i sing the body electric

i am deeply in love with human anatomy and physiology. i think synapses are perfect, iliac crests are delightful, luteinizing hormone is miraculous, and the psoas is wondrous. and yes, i have a favorite neural pathway - the arcuate fasciculus, if you’re curious.

lately, all the books i read have something to do with bodies. my body is not an apology, the body keeps the score, the red tent, come as you are, the anatomy of hatha yoga, pleasure activism, the edible woman, her body and other parties. fiction, nonfiction, essays, short stories, poetry. we humans are so fascinated, repulsed, enchanted, amused by our bodies.

but of course, how could we not be? everything we experience happens to the body, on the body, in the body. everything from little-t trauma and big-T trauma (both the structural and the interpersonal kinds) to powerful intimacy and comfort to emotional release to the joy of physical movement.

so then, the body has to be the site and source of healing. we nourish ourselves by nourishing our bodies, by feeding our bellies and firing our neurons and massaging our fascia and soothing our breath. i am learning that you cannot just think your way out of hurt and into healing - i cannot just think my way out of hurt and into healing. breathing stretching eating crying running moving washing swimming playing growing strengthening healing - these we experience in our bodies.

a few medicines for this full moon, for our bodies:

• lemon, fennel, chili flakes

• a softly scented oil

• morning surya namaskar, evening chandra namaskar

• anis mojgani, on love

• (and speaking of slam poetry: subject credit to andrea gibson)