A powerful somatic method and embodiment practice, designed to help clear stress, regulate the nervous system, boost creativity and restore vitality. It involves tracking physical sensations, emotions and thoughts in the body and following them with continuous movement.
The method combines elements of polyvagal theory, trauma-informed therapy, nervous system regulation and central channel energy work. It supports the nervous system, the body, and both the conscious and subconscious mind to repair itself and recover homeostasis.
It’s not a fitness practice. It’s not yoga. It's not dance. If we had to categorise it, we’d call it a moving meditation or a body-based mindfulness practice. It can be practiced at any age, fitness level and mobility.
Curious about my Embodiment Practice? Watch my class introduction above
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Please reach out to me at tel@embodimoon.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
The Non-Linear Movement Method® is facilitated on a mat or blanket. Participants dress similar to a Yoga or Dance Class, in comfortable, non-restrictive clothing.
Classes are hosted on Zoom so you can practice in the comfort of your own space. You can have your camera off so you can engage with your own processes without being observed.
The method can be practiced at any age, fitness level and mobility.
The movements are designed to be self-regulating and can be done in any position, including laying down.
We use Zoom to connect for our online practice sessions. You will receive the link to the specific Zoom session you registered for via email after signing up.
This method has many deep, powerful applications:
Regulates the Nervous System
The demands of modern life create stress and tension in the body and an overactive mind. NLMM encourages the identifying and unwinding of patterns of contraction. Through gentle, non-force movements bodily tension and underlying mental loops are relieved. The result is a systematic, self-guided unburdening of the nervous system.
Processes and Identifies Emotions
As the body unwinds and the mind relaxes its pressured pace, the emotions associated with these contractive patterns become apparent and can be dissolved through the movement. You can note recurring emotional loops for further processing and at the same time allow emotions to simply arise and let go.
Releases Trauma Patterns into Flow
One of the common results of traumatic experience (fresh and old alike) is “freeze”, a state in which body, mind and emotions are stuck in a state of numbness. Often “freeze” is falsely perceived as a feeling of “calm/nothing”, which results in an inability to release the experience and ease the bodily patterns of hold. NLMM facilitates a continued movement, which gently opens the freeze pattern and allows for recognition and release of the underlying bodily and emotional patterns.
Unites Mind and Body in Intimacy with Physical Sensation
Through continued engagement with release of contraction and facilitation of emotional awareness, the ingrained patterns become both more apparent and less pronounced. Over time, physical sensation can be more fully engaged with, and the acceptance as well as tolerance of all sensation increases. Intimacy with whatever is present is possible. Body, Emotion and Mind can align to support an integrated approach to feeling and understanding existing behavioral patterning.
Creates High Bodily Responsiveness
NLMM educates the body how to release and process contractions, stress and emotional tension while at the same time sensitizing you to your internal landscape. This is called “Interoception”, the ability to feel what is “inside”. Via the body we become highly attuned to all sensations and can note, react or release fluidly and without having to attend to traumatic or suppressed backlog.
Opens Access to Bodily Wisdom
By putting emphasis on movement and circumventing the analytical mind and loops of tense thinking the natural intelligence of our bodies is accessed. Through gentle guidance the mechanisms of “freeze” and refusal to feel are being loosened and our innate bodily wisdom can create the necessary actions and releases.
Awakens Vital Energy and Sensual Sensation
As tension, contraction, and emotion are being released, the body becomes sensitized and we are able to feel deeper. One of the marked results of this sensitization is an ability to feel increased pleasure and well being. Participants report an increased ability to connect through their body, both with themselves and others.
The founder of this method, Michaela Boehm, developed this modality with her clients as a way to get them unstuck and connected to their feelings during difficult sessions. After two decades of instruction and practice, Michaela found that this simple practice was instrumental as a way to gently reintroduce women to their bodies and to help them restore their wild, embodied nature.
The key in NLMM is that it “unfreezes” you, and with that, the body’s natural genius can release and attend to whatever needs to be let go.
Stress, tension, overwhelm, and trauma of all kinds tend to put us into fight, flight, or freeze mode.
Of those three responses, freeze is the hardest to detect and work with, as you are frozen, which creates a numbness that makes you “feel fine.”
With this gentle, non-forcing method, stored tension and emotion as well as programmed coping patterns can be loosened; and as the body moves it can facilitate its own release and restoration.
For your home practice you can choose a few songs and practice for 10-15 minutes as a simple yet effective way to connect with your body, emotion and sensation.
Choose music that does not have lyrics and feels nourishing to you.
This exercise is a good entry into the method.
At home Non-Linear Movement Method® Practice:
On a mat, come onto your hands and knees. Drop your head and feel where your body meets the ground for a moment.
Let your neck relax, and feel your head hanging heavily, like a bowling ball.
Close your eyes and begin to feel how your body wants to move. Perhaps you feel some tightness that you want to attend to, perhaps there is an area you’d like to stretch.
There might be thoughts and emotions that arise as you begin to move. No matter what occurs, just continue to move your body in whatever ways it wants to move.
Make sure not to apply any breathing techniques and also to allow the movements to be nonlinear, instead of reverting to postures you know from yoga or other exercises.
Just allow yourself to feel and move, to move and feel. Allow whatever thoughts occur to rise and fall naturally.
There is no right or wrong way to do this exercise; simply allow your body to move and your body’s natural wisdom to guide you.
Sometimes you’ll be lost in thoughts, sometimes you might feel enveloped in emotions, sometimes you might just feel bored—all of which is fine— just continue moving.
You can do this movement with music as a background or in silence.
The only two rules are: keep your eyes closed and keep moving, even if you are just moving a little finger or a making a slight undulation of the spine.
You can also adjust your posture or position according to your body’s needs, by lying down or resting on your forearms instead of putting pressure on your wrists.
This exercise is best done on hands and knees, though, as this position gives you maximum movement of the spine, shoulders, and neck.
This instructions are by Telisha's teacher, Michaela Boehm and excerpted from her book “The Wild Woman’s Way”.
Send Telisha an email below with any questions or inquiries.