A year of coming home to the body

Reflections on the profoundly healing effect of embodiment

Photo by Irina N on Unsplash

“There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.”

- William Stafford

It’s a bright, mild yet blustery December morning. I am sitting in one of my favourite cafes on the West Bank of the Danube here in Budapest, reflecting on the past year’s gifts and lessons.

Medicine and meditation are two related golden threads that have accompanied me for as long as I remember. My early life was marked by a life threatening illness and psychologically scarred by the aftermath of the Vietnam war which tore my parents, brother and me from our relatives and home country, thrusting us into a very different life. These immense forces have been catalysts for my deep and enduring passion to seek and share deep healing and awakening from the illusion of separation, ending the war that often rages below the surface within all of us.

This year marks the second year that I have been free from a crippling recurrent form of arthritis that I’d endured for over ten years. As I have written before, this was not due to any single remedy or approach to medicine or meditation per se, but as a slow and incremental process of embodiment with the support of remarkable mentors and teachers.

At the beginning of this year, I made another breakthrough during a meditation retreat. As was typical of my experience in deep meditation, I would get only so far before my post-traumatic stress trigger began to kick off. This manifested in sleeplessness, agitation and a hyper alert nervous system which would take a while to settle. In the past it would have also precipitated an attack of painful and debilitating arthritis which would have me off my legs and in bed for several weeks.

After several decades of immersing in studying and contemplation within the Buddhist tradition, I knew that the meditation and teachings were not the cause of my post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but highlighted what was already there just beneath the surface. Also many of the kind and well meaning teachers were not able to help me. I’d tried many therapies and approaches to healing, but they only had limited effect. I knew that the answers were inside me but didn’t fully understand how to access them with what I’d learned until now. What changed?

It was simply becoming aware of being in my body. Once that landed, my nervous system calmed and began to regulate itself, my body continued to heal and I was able to relax deeper and be nourished by the well of Being. Looking back, it seems obvious, even ordinary, but until one can feel it for oneself, it is anything but. While there are many contributing factors, I primarily attribute that to my mentor, Rachel Singleton and the community at A New Possibility headed up by Lorie Dechar and her husband Benjamin Fox and my immensely patient, loving and supportive partner, Ago. They generously provided me with the space to be seen, witnessed and relentlessly pointed me to the source of wellbeing that is always and already there and helping me to become more embodied.

Since February I have shared and refined my breakthroughs with my community on Discovering Sanctuary and those who joined me on a 9-month training courses called The Eye Of The Needle and The En-Dao Space as well as several collaborations with my acupuncture colleagues in the UK, Switzerland and further afield.

So what does 2025 have in store?

My vision is to offer a simple, immersive and accessible way to integrate the tools of embodiment and meditation for healing and awakening into everyday life for everyday folks. This creates the possibility for an easeful, fulfilling and benevolent way of being and serving in the world. We shall continue to build on the momentum of a community of like-minded explorers to research and share experiences of healing and awakening of the ‘garden variety’.

I shall, of course, continue to deepen and share my experiences of embodiment. In a nutshell, embodiment is the practice of being fully present in your body, aware of your physical sensations, emotions, and movements in the moment. It’s about feeling grounded, connected, and in tune with yourself, rather than being lost in thoughts or distractions. It’s about coming home to your body and functioning as a whole being.

I hope to complete writing a book that I began earlier this year about my journey of healing and awakening through medicine and meditation. There is another book in the pipeline about how to practice acupuncture in an embodied way.

The weekly meditation drop in, Discovering Sanctuary, will resume on Thursday 9th January. In February, I shall be launching a year-long immersive called Embodying Meditation and shall continue further collaborations with various groups and organisations. As the folks at A New Possibility say, “healing happens in community”.

As we roundup 2024, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your interest and support of my writing and work. In the meantime I wish you all and your precious families magical Season’s Greetings and a most easeful and fulfilling New Year.

With love,

Hung

Ps. I recently became aware that many people have tried to get in touch via the email form on my website and have not had a response for most of the year. This was due to the form sending it to an old email address. This has now been resolved and we will receive and shall respond to all communications from the web form going forward.