From Presence to Embodiment: Living the Wisdom of Now

by: Shelley McInroy, BetterYou.coach

Beyond “Being Present”

We often talk about being present — but how many of us truly live there? We often hear the words ‘be present,’ and it’s easy to think we understand — but true living presence is something deeper. It’s a way of being.

It follows naturally then that embodiment isn’t something we do. It’s a space we remember within ourselves — the experience of truly living, with our whole selves. While mindfulness helps us notice, and presence helps us stay, embodiment invites us to live — openly, gently, fully, inside our presence.

So, what happens when we live inside our presence, not simply practice it? When it’s not something we do for 10 minutes on a mat, but something we become — by embracing the whole of daily life, in moments of joy and moments of despair?

The answer: We begin to embody presence.

But this isn’t a formula. It’s not something I’ve mastered. It’s a path I keep walking — sometimes with grace, sometimes with resistance, always with curiosity.

This piece is not a guidebook or a prescription. It’s an invitation — not to execute, not to improve — but to come home to yourself: your body, your breath, your life. To listen again to what is already here, already wise, already enough.

I’m still learning this, too.

The Shift From Practicing to Being

Mindfulness is often the first step — learning to slow down, notice our breath, and gently come into the moment.

Presence takes us deeper — it is the quality of being with what is.

Embodiment, a deep form of mind-body connection, arises when awareness shifts from the mind to the body and becomes lived experience.

You notice the water from the shower streaming over your head, neck, shoulders, and arms — smell the soapy lather, listen to the water splashing gently around and over you.

You feel your feet on the brown earth, the grass between your toes. You begin to speak with the honesty that arises from presence. You respond from your centre — from the authenticity of you, rather than from the expectations that worked to shape you.

Embodiment is not always that serene experience we imagine — you know the one — the still pond, the perfectly stacked stones. The water may be a torrent, a river, and a driving force we didn’t plan for. But, whatever we find in our experience within presence and embodiment, we find truth.

Why Embodiment Matters

When we live solely in our heads, life becomes theoretical. We analyse our feelings instead of feeling them. We become disconnected from our bodies, from our emotions, from living.

We plan our future instead of living in this moment. Embodiment brings us home — reconnecting mind and body. Anchoring us in our bones, breath, and belly. Helping us live fully in the present moment.

Practices that cultivate embodiment — like breathwork, somatic awareness, and trauma-informed mindfulness — help us gently return to the wisdom of the body. These are more than wellness trends; they are powerful tools for nervous system regulation and trauma healing.

Daily Embodiment Practices

My Body’s Quiet Remembering

I’ve experienced embodiment at different moments throughout my life — but two early memories stand out for their clarity and impact.

The sensation was like falling into myself — not downward, but inward. Into a quiet knowing that felt ancient and familiar. At the time, I couldn’t explain it. But now, I understand it through the lens of the nervous system: my body was sensing safety, and that allowed me to experience something I now think of as sacred.

The first time, I was eleven — outside, caught in an indescribable moment of personal discovery. We had been learning about life, about cells. My mind was grappling with something intangible, and suddenly, I understood. I saw the rhythms: life, seasons, renewal, the planets, stars, moons, galaxies — the whole universe in motion. From the tiniest living creatures to the largest cycles and seasons, it all made sense for a moment.

I couldn’t put language to it. The scale of what I was sensing was daunting — almost frightening. I tried to explain it to my best friend afterwards, but the words wouldn’t come. This is perhaps the closest I’ve come to capturing it. And even now, it’s hardly an explanation.

The second time, I was fourteen. I was learning Transcendental Meditation in a community class, taught by a man travelling across the continent. My father was sceptical of the idea but let me attend — one eyebrow raised. I was the only teen there. The other participants were adults — kind to me — and their presence gave me a feeling of belonging. That feeling, more than anything, kept me coming back.

For weeks, I practised quietly. I wasn’t sure the mantra meant anything. I liked the inner quiet I experienced, but nothing seemed especially significant.

Then, one day, something shifted. I decided to stay in the quiet inside a little longer than usual — and something in me moved. I felt as though I was falling, inward. The quietness expanded until I noticed a profound stillness throughout my body, in my centre.

It reminded me of walking barefoot through a damp forest at night, with the sky holding a silver sliver of moon. Everything is still. The air is cool and clean. And when you look up, you feel the vastness of it all — a universe within. A sense of belonging to something enormous and interconnected.

I stayed as long as I could. Everything made sense there. Something changed within me. I couldn’t explain it — not then, not really even now. But it left a mark. A knowing.

Embodiment didn’t ask me to do anything. Somehow, my body took over — connected and simply invited me to be there. It accepted me, enveloped me. I didn’t have to prove myself to anyone. I could just be.

These moments weren’t about transcendence. They were my body’s way of saying:

You’re safe. Breathe. Have this moment with me.

I’m still learning this, too — this experience of safety, and learning to find it within myself.

What Polyvagal Theory Can Teach Us About Embodiment

According to Polyvagal Theory, developed by neuroscientist Stephen Porges (2011), how we breathe, move, and connect with our bodies directly influences our internal state. The theory helps explain why we sometimes feel anxious, disconnected, or numb — and how we can return to a sense of groundedness.

Polyvagal Theory outlines three key states of the autonomic nervous system:

• Ventral vagal: A state of safety and connection — grounded, calm, and socially engaged.
• Sympathetic activation: Fight-or-flight — heightened energy, anxiety, restlessness, fear.
• Dorsal vagal: Freeze or collapse — disconnection, numbness, fatigue, shutdown.

When we practise embodiment — even through small actions like slowing our breath or feeling the floor beneath us — we gently signal to the nervous system: You’re safe now. The danger has passed. You are here. (Dana, 2018)

If You Take One Thing With You

Embodiment isn’t about getting it right. It isn’t about stillness, or discipline, or striving. It’s about learning to stay — with yourself, in the moment, just as you are.

Your breath, your body, your inner world — these aren’t things to fix. They’re places to return to.

So, if you take one thing with you, let it be this: You don’t have to earn your presence. You just have to remember it.

Every moment you pause, notice, feel — that’s practice. And practice becomes a way of living.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for staying with yourself — and with me — through these words.

May your day unfold gently. May your breath be soft. And may you feel, in some small way, that you are already enough.

With care, Shelley 🌷

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Further Reading and References

• Dana, D. (2018). The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
• van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.

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