Interview with Toni Bergins, MD, author of Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life through Movement
Toni Bergins is a pioneering embodiment who has been teaching at leading holistic healing centers for the past 27 years. She is a faculty member at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts, where she has worked as a movement artist, dance educator, expressive arts workshop leader, and transformational workshop creation expert. Her upcoming livestream JourneyDance event is a blend of movement, music, meditation, and playful expression designed to help participants discover themselves in the new year.
What is “Embodiment: Feeling, Healing, and Changing Lives Through Movement” about? And why did you write it?
My book is a guide for readers on a transformative journey to reconnect with their bodies, release emotional blocks, and deepen self-awareness through movement and dance. Essentially, it's about using conscious, expressive movement to access and process emotions. I share my own journey to change negative thought patterns and offer ways to let go of what no longer serves you so you can expand your emotional range and cultivate joy, freedom, and self-love.
“Embodiment: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life Through Movement” offers readers and listeners the opportunity to experience embodiment. It is an authentic sense of presence that comes from reconnecting mind and body, allowing us to experience an integrated connection with ourselves and with love. you deeply desire. Every day I teach my students how to get out of their minds and back into their bodies so they can process and digest their experiences (both great and difficult) and live fulfilling lives. . The change is dramatic. They move from dissociation to presence and from a place of stagnation to a place of flow and infinite possibility.
Embody is structured as a journey through various “natures” or themes, including embodiment, awakening, alchemy, sensory freedom, and celebration. We encourage readers to explore these concepts through both reflection and physical practice. Each chapter offers music playlists, guided exercises, and visualizations to support your healing and self-discovery as you progress through each theme. By tapping into a variety of emotional tones, readers can explore new parts of themselves while finding both empowerment and peace.
This book inspires readers to see movement not just as exercise, but as a powerful tool for self-healing and personal growth, encouraging readers to trust their bodies, embrace their emotions, and find freedom in their own expression. We encourage you to experience it.
I share many embodied movement processes in this book to guide you and an experiential portal of videos and playlists to move with me and move along your journey.
I wrote this book to help people get back into their bodies, end the cycle of perfectionism, and learn to feel their emotions within a container of self-development. I believe that self-awareness and self-mastery are the keys to improving relationships, communities, and lives.
If you're feeling stuck, numb, or overwhelmed, you too can safely expand your comfort zone to finally feel, heal, and transform your life. I know from my own personal experience and what I have seen on the dance floor with thousands of students that healing is not for the faint of heart. In fact, I believe it is for the brave and courageous.
Can you tell us a little about your personal and spiritual journey? What challenges have you experienced and what tools have helped you overcome those challenges?
My journey has been one of profound change. I faced challenges such as self-doubt, perfectionism, and struggles with body image, and it took me years to heal and integrate these experiences. The tools that helped me were mainly through movement, especially dance and physical practice. Through movement, I was able to release things that I couldn't process through words alone. Spiritually, I turned inward, learned to trust my body, and cultivated a deeper connection to the truth of my soul. This process was not easy, but it led me to a place of true harmony.
How can dance and movement help promote healing and growth?
Dance and movement are incredibly powerful tools for healing because they allow you to bypass your mind and engage directly with your body. When we move, we use primordial expressions that are not bound by language or logic. This brings suppressed emotions to the surface, heals old wounds, and allows new energy to flow in. Sometimes it feels like our bodies contain wisdom that our minds can't necessarily access. Movement creates space for growth because it reconnects us to our true nature and paves the way for transformation.
What advice would you give to someone who has no dance experience or talent but wants to incorporate dance into their healing and spiritual journey?
First, forget about talent and focus on emotion. It's not about being good, it's about being present and allowing yourself to move as your body feels. Start with simple movements like shaking, stretching, and taking deep breaths. Let the music guide you. The more you listen to your body and practice moving without judgment, the more you will be able to tap into your innate rhythm and power. Dance isn't about perfection, it's about liberation and connection with yourself. Let go of all expectations and just feel it.
In your book, you write about sensual freedom. What does it mean and how can it be developed?
Each of us arrives at the quality of sensory freedom from different places, along with a wide range of bodily perspectives and experiences. You may feel completely at ease, open, relaxed, and expressive. Or you may have a difficult or complicated relationship with your body, sensuality, and sexuality. These different outcomes can be related to sexual trauma, highly restrictive or identity-defaming environments, or sexually positive upbringing, and all points in between. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, this quality is an invitation to enjoy the sensual nature of your body and experience it from a new perspective that is positive and beautiful for you.
You can be sensual whether you experience it or not. Sensuality is human nature. That's how we enjoy nourishment, joy, and connection. It's the anticipation of flavors and textures that hit your tongue. That's the first bite. It's about enjoying life's moments. It's about shamelessly enjoying your body while embodying a complete appreciation for what's possible. This practice becomes an act of self-love and compassion, affirming our worth and value.
Your connection to your sensuality and sexuality can deeply impact your self-esteem and how you feel about your body. Imagine what it would feel like to have sensuous love for yourself, completely on your own, without consideration for other people's expectations or external views. We can let go of false and harmful beliefs about what types of bodies are beautiful and what types are not, and we can completely change the societal burdens we carry. This shift to enjoying sensuality from within is a revolutionary move.
You are your own aphrodisiac. Just dancing and moving sensually can make you feel amazing. When you dance sensually, you begin to see and feel your body moving slowly in space, which activates proprioception (feeling where your body is in space) and interoception (feeling where your body is in space). Your sense of what's going on in your body, both mentally and physically, increases naturally. , in a smooth and luscious way. When you do that, you turn on your sensory awareness, which I call embodied intuition. This is intuition that relies on the wisdom of the body in conjunction with the mind. You begin to have deeper insight, develop a new sense of boundaries, and start saying yes to what feels truly right to you and no to what doesn't.
When we don't connect with our sensual bodies, we can miss subtle cues that tell us what it feels like to feel “good.” When we have access to our senses, we can more easily pick up on these sensory signals. Practicing this state of sensuous freedom allows us to feel an instinctive sense of self, recognize when our personal and even sexual boundaries have been violated, and make new choices. It will look like this.
You also write about healing from poor body image. How can people who don't meet society's standards of what is traditionally considered beautiful or good-looking improve their body image and increase their self-confidence?
The more we dance in this journey dance style, without mirrors or special steps, the more we begin to feel comfortable moving in our bodies. This comfort makes us feel good about ourselves and confident in the way we look.
Healing body image begins with breaking free from society's narrow definitions of beauty. When dancing in a freeform style like JourneyDance, there are no mirrors and no right or wrong way to move. There is only freedom and honesty. This creates a safe space for individuals to reconnect with their bodies and stop criticizing themselves.
With consistent practice, you will begin to feel more comfortable in your body and your confidence will naturally increase. The more you trust your body and allow it to move without judgment, the more you will fall in love with its uniqueness and strength.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I want to remind everyone that this work is about courage. Healing through movement requires vulnerability, but it also brings about the most amazing changes. Every time we show up on the dance floor, we choose to be present, feel, and heal. I encourage you to fully embrace this work: trust your body, embrace your emotions, and dance your way to a life of freedom and joy. The world needs your unique energy. Don't be shy.
How can we dance together online?
You can join JourneyDance with me or my supporting team of teachers online every Tuesday at 12pm EST / 9am PT. And this year, on December 28th at 7:30pm EST, we're hosting a special live streaming event called Moving to Unity and Community.
For more information, visit journeydance.com.
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