labeling them as good or bad.
Speak softly
When you notice discomfort or self-criticism, offer your body a sentence of care. “I’m listening.” “You’re safe now.” “Thank you for carrying me.”
Follow the seasons
Ask yourself: What season is my body in right now – a time of growth, of harvest, of rest, of renewal? How can I live in harmony with this season instead of forcing another?
Offer rest or movement
Give your body one thing it’s asking for today – a stretch, a nap, a deep breath, a glass of water, intense movement or a gentle walk.
Reflect
Journal or voice note: When do I feel most at home in my body? When do I feel furthest away? What might help me close that distance?
If feeling into the body feels unsafe or perhaps feels too scary to do alone, please reach out to a somatic practitioner or a mental health professional for support. It is your birthright to be at home in your body.
Closing Wishes
May you witness the earth’s pull through the soles of your feet.
May water absorb the heaviness and gift levity.
May the wind remind you of breath
filling you with hope and releasing you from doubt.
May your inner fire be stoked with a spark to burn bright
trusting that the char will nourish new growth.
May the goodness of our hearts be the first to touch.
May the magnificence of your wholeness
be felt, be seen, be honored
by me, by you, by us.
May you be at home.
Jasmine Linane-Booey of Kazuko Wellness is a Somatic Energy Guide with certifications in Reiki, yoga and meditation, and somatic energy work. She is also a trained psilocybin guide and wellness coach. Contact: hello@kazukowellness.com | www.kazukowellness.com