Change is inevitable—but that doesn't mean we're always prepared for it.
As summer turns toward autumn, Tara welcomes back Reverend Dr. Becca Ehrlich of the New Breath Spirituality Center for a deeply honest conversation about what happens when life shifts beneath our feet. Change can bring excitement and possibility, but it can also bring anxiety, grief, fear, and a whole mix of emotions that our bodies experience long before our minds know what to do with them.
Becca, a spiritual director and somatics practitioner, introduces us to the world of somatic spirituality and invites us to pay attention to the wisdom of our bodies. What does it mean to feel our emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them? How can we expand our capacity to handle what life throws at us? And how might our bodies actually become part of the way we experience God?
Tara and Becca talk about grief, life transitions, nervous-system regulation, co-regulation, movement, prayer, and the surprising ways our bodies can help us process change. Along the way, they explore Becca's own experience of leaving a faith tradition after 20 years and the complicated “both/and” of grieving what we're leaving while making room for what comes next.
They also discover a beautiful connection between somatic practice and spirituality—from Joan of Arc's embodied courage to the simple physical act of crossing yourself during prayer.
You don't have to be calm all the time. You don't have to have everything figured out. And you don't have to navigate change alone.
Sometimes the invitation is simply to notice, breathe, listen, and make a little more room for what you're experiencing.
And at the end of it all, there's this beautiful reminder:
You are loved. ❤️
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Rev. Tara Lamont Eastman is a pastor, podcaster and host of Holy Shenanigans since September of 2020. Eastman combines her love of ministry with her love of writing, music and visual arts. She is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary’s Theological Education for Emerging Ministry Program and the Youth and Theology Certificate Program at Princeton Seminary. She has served in various ministry and pastoral roles over the last thirty years in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and PCUSA (Presbyterian Church of America). She is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Warren Pennsylvania. She has presented workshops on the topics of faith and creativity at the Wild Goose Festival. She is a trainer for Soul Shop Suicide Prevention for Church Communities.
