In this heartfelt reflection inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall, Iris Savonije explores how reconnecting with your body can restore safety, belonging, and love for life on Earth.
A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away, an anthropologist, wise woman, activist, and so much more. Around the same time, a video of her was released carrying a loving message: you matter, and you are here for a reason. Even if that reason isn’t clear yet. And perhaps that’s one of the most important messages of our time: your presence on this Earth matters.
Why Reconnecting With Your Body Feels Unsafe
In a world, a society, that seems to be collapsing, there can be a strong urge to escape: from the world, from being human, from truly being here. And that makes sense, because when you are overwhelmed by distressing images and stories, how can you still feel that you want to be here?
This can trigger us into moving away from our human bodies; one of the most primary protection mechanisms. Especially in these times, this defense can easily be activated. It can mean energetically leaving the body, living in the head, or even escaping to another dimension. But also: viewing the world as hostile, distrusting others, the urge to isolate.
Below you can watch the video of Dr. Jane Goodall. Read on below the video.
How Early Disconnection Shapes Our Sense of Belonging
For some of us, leaving was once necessary as a child, because the pain was unbearable, and the love that was so deeply needed was missing. A young child needs emotional attunement from their caregivers and needs to feel their presence before they can feel their own. The level of presence from their caregivers becomes the level of presence they will be able to tolerate. This means that when parents have unprocessed trauma and are not attuned to their own bodies, the child cannot fully incarnate into their body, and therefore on earth.
I think that it’s important that even though I describe this on an individual level, this is a societal problem that impacts all of us in a personal way. Our society is making it increasingly more difficult to be present and attuned in our bodies, to have the time to feel, heal and take care of our children in a supported way.
The Paradox of Safety and Disconnection
As adults we may unconsciously continue this pattern in our beliefs, behavior, and body. This keeps us from truly grounding and connecting. And because we avoid that contact, life can start to feel even less safe. And that is the paradox: those who leave their body in order to feel safer will actually feel less safe, precisely because they are not inhabiting their body. Only in the body can we find boundaries, and with those boundaries comes safety.
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Practices for Reconnecting with Your Body and Belonging
Now there are some things that you can do in order to reconnect with your body again. And this can only be done with patience, compassion and a bit of courage. Here are a couple of actions:
• Increasing your tolerance to feel fear. When you haven’t fully lived in your body, it can feel terrifying to feel again. Fear, as well as anger, are feelings that belong to the human body. Coming down to earth also means feeling these again and allowing yourself to have it and realizing that it will not kill you. With patience and guidance, you can gradually start to hold more of these emotions.
• To touch other people and to be touched. One of the most important ways to regulate is through the loving touch of other people. This does not have to be big: ask a friend to hold your hand. Feel if you can let the warmth in. And the other way around: ask someone if you can touch their hand. And feel if you are able to give your warmth to them. And when you want to take it to the next step, you can add eye contact too.
• Find ways to protect yourself from negative or overwhelming news. It is good to be aware of what is happening, but try to limit it to certain moments. Especially for the ones with this wounding, because you are energetically very attuned. Make sure to create a structure, a rhythm that supports your grounding. Go out for walks, find human things that make you feel happy, take hot baths, use your creativity.
• Allow yourself to grief the love you never received, and the safety you needed. Because from this grief, a new longing can arise. The longing to live, to be human and to create in a way that suits your authentic self.
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Coming Home to Earth, Humanity, and Yourself
Reconnecting with your body, or grounding into yourself doesn’t make the entire world suddenly safe, but those who can be embodied will move through life from a different place. And that is the place Dr. Jane Goodall spoke of with such love, the driving force behind all her work: the love and goodness of the Earth and of humanity, and the belief in our potential to do better. Of course, she also spoke out against destructive human behavior, but her work always came from a place of service to life itself.
The invitation is to find ways to bring your energy back on earth again. And in order to do that, you have got to be willing to become the mother or father of your own self. To the part that was terrified and overwhelmed. To nurture that youngest part and to welcome it into life.
It’s not strange to want to fly away now and then, maybe it’s even healthy sometimes. But returning takes courage, and it can hurt deeply. Yet beyond that pain lies something precious: a felt sense of belonging on Earth, the warmth of others, a body filled with life energy, and the feeling that you leave behind meaning. It’s your place.
How does it feel to allow yourself to take it?
Ready to Reconnect With Your Body?
If this article resonates with you and you recognize the longing to come home to yourself, Iris Savonije offers 1-on-1 body-centered therapy sessions to gently guide you back to your body, safety, and belonging. In her sessions, she helps you feel what has long been held, release protective patterns, and reconnect with the wisdom and warmth of your own presence.
🪷 Book a session with Iris Savonije
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