What would it be like to move through your life more connected to the knowing that lives in your body? And how would you feel if you knew how to turn toward your body, rather than away from it, when considering what you want and need?
What the Body Knows is a body-affirming movement and truth-telling writing practice. And if these questions feel like some of your questions, then you’re in the right place.
This practice is for you if you want:
To move in ways that support you not just in feeling good in your body but also in listening to your body more deeply in every part of your life
To invite your body to say that thing you’ve been avoiding or didn’t know was there, both through movement and on the page
To develop and hone your authentic voice, both on and off the page
To both witness and be witnessed by others who care about what the real stuff of life feels like in the body and sounds like on the page.
In late 2021, I was in a desperate place, in the throes of a two-year fertility challenge while also wading through the muck of an ongoing trauma healing process and all of this during the pandemic. I felt like my feet were regularly slipping, few footholds in sight.
There was a truth I needed to tell myself in those days that I could only get to through moving my body and through writing. And I’m not talking about writing a five paragraph essay or something with a neat and tidy linear trajectory. I’m talking about putting pen to paper and writing as fast as I could, letting what was in my body come forward onto the page. I surprised myself, I cried, and I gasped when I caught a glimpse of what I was having such a hard time saying to myself: we were not going to have another baby. I do have to end that particular relationship. I have done so much healing work, and I still have so much to do.
I was so far from my body that if I tried to just sit down to write, I had a really hard time finding a way in. But if I spent even a few minutes moving my body intentionally first, it was like a channel opened. Combining body-affirming yoga with writing in this way made me both remember and want more of my own aliveness.
“What the Body Knows is TRUE mind-body connection, with myself and with others, in a shared, safe space. It's unlike any other practice I've experienced and it continues to nourish me in ways I didn't know were possible.” -Julie M.
This practice is intentionally doable. I want you to be able to push play on the practice video and get going without first having to spend 15 minutes getting ready.
Each week I will send out a new video practice that includes the first two parts below:
Body-affirming movement
We begin with the body because that is where we always begin. I am a longtime yoga teacher, so our movement is of course inspired by that. But what we’re doing here is just as rooted in embodiment and listening to your body. So sometimes we may do more familiar yoga poses, but other times we will do simple movements to see what your body wants next, or we’ll shake out our body from head to toe, do guided meditation, lie down and rest, or some combination.
You do not need to know anything about yoga or consider yourself “flexible,” and you can do the practice from seated in a chair, seated on the ground, standing, or lying down. You are always in choice.
Truth-telling writing prompt
The writing portion of the practice begins with me reading a poem and giving you a few jump-off lines to get you going. You know how we usually start our movement with a few breaths? That’s what the jump-off line is: an inhale. It gives you a way to begin.
Then I’ll share the poem again (I think of the second read as when your body really gets to feel what you’re hearing), offer the jump-off lines again (and an alternate in case any of those aren’t calling you), and then you’ll set your timer and go, pen never leaving the page (or fingers never leaving the keyboard if handwriting isn’t available to you, but if it is, I encourage it) until you hear the timer sound. If you’ve ever done any type of freewriting, you’re already familiar with the process. We write quickly to try and outwrite the inner critic.
When we do this practice live, we typically write for 10 minutes, but it matters more that you keep writing the whole time than that you do a set amount of time. I think anywhere between 5-15 minutes is the sweet spot.
You do not need to consider yourself a “Writer” or know anything about poetry to participate. This practice helps you cut right through to your own voice on the page in ways that very little else has for me, whether you write every day already or haven’t picked up a pen in 20 years.
We use poems to open a door into feeling, and all you need for that is a willingness to listen and see what stirs within you. And we write to hear our own voice and truth; no one will be giving you feedback on structure, grammar, or anything else. This portion of the practice is inspired by a teacher training I did with Laurie Wagner in Wild Writing in 2022.
