The Power of Active Embodiment in Spiritual and Physical Healing
- Apr 22
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 23
Kellie and Kelly are the founders of the Academy of Embodiment Arts and hosts of the Soul Discovery podcast. They combine Qigong with meditation and energy mastery to guide people to embody new frequency through transmutation and transformation for lasting change.
Embodiment is defined as the representation or expression of an idea, quality, or feeling in a tangible, physical form. It refers to the state of being embodied, acting as a living example or concrete manifestation of a concept. Many people understand Qigong or spiritual concepts intellectually, yet few embody those concepts and actively apply them in physical form.
Thousands of years ago, Traditional Chinese Medicine, along with Qigong, discovered the fascia systems and how these systems are important for the embodiment of Light in the body. Modern science is only beginning to quantify and confirm what was known a long time ago. In our current rush to embrace some sort of spiritual practice and learn practical application of awareness, modern fusion systems break up important information in an attempt to make money for those selling and marketing courses. It’s a quick fix that doesn’t really do the body good.
Active Embodiment is the discipline of practice. Repetition and discipline are important for the body to release what it doesn’t need to hold onto. Discipline isn’t punishment. Discipline is the practice of training oneself to cultivate self-control in order to achieve goals. Discipline is the only path that builds the required physical baseline to relax into the spaces beyond our stories and programming and begin to build our personal space of stillness within ourselves. A strong body can hold more Light information. If you consider yourself a Light worker, you need to embody the concepts and ideas from Qigong physically rather than understand them from a superficial level, intellectually.
Here are seven considerations to work toward embodiment
1. The four basic energy layers of the body
On the Earth plane, there are four basic layers: The Physical Body, the Mental Body, the Emotional Body, and the Etheric Body. These layers work together. When there is a block in one, the others don’t communicate clearly. The physical body, in general, is full of energetic and physiologic pathways that send mixed messages to organs and tissues when it’s not clear.
All of these layers are connected to the fascia in the body, which is the information network that connects all tissues, organs, and cells.
Without discipline and taking care of the physical body, a person will not be able to access their own divine information due to not being able to listen to their body through the simple act of physical activity.
Physical activity is so much more than just for health. It provides a baseline of listening to oneself on a deep level. A lot of energy healers dismiss this entirely. They do not understand the meaning of being energy first. There is no separation of matter and spirit, therefore taking care of the physical body is paramount to being able to activate light codes and hold higher frequency. We teach more on this in our Energy Master Course.
2. Embodiment of oversoul/source energy
There’s a lot of talk about connecting with Source these days, but what does that mean? How does it feel in the body? These points directly point to why physical exercise, Qigong in particular, is important. Qigong teaches you to listen to the inner layers of the body. In this way, you learn to discern the feelings inside the body. In order to open up to our Oversoul/Source energy, we must be clear in our energy fields on all levels.
Source energy trickles in and we open up to it over time. The clearer we are on all levels, the more we can connect with this energy. We do this by going inside, not seeking it outside. Those who seek it outside are often playing in the Astral, which can cause you to be ungrounded.
When you are not grounded, you open yourself up to energies that can harm you rather than heal you, yet few know the difference. Being Astral can often feel good because you are disconnected from your physical body, and fears, anxiety, and other strong emotions can feel alleviated because of this disconnect.
In reality, this is far from the truth. Connecting with your physical body means you feel things deeply within the body, and this is the primary key to true embodiment. Many bypass this step because they want high vibes only, which is not connecting to a higher frequency at all, but energetically strengthens the disconnect because it is not emotionally authentic.
3. Alternative Doesn’t Always Equal Safe
Many people seek spiritual information or try Qigong or other modalities when they become disenchanted with religious, familial, or medical systems. However, with so many courses offered as weekend certification, many think they are receiving good information when they are not.
You must do your homework when seeking help from any outside source. Many “gurus” use the verbiage to make themselves sound like they know what they are talking about, yet they haven’t embodied what they lecture about, often making health claims that they have healed themselves when they have not.
This results in people dismissing their need for proper medical attention or therapy, using modalities from people not properly trained in the art. There is no quick fix to face trauma or heal deep wounds and issues. Find a practitioner who has practiced within a lineage. This ensures you are learning a system that stood the test of time. As previously stated in our article “Not All Qigong Systems are Created Equal”, there are four Qigong systems that are considered living art forms. Research these to discover what they do for the body, and decide which is right for you.
