Embodying Boundaries: Moving from Overwhelm to Inner Strength
Boundaries aren’t just mental decisions—they’re felt experiences. In Session 5 of my group embodiment program FLOURISH, we explored how to set and embody boundaries using the wisdom of the body.
Participants shared personal challenges around boundary-setting, from feeling overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities to struggling with rigidity in professional spaces.
Through somatic awareness and movement practices, we uncovered a deeper truth: boundaries are not about walls; they are about clarity—knowing what we are available for and what we are not.
Why Boundaries Feel So Hard to UPHold
For many women, setting boundaries comes with an internal battle. We've been conditioned to ignore our own needs, to overextend ourselves, and to view self-protection as selfish. This often leads to two extremes:
Overgiving & Exhaustion – feeling responsible for meeting others' needs while neglecting our own.
Over-Rigidity & Isolation – creating strict boundaries as a defense mechanism, but feeling disconnected from others.
Amanda's Story: She expressed deep frustration in managing her children’s constant needs, often feeling helpless and enraged when her boundaries weren’t respected. The emotional weight of invisible labor—unrecognized tasks that fall disproportionately on women—was making it hard for her to find balance.
Liz’s Story: She shared the opposite challenge—having too many boundaries at work, making it difficult to form deeper relationships. She feared being truly seen and struggled to let go of control.
Both challenges highlight the same truth: boundaries are not just about saying "no"—they’re about finding an empowered "yes."
Using the Body to Set Boundaries
In this session, we guided participants through body awareness exercises and a boundaries movement practice to shift the experience of boundary-setting from struggle to self-trust.
Drop-in Meditation: We started with a grounding practice, inviting participants to sense their breath, notice their posture, and tune into where boundaries felt difficult in their body.
Boundaries Movement Practice: A 10-minute guided movement practice helped participants physically express their current boundaries and explore a new, empowered way of holding them.
Hot Seat Coaching:
Amanda found a sense of peace in her body by focusing on her right kidney area, allowing her to shift from helplessness to inner harmony.
Liz identified a glowing yellow light in her gut, representing warmth and hope, which helped her feel safer in softening her boundaries at work.
Practical Next Steps: How to Strengthen Your Embodied Boundaries
Continue practicing the boundaries movement practice—use your body to feel into your boundaries rather than just intellectualizing them.
Balance connection and protection—if you tend to overgive, pause before saying yes. If you tend to shut people out, challenge yourself to be more open where it feels safe.
Tune into body sensations—notice where boundaries feel weak or rigid in your body, and shift your posture or movement to reinforce new, healthier boundaries.
💬 Where do you struggle with boundaries the most?
I hope this was helpful in giving you insight into how embodied boundaries in FLOURISH can support you.
This is the work I support clients with in my group program FLOURISH which is now open for enrollment!
