Daphne Chouliaraki Milner

To start—what inspired you to write Returning Home to Our Bodies? And to dismantle what we’ve been wrongly taught about hierarchies of nature and the body?

Abigail Rose Clarke

The book is a reflection of work that I’ve been doing for almost 20 years. I’ve always been interested in what we’ve been taught to think of the world and why that is. Often it’s an overly simplified view of the world that really strips the magic out of it. But then, when you talk to experts, you realize that everything is really complex and nuanced.  

I was inspired to write the book in part because my developmental editor, Tim McKee, at North Atlantic Books reached out to me and encouraged me to do it. He planted the seed that this was a book that was wanted and timely. 

And then, I dedicated the book to my goddaughter, who’s seven now. It has been so wonderful to get to see her excitement and awe at the world. She’s such an incredible naturalist: she knows all the birds; she knows all the iguanas; she knows all the plants. Experiencing that awe with her has been such a blessing. At the same time, it can open us up to having to deal with the grief and the overwhelm at how wrong things are.

Daphne

You write about The Embodied Life Method, which centers the body as a guide through today’s most challenging social and environmental difficulties. Could you delve deeper into The Embodied Life Method and how it differs from existing somatic practices?

Abigail

The Embodied Life Method came about from my extensive study of the hard sciences. I’ve always really loved the scientific method in that nothing is ever proven. All you can do is explore different ideas and adapt based on the data and the evidence. The Embodied Life Method upholds the same principle: that we keep moving in the direction of truth and we do our best to keep our biases out of the way—or, at the very least, acknowledge them to avoid them shielding us from the truth. Similar to the scientific method, it involves specific steps and procedures that can help us find comfort and order amidst chaos.

The Embodied Life Method follows the principles of G.R.O.W.L.—Ground, Relate, Observe, Widen, and Love. It’s a method that helps us return to the home of our bodies, and in so doing, return to the Earth and return to gravity as a supportive force. Gravity is not just something that pulls us down or weighs us down, it’s what anchors us to this Earth. 

The acronym starts with “ground” because it’s so important that we find ways to [reconnect] to the ground as both a noun and a verb. We’re living through climate catastrophe; through wildfires; through floods of grief. We’re dealing with challenges as a community and we are dealing with [hardships] as individuals. The principles I’m talking about won’t solve these problems. But at times of intense uncertainty, turning first to the ground can help remind us that we don’t need to carry everything alone all at once. The ground can help support us, too.

Daphne

Returning to our bodies is returning to the Earth—beautifully put. Your book explores and pushes against the ways our bodies have been weaponized to serve domination systems. Could you explain how the systems weaponizing the body feed the systems that are driving the climate crisis?

Abigail

Consider with me that we are taught to think of our bodies as machines rather than living organic beings. The heart is a pump, and we’re made up of various systems. It doesn’t mean we actively think, “My body’s a machine,” all the time, but we often use idioms like “exerting control,” “willpower,” “fixing it,” and “breaking down.” These machine-centric phrases align us more with industry than with nature itself. If, even unconsciously, we align ourselves with industry, we inevitably align with industrial systems.

These industrial systems are proving extremely detrimental to the planet. Capitalism often views nature as resources to be extracted. It’s part of the long arm of colonialism. Perceiving ourselves as separate from the Earth makes it easier to disengage, turn off, and then soothe ourselves through consumerist channels. I buy because I feel anxious. It’s a cycle that’s rooted in this paradigm of extraction, consumption, and domination.

I bristle when people talk about wellness in somatic spaces, especially because both “wellness” and “somatic” have become buzz words. And I take issue when people imply that life becomes easier when you magically heal yourself with the help of—often oversimplified—tips. Doing the difficult work of reconnecting with the Earth, especially in its dire straits, amid grief, chaos, and prolonged destruction, is not the easy path. I want to make it clear that this work is not easy. But there is some ease that does come from returning to the fact that we are actually nature; that we do belong to the forests and the mountains and the rivers; that we are mirrored in them; that our lymph nodes look like watersheds. 

There is some ease to that rather than thinking of ourselves solely as a problem or a plague. When you realize that you’re more of the natural world, you are reoriented towards something beautiful. I think that’s really important.

Daphne

The status quo sees the body through a machine lens—and it thrives on a total disconnection between ourselves and our bodies. In what ways do you see tuning into our bodily functions as a form of activism, and how can this practice contribute to social and environmental change?

Abigail

I’d like to acknowledge that Black feminists and Indigenous scholars have been discussing these topics for a long time. As a white Westerner, I want to make it clear that I’m not presenting ideas I’ve developed. Listeners are likely familiar with works like Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown, as well as writers like Audre Lorde. Many people have been talking about these issues for a long time. 

But what’s important to emphasize is that merely tuning into our bodies as part of nature is not enough. That’s not the end game. We need to work hard. The spell of consumerism has us thinking that we can solve problems by buying or throwing money at them. Instead we need to cultivate a practice of connecting with the Earth’s support. 

Once we realize that we’re not alone and not working as machines—but as Earth embodied—then our actions and relationships are going to look different. This perspective informs our activism and reduces the likelihood of reverting to systems of control and domination. As Grace Lee Boggs says, it’s about revolutionary evolution—becoming more humane human beings. And that means returning to the Earth as self.

Daphne

How does reclaiming the body—how does grounding ourselves and viewing our bodies as sacred—contribute to new possibilities; to a more respectful and harmonious relationship with the environment?

Abigail

That’s a beautiful question. You said reclaim the body, and that’s a powerful sentiment. It’s not wrong—but I have been using the phrase “returning home” as a reminder that this isn’t about claiming ownership or claiming territory. This is about turning back to my own self. In doing that, there’s humility and tenderness, and it subverts the notion ingrained in us that strength equates to control, domination, and exerting one’s will over another. It envisions strength as soft, like water carving rock or the Earth holding giant trees. 

Returning to the Earth, our bodies, and home within ourselves feels like a powerful shift in how we approach the issues we’re facing. Your nonprofit deals with climate issues. I’m not entirely convinced we still have time, and neither are the scientists. While I respect and will always put my effort behind any action moving us away from the chaos and destruction that seems inevitable now, I also wonder whether some of our current work together should involve learning to come together in nurturing ways. To me, it’s about acknowledging what’s happening and the complexities of being in a changing community on a changing planet. Perhaps our work is about recognizing the difficulty ahead and that means being soft with each other.