4. Abuse of Power
It’s unfortunate that in this day and age, we have self-proclaimed gurus who bully others into following their programs, or continue to use fear tactics when fear, fight, and flight, freeze, or fawn, is what we are supposed to help people heal from. More often than not courses have pieces of information that help, and a lot of things that are made up. Some abuse their power in convincing people they have their answers when a good teacher should give you the tools to discover your own answers.
Be wary of those claiming to have all of the answers. Students can use the same methods and have varying results depending on their individual physical bodies. Not one size fits all, and not one system works the same for each individual. This is why a good teacher should be willing to listen to you, discuss what your needs are, and help you determine a path forward with training that works for you.
5. Honesty about our own complicity
Sometimes it’s difficult to face how little discipline we’ve had with ourselves. If we want change, we have to be willing to do the work. There are no quick fixes. It takes time and patience with ourselves to achieve our desired results. This cannot be outsourced. No guru or trainer can do it for you. They can provide guidance and support, teach you new ways of doing things, encourage you to challenge yourself, but the work is yours alone to do. It’s not like you can ask someone else to go to the bathroom for you is it?
This means we need to take the judgment out of what we are doing. When we judge ourselves, our bodies, every cell in our body is listening, and it will continue to listen, so what are we saying to ourselves? If you deem something as too hard, your body thinks that. If you think something is stupid, then it is.
Our minds will tell us all sorts of things and we convince ourselves that we believe them. A good trainer will teach you to listen to your body. Learning to listen to your body also means you will learn to hear the false stories you are telling yourself. You are capable of achieving your goals, no matter how hard it may seem. And yet we have to hear the stories that are holding us back if we want to move into new stories and ways of being.
Where are you being complicit in your own lies, or the lies of others? Important questions to ask yourself. Always listen to your body’s response when evaluating these types of questions about ourselves.
6. Accountability
What most don’t want to discuss is the fact there are unqualified people teaching material they do not fully understand or embody. It’s human nature to believe someone who sounds confident in what they are doing. This makes it difficult to differentiate between something truly good for us and snake oil disguised as a good potion.
Without governing bodies for the majority of energy healing modalities, people can and often do get away with questionable behaviour and practices under the guise of “healing”. Not all people are bad, but even good people can do bad things when they aren’t aware it’s bad, or because they don’t know better due to insufficient standards to adhere to.
True accountability means better standards, and not just selling a course to make a buck. There is a difference between a Qigong master who has spent decades training in a lineage and someone who took a weekend course online. Beware of fusion systems that break up material. Fragmented information will result in fragmented healing. Take a workshop, talk to the instructor to find out their background and who they’ve trained with. Just because something is “popular” doesn’t mean it is good for you, or that an instructor knows what they are doing.
7. Do the work yourself
Anything worth learning requires your commitment and willingness to be accountable. Too many bypass themselves because they don't want to hear that their ego or shadow may have hijacked them. You have to get comfortable with your discomfort to make lasting change. Only then will you feel comfortable in a new way of being.
Don’t expect a spiritual practice, qigong, any modality, or ritual to replace real mental health help, medical assistance, or physical therapy. People say they don’t want to take pills to get better, but then they go for passive healing sessions where they still want someone to do the healing work for them rather than face what they need to, or they convince themselves that a new exercise regimen will fix everything. Look for people to work with who care about your health and well-being and who won’t allow you to bypass any part of your health just to satisfy their own ego.
Read more from Kellie Winzinowich and Kelly Whelan-Enns
Kellie Winzinowich and Kelly Whelan-Enns, Active Embodiment Coaches
Kelly Whelan-Enns is a master of Shaolin Qi Healing, Qigong, and the internal art of Baguazhang. Plagued by asthma and hypoglycemic in his youth, Kelly's journey of healing and self-mastery has spanned over 35 years, training with master teachers, and studying Taoist, Zen Buddhist, and Tibetan meditation, teaching many along the way.
Kellie Winzinowich is a former elite gymnast whose journey brought her to Qigong and the study of internal alchemy. Now a Certified Hypnotherapist, she helps others navigate personal transformation. Together, Kellie and Kelly guide others to embody lasting change through physical, emotional, and spiritual self-mastery.
