Mind-Body Alchemy
My decision to dress up as a Valkyrie this past Halloween was inspired by attending my first Valkyries WNBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco. Sitting in the stands, I was swept up in the excitement of the sold-out arena. The crowd cheered for their team of women athletes with the same wild enthusiasm I’d previously only witnessed at a high-stakes professional men’s game. It felt groundbreaking—a thrilling sign of forward progress for gender equality that was both validating and empowering.
Valkyries are valiant, supernatural female warriors from Norse mythology. My costume included a foam Excalibur sword that I ordered online. When I opened the package, I was surprised by how real it looked. As soon as I held it in my hand and stepped one foot forward into an “en garde” stance, I felt a magical shift. Suddenly, I was embodying the energy of a formidable warrior: focused, brave, and ready for any challenge. Now, months later, I’m still keeping the sword in plain sight so I can reach for it whenever I want a quick burst of strength and confidence.
My relationship with my sword reminds me of a dramatic experience I had during a writing and improv workshop at Esalen Institute fourteen years ago. In one of the afternoon sessions, the workshop leader broke the attendees into two groups of about forty people each. Those in the first group were told to embody predator animals and circle the large room clockwise. The rest of us, assigned the role of prey, were instructed to move counterclockwise.
As a prey animal, I walked hesitantly, filled with fear. This anxious prey energy was so familiar to me, I slipped into the role with complete ease. Continually scanning for danger, I avoided eye contact with the stream of menacing creatures circling me. My muscles stayed tense, perpetually prepared to flee.
Eventually, everyone was told to switch roles and change directions. Circumventing the room as a predator, I felt myself slowly begin to embody the fierce energy of a lioness. I was agile, my steps sure and deliberate. No longer timid and terrorized, I looked directly at the prey animals, emboldened by their unease.
I quickly realized that being on offense rather than defense was entirely novel for me. Up until that point, I’d always experienced life as prey. My body was organized around caution rather than desire, protection rather than pursuit. Becoming a predator felt revolutionary—exciting, energizing, and tremendously freeing.
For weeks after that workshop, I spent some time every day prowling around our farm like a lioness surveying her territory. As I walked slowly and menacingly, baring my teeth and growling, I sensed a mysterious type of alchemical healing taking place. My nervous system—shaped largely by an inherited legacy of frozen terror tracing back to the Holocaust—was finally being given the chance to experience something new, and I loved how it felt. Long-entrenched patterns that had once seemed immutable finally began to loosen.
These two experiences opened my eyes to how inextricably our brains and bodies are connected. Research confirms that simply changing our posture can influence our mood and confidence, as well as how others perceive us. Adopting a strong standing posture—like Wonder Woman standing strong with feet apart, hands on hips and chest lifted, or a “Victory Pose” with arms raised in a “V” like after winning a race—signals strength and safety to the nervous system, even if we’re initially feeling scared and insecure.
Information travels bilaterally in the nervous system: top down from the brain to the body, and bottom-up from the body to the brain. This two-way flow explains why much of the impact of my predator experience came from engaging my imagination and body simultaneously. It’s also why our nervous system interprets scary thoughts as real threats and immediately prepares us for survival by releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. It’s why simply lifting the corners of our lips into a smile can make us feel happier, and why one of the most effective ways to soothe ourselves and stop our minds from spinning is the same way we’d soothe a baby—somatically, through hugs, rocking, and calming sounds.
Therapist, mindfulness coach, and qigong teacher Katie Dutcher shares my passion for fully exploring and utilizing our innate human capacity for bilateral communication to create more agency in how we feel, and to help us heal and grow. Katie says, “We often have more agency than we realize, especially when we work with the mind and body simultaneously. Each time we intentionally harness our thoughts, posture, breath, or movement, we’re engaging in neuro-reprogramming which will, over time, transform our future moments. With time and repetition, our small choices add up to real change.”
Katie will be leading our free Mind-Body Alchemy workshop next Saturday, January 17, that will include qigong-inspired body practices, visualization, and mindful self-awareness exercises—offered both on their own and woven into simple, accessible routines. Throughout the workshop, Katie will emphasize consciously connecting with nature’s calm, grounded energy.
Our goal is for participants to have an enjoyable, restorative, and illuminating experience, while learning practical tools they can utilize again and again to feel more confident, peaceful, and alive. We hope you will join us!
