I woke up this morning aged 8 years old in our chalet in Ismailiya.

I woke up in the room I used to share with my then 4 year old brother .

I looked to my right and realized I was looking through the window of my room in Sahel. And that I am, in fact, 47 years old.

How can that be?

How many realities do we inhabit?

This morning I woke up in multiple realities. And I was grateful to have that access.

It felt clear and expansive, not wounded, and not overwhelming.

The experience brought me hope, repair, and integration.

The work of somatic education is slow for a reason.

It takes time for a reason.

And its foundation is in establishing the body as a base, over and over and over again, so that reality (realities) can interact with, and in the present.

Inhabiting the body is key.

I am often asked by clients:

how long “the work” will take

how far it will go

how effective I expect it to be as a cure

What if we replace these questions with the following:

If I told you now, that you will walk a path at the end of which you will meet yourself, will you walk it?

If I told you now, that it will take however long it needs to take, until it begins, will you start?

If I told you now, that the more we learn the more we sit in the unknown, will you believe me?

Inhabiting the body is being in the presence of that which continues to give.

Today is the first time I wake up aged 8 years old ( since I was actually 8 years old!) At least it’s the first time this happens while I am conscious of it. And for today, all that means is that I am remembering and holding me.

Today, I have the words, commands and abilities of a 47 year old woman. Today, I can access the wild and uninhibited skin of my 8 year old!

Here’s to finding our way home 

embodied-ly,

مروة الصاوي

Marwa al-Sawi