On showing up "right sized" - a somatic experience:

"It is an insult to the divine for me to be smaller than I am called to be, & it is equally as insulting for me to be larger than I am called to be in any given moment" - Teo Drake

What does it mean to show up right sized? As a somatic experience, it's best to notice what it feels like to show up right sized rather than what it means cognitively. We will begin by noticing what it is to feel smaller and bigger. In this experience, take your time and be gentle with what you are able to notice. When checking into either smaller or bigger versions of you, see if you are able to come back to what may feel like right sized after your explorations.

I invite you to begin reflecting and noticing on any moments when you have made yourself smaller, this could be for the sake of safety, because you did not want to be seen in any particular space, or because you were asked to be smaller and not take up too much space. Notice how it feels in your body, what contracts? Where do you sink? What parts of your body do you shrink to fit into the shape you think you're supposed to be?
When have you been asked to be smaller? Politically, socially, in partnership?

I invite you to also reflect on when you have made yourself bigger. When has this been for the sake of survival? When and where has this been asked of you? How is showing up bigger connected to your sense of responsibility? To what extend is it helpful, and to what extend is it harboring?

Find some time to journal on the questions above. Take what resonates and leave the rest. Develop your own questions to begin the journey of curiosity to understanding your somatic shaping.

In Somatics, particularly politicized somatics, we talk about the shaping that we have had to take in order to survive and thrive in the world. I invite you to consistently notice and be curious about what shaping you are taking in each situation you are in. The shaping you have taken has been essential in your survival, so be cautious of being judgmental or of adjusting immediately. Begin by noticing. Notice what has helped you, notice what may not be serving you anymore.

Steps to begin cultivating awareness and releasing what shaping isn't serving you anymore

~ Notice any expectations you have of yourself that enable you to shape into a smaller version of you or a larger version. Drop expectations. Visualize you are holding either the smaller version of you or the larger version, embrace them in your arms, and imagine them blending into the you that is right sized.

~ Notice where you are pushing yourself to limits. Check in with yourself in these moments and take a deep breathe. What happens in your body when you are pushing yourself excessively? How can you let go of this pushing and still continue what you are doing? Can you notice any differences?

~ Embrace that you are enough. Abundance enables the possibility for scarcity. Be with what you have at this moment. Start there.