How to Listen to Your Body: Somatic Practices to Find Strength in Midlife
Rediscover yourself through embodied healing
How to Listen to Your Body: Somatic Practices to Find Strength in Midlife
Rediscover yourself through embodied healing
“Menopause is not just physical. It’s a transition of identity, an opportunity to rediscover who we really are,” shares Mary Stokes, founder of Embody Being. In this episode Menopause Rescue episode, Dr. Polly Watson is joined by embodiment teacher Mary Stokes to learn about using the body as a resource for healing. Mary blends science and somatic wisdom, explaining that trauma and stress don’t just live in the mind – they’re stored in the body. Healing, then, isn’t about “fixing,” but learning to listen. Through posture, breath, and subtle shifts in awareness, women can regulate their nervous systems and find clarity.
“Instead of focusing on what’s broken, we can regulate toward what’s working.“
Mary also redefines self-care – not as another checklist, but as a compassionate way of being with yourself. For women in menopause, she sees this stage as a gateway to identity and strength. Midlife can feel overwhelming – between family, career, and the changes of menopause, many women lose touch with their own needs. What if your body itself could guide you back to balance? Instead of zeroing in on pain or problems, softening your gaze, noticing the support of the chair beneath you, or sensing your feet on the ground helps restore calm and perspective. The conversation is a reminder that healing begins not by doing more, but by slowing down and reconnecting with the wisdom already within.
Watch The Conversation!
Key Takeaways:
- Embodiment teaches us to listen to the body’s signals as a guide for healing and self-discovery.
- Trauma often resurfaces because it wasn’t fully processed, and somatic tools can help us digest those experiences safely.
- Menopause is both a physical and emotional transition that invites us to rediscover identity and strength.
“Menopause is not just physical. It’s a transition of identity, an opportunity to rediscover who we really are,” shares Mary Stokes, founder of Embody Being. In this episode Menopause Rescue episode, Dr. Polly Watson is joined by embodiment teacher Mary Stokes to learn about using the body as a resource for healing. Mary blends science and somatic wisdom, explaining that trauma and stress don’t just live in the mind – they’re stored in the body. Healing, then, isn’t about “fixing,” but learning to listen. Through posture, breath, and subtle shifts in awareness, women can regulate their nervous systems and find clarity.
“Instead of focusing on what’s broken, we can regulate toward what’s working.“
Mary also redefines self-care – not as another checklist, but as a compassionate way of being with yourself. For women in menopause, she sees this stage as a gateway to identity and strength. Midlife can feel overwhelming – between family, career, and the changes of menopause, many women lose touch with their own needs. What if your body itself could guide you back to balance? Instead of zeroing in on pain or problems, softening your gaze, noticing the support of the chair beneath you, or sensing your feet on the ground helps restore calm and perspective. The conversation is a reminder that healing begins not by doing more, but by slowing down and reconnecting with the wisdom already within.
Quotes:
- “Trauma is an experience we couldn’t fully digest in the moment—and life will present it again until we do.” – Mary Stokes
- “We’re taught in Western medicine to label and blame disease, but embodiment looks at the whole person—mind, body, and spirit.” – Dr. Polly Watson
- “Instead of focusing on what’s broken, we can regulate toward what’s working.” – Mary Stokes
Resources: https://hormonewellnessmd.com/podcast-resources
Disclaimer: https://hormonewellnessmd.com/podcast#Disclaimer
Meet the host!
Dr. Polly Watson is a board certified OBGYN who has additional training in menopausal medicine, sexual medicine and functional medicine.
She looks forward to sharing her knowledge with you to help find a solution to address the imbalance in your system and restore your health.
In 2019 I left my job as an employed physician with a large organization and started Hormone Wellness MD. I started with no staff working out of a single room. Since then, my staff has grown to a team of 5 and we’ve helped over 1,100 people on their health journey.
Meet the Guest Speaker!
Mary Stokes, MS, is the founder of Embody Being, a private practice dedicated to guiding individuals, couples, and families toward lasting transformation through engaging the body. She teaches how to use the body as the guide for living an authentic life with clarity and presence. With a background in clinical nutrition and exercise physiology and teaching experience at Duke University Medical Center, Mary brings scientific rigor to deeply intuitive, somatic work. Her approach recognizes that true change doesn’t happen through knowledge and insight alone — it requires engaging the body as a gateway to healing and understanding.
Mary specializes in helping clients uncover and unwind long-held emotional, mental, physical and energetic patterns that limit authenticity. Her work supports the release of early developmental imprints and defenses, allowing people to reconnect with their inherent vitality and integrity. By bringing awareness to our bodily sensations and direct experience, one develops the capacity to meet life, no matter what comes, with genuineness, clarity, courage, and a joyful contentment.
Through one-on-one sessions, couples work, intensives, and workshops, she offers a grounded yet expansive space for transformation. Embody Being is rooted in the belief that healing is not about fixing, but about remembering who we truly are.
Healing is about remembering who we truly are.
Meet the host!
Dr. Polly Watson is a board certified OBGYN who has additional training in menopausal medicine, sexual medicine and functional medicine.
She looks forward to sharing her knowledge with you to help find a solution to address the imbalance in your system and restore your health.
In 2019 I left my job as an employed physician with a large organization and started Hormone Wellness MD. I started with no staff working out of a single room. Since then, my staff has grown to a team of 5 and we’ve helped over 1,100 people on their health journey.
Meet the Guest!
Mary Stokes, MS, is the founder of Embody Being, a private practice dedicated to guiding individuals, couples, and families toward lasting transformation through engaging the body. She teaches how to use the body as the guide for living an authentic life with clarity and presence. With a background in clinical nutrition and exercise physiology and teaching experience at Duke University Medical Center, Mary brings scientific rigor to deeply intuitive, somatic work. Her approach recognizes that true change doesn’t happen through knowledge and insight alone — it requires engaging the body as a gateway to healing and understanding.
Mary specializes in helping clients uncover and unwind long-held emotional, mental, physical and energetic patterns that limit authenticity. Her work supports the release of early developmental imprints and defenses, allowing people to reconnect with their inherent vitality and integrity. By bringing awareness to our bodily sensations and direct experience, one develops the capacity to meet life, no matter what comes, with genuineness, clarity, courage, and a joyful contentment.
Through one-on-one sessions, couples work, intensives, and workshops, she offers a grounded yet expansive space for transformation. Embody Being is rooted in the belief that healing is not about fixing, but about remembering who we truly are.
Healing is about remembering who we truly are.