Transformative-witnessing community
Sharing your writing in the comments (either an excerpt or the whole piece) is optional. The first two parts of the practice are great on their own if you’re self-motivated! But in my experience, it’s a bit like a three-legged stool with only two legs.
The third component of community is really what brings the experience together because it is so incredibly rare that we find ourselves in a witnessing space. When your words get to stand without feedback, simply encouragement for showing up, something can start to shift within you. What that something is is a bit different for each of us, but for me it has helped me to feel both more connected to my own truth and stronger in choosing to live from it.
This is the part that feels scariest to most people at first, but it’s also what ultimately makes the practice come fully alive for most people. When I said this is what keeps people coming back to one of the groups I lead live, I’d never seen a group of people nod their heads so fast and so hard!
“What the Body Knows is literally the highlight of my week. Anna creates a warm, welcoming and safe environment that provides a container for creativity, honesty and vulnerability. I don't know how Anna does it, but I eagerly await each session knowing it will be revealing and inspiring.” -Amy A.
Once you subscribe, each Thursday you will receive:
Free Subscribers
A video practice that begins with body-led, inquiry based movement (no yoga experience required!) and then moves into a timed writing prompt inspired by a poem (no poetry or writing experience required, either; this is about what you feel or notice when you hear the poem and what comes forward when you put pen to paper, not a pop quiz)
Reminders and encouragement for how to get started writing
Links to learn more about the poet whose work we wrote from that week (this is a wonderful way to find new poetry you connect with!)
Occasionally you will also receive what I write in response to the prompt (sometimes I will share this publicly for everyone; other times I will only share in the comments section for paid subscribers. It depends on how tender what I write feels to me!)
Paid Subscribers
What I write to the prompt every week (I share each time just like I do in the live classes so no one else feels alone in sharing their writing)
An opportunity to do this together: a place to share what you write (either an excerpt or the whole thing) and be in community with others who value this practice. In the live classes, people feel comfortable sharing because we create a very intentional container for doing so, one that is rooted in witnessing. So this part is only for paid subscribers because, well, you’ve been in an open comments section before, right? Yikes! This is the best way we have to create a similar container.
Just a note that if you’re reading this and you’re a member of Curvy Yoga Studio, you receive complimentary access to the paid subscription level here. Learn more and get your sign-up link over there (you’ll need to be signed in to see it).
Also, if you really want to join as a paid subscriber and are a contingent worker, student, un- or under-employed, or otherwise struggling financially, send me an email at whatthebodyknows@substack.com and I will get you in free, no questions asked.
If you’d like to support these free subscriptions being available, you can donate one here. You can also gift one to someone in your life right here.
“Anna's gentle, vulnerable presence, trauma-sensitive embodiment practice, and outstanding selection of poetry writing prompts created a safe container to listen in to what the body knows. I looked forward to every practice, as a way to come back to my body and to remember my own creativity. I encourage anyone who has a body and is looking for a tool for self-care and self-expression to participate in this practice.” -Susan W.
Hi, I’m Anna. I have been a full-time yoga teacher and writer since 2011. I am the founder of Curvy Yoga, which is body-affirming yoga for people of all shapes and sizes. Curvy Yoga has been featured in places like The New York Times, Yoga Journal, and The Washington Post. I am the author of Curvy Yoga: Love Yourself & Your Body a Little More Each Day (Union Square & Co, 2017) and the co-editor of Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery & Loving Your Body (Llewellyn, 2014). I have two master’s degrees: one in English and one in Family, Youth & Community Sciences (with a focus on nonprofit leadership), and I am an E-RYT 500 yoga teacher. I completed Wild Writing Teacher Training with Laurie Wagner in 2022.
I took a break from social media in 2020 and told myself I’d go back when it felt good in my body. It never did. So you cannot find me there, but you can find me here, as well as at our online yoga studio, Curvy Yoga Studio, which has a library of 600+ practices designed to fit your body, life and schedule.
