A Trauma – Informed Five Element Reflection

Dear Body,

I’m learning to speak to you gently now. Not with demands or disciplines disguised as devotion, but with the kind of tenderness that true yoga practice teaches. The kind that asks permission, offers choice & honors your pace above all else.

I used to think healing meant pushing through. Now I know healing feels more like a conversation, co-created breath by breath. Today, I write to you as a way of listening.

Earth : The Ground Beneath Me

Earth reminds me that safety is not given. It is something we cultivate. In my yoga practice, Earth is the moment my body meets the mat & my body decides whether it can soften. Yoga tells me I don’t have to force grounding. I can simply notice.

So dear body,

I place one hand over my belly & thankyou for the weight that holds me here. Thankyou for the steadiness you offer, even when the world feels anything but stable.

Water : Permission To Feel

Water teaches me that emotions move, and that movement is natural.

There were years when I tried to dam the river inside you, tighten, hold, restrict, pretend. Yoga whispers sensation is information, and I get to decide when & how I feel it.

Dear body,

Thankyou for every tear released in childs pose, every wave of breath that has carried me through nights when I didn’t know I’d make it through until morning. You are wise in your flow.

Fire : The Spark Of Choice

Fire is transformational, my yoga practice reframes fire as agency. It is the fire of saying yes or no to a shape. The fire of choosing rest over achievement. The fire of claiming power one inhale at a time. The fierce compassion that lights my body, heart & soul.

Dear body,

Thankyou for your courage. For every time you protected me, & for every time you let me thaw. Every time you lit the way. Thankyou for letting me rebuild our fire with fierce compassion instead of force.

Air : Breath As Bridge

Air is the reminder that we are never stuck. Breath is always moving. My yoga treats breath as an invitation never an instruction. I honor my right to breathe in the way that feels safe & natural for me in the moment.

Dear body,

I love how you rise & fall like a quiet prayer. How you help me return to myself without demanding anything in return.

Space : Permission To Be

Space is the element of possibility. It’s the pause after my exhale, the moment of choice before I move. Yoga honors space as a form of consent. My reminder that nothing needs to be rushed but instead felt.

Dear body,

Thankyou for expanding in ways I once believed were impossible. Thankyou for holding memories, boundaries, stories & dreams. Thankyou for giving me room to grow and allowing me space & time.

To My Body ~ Here’s My Promise

I promise to meet you with curiosity instead of criticism.

I promise to ask before I push.

I promise to remember that healing is non linear & that you are doing your best.

I promise to love you in all the seasons, all your elements, all your edges & openings.

Dear body,

Thankyou for staying

Thankyou for listening

Thankyou for speaking

Thankyou for becoming a home I am learning to cherish

I love you

With full heart, earth, water, fire, air & space