Somatics of Belonging

What does belonging feel like in your body?

What does it feel like to belong to yourself? No, not the story you have about belonging. This is not a philosophical discussion. I'm inviting you to 'feel' my question, not just think it. I'm inviting you to bring your body along and orient to this question with the felt sense. When you feel like you belong, what do you feel in your body? I invite you to take a moment right now to feel that question. Just notice what you notice as you think about this. What do you feel in your body when you feel that you belong?

This question has been at the core of my life's work. Never feeling quite at home in my own tribe or culture, and having been exposed to many alternate cultures and people systems from a young age, I have devoted my life to exploring what it means to belong. And what I've discovered is that belonging, first and foremost, is an inside job. That my ability to belong to you has a lot to do with my ability to feel at home in my own bones. This is how I discovered the practice of coming home to myself. A practice I call the somatics of belonging.

Somatics of belonging is more than an idea or mindset, it is a daily practice, a new experiential orientation to life. From survival, overexerting and bracing, to safety, trust, ease and a felt sense of inherent belonging. It is an invitation to practice presence through the channel of the body by saying hello to the version of us that exists in this moment, not the version we wish we could be, but the version that is actually here, right now. Because when we step off the never-ending self-improvement wheel and let go of our plans and agendas, just for a moment, and allow ourselves to just notice how we actually are in that moment, we feel the peace and ease of our pure beingness. In dropping the need to be someone else in that moment, and to be present instead to how and who we are now, we are able to somatically come home to ourselves and to belong to our bones.

As with all practices, the more you practice belonging, the more you belong. Every time you sit with yourself without an agenda or a desire to fix something about your experience, you gift yourself . It truly is a revolution of the body, heart and mind. When we feel our belonging in our bones, we are different in the world. We are no longer fighting for our place, nor efforting to be seen and heard. Our body is relaxed. Our breath is not labored or shallow. We are not working so hard for love. It is safe for me to be me and for you to be you. When we belong to the moment through such embodied presence, we move through the world from a place of relaxed ease and graciousness, knowing that we inherently belong and are safe to simply be.

Who I Am

I am Ayna (eye-na), a student of culture, community organizer, and teacher of embodied belonging. I have arrived home in my body and what I teach comes from the wisdom of my lived experience. I live in service to helping others do the same. When we are home in our bodies, the whole fabric of reality changes. Connected to myself, I can connect more honestly with others, building communities of acceptance, belonging and mutual wellbeing.

I come from a Turkmen tribe in Central Asia and the frequencies of codependence and collective care are embedded in my cells. I have also spent more than two decades living as an immigrant in the individualistic reality that is America and have tasted both the fruits and pits of individualism. Within these contrasting cultural models, I remain curious about the experience of belonging, both when it is present and absent. My work around belonging is part cultural study and part somatic journey. The more I observed, contemplated and felt my experiences of belonging, the more I came to understand that there is a physiological experience of belonging. And that this experience is always available to us, as it is a sense of our inherent right to belong that lives deep in our soma - embedded in our cells. We can access this place/sense of belonging anytime we need. This is what I teach.

Apart from my cultural experiences in Turkmenistan and the U.S., I have also spent most of the last seven years cultivating and building communities around the world. My travels serve me greatly in my understanding of what it means to truly belong to a people and a place. And I continue to find that I belong to more and more places around the world. Each recognizes within me 'the one who belongs' - the part of me that inherently belongs to all people and places and times. I often get asked if I am part...Colombian, Japanese, Italian, Turkish, Indonesian....yes I have a universal face one might say, but also, I know how to belong, I know that I do belong. I bring that embodied knowing everywhere I go and in doing so, I act as a troubadour spreading the message and experience of belonging.

What I Do

The common thread in my life has been the exploration of culture and the ways in which we have learned to belong to each other and the larger whole. As you can imagine, to teach people how to belong means that I know the opposite of belonging quite intimately. It is through not belonging that I went on a search to learn what it means to actually belong - what belonging feels like in my body. Not as a philosophy, but as an embodied experience. Now I bring my experiential learnings to my clients and students worldwide through mentorship and workshops, community gatherings, trainings and retreats, speaking and teaching, and performance art and writing. In all my work, my intention is to serve as an embodied example of what belonging to ourselves and each other can look like. Through my service, I help people to arrive in their bodies and belong to their bones. I help them navigate authentic relationships where all of them belongs. And I help community organizers to build and cultivate sustainable communities of belonging and collective wellbeing. There are many ways to work with me. Don't be shy. Share with me your story of belonging. I look forward to meeting you and supporting you on your path.

Somatic Mentorships (1-1 & Groups)

I teach and guide the embodiment of belonging in 1:1 and group containers. Workshops, retreats, deep dives.

Travel and Community Organizing

I travel around the world learning, teaching and cultivating community. I teach leaders and communities how to cultivate belonging.

I am a storyteller who brings embodied experiential performances and talks to audiences worldwide

Storytelling + Speaking + Performance Art

I was blessed with the opportunity to work with Ayna after an extremely traumatizing and disllusioning psychedelic experience. I felt like I could trust no one, my body was unsafe, and my mind could barely string itself together. I was shattered and with one session with Ayna I was able to step away from it all and ground myself into something completely beyond my experience. The pain lifted, the desperation eased. Her work is remarkable, I wish everyone could experience it. Not only is she a powerful, magical, and wise being, but also a true healer. I'm actually having trouble remembering specific details about my experience, but I remember the relief and the space you facilitated. Thank you once again for reflecting light in a dark moment, you are wonderful.

Saige - Gainesville, FL

Ayna has been a source of great support to my whole family as we navigate various stages of life. Because she focuses on the body as the storyteller, it is very easy to navigate inner-family relational challenges without getting stuck in too much of the stories. She supports us in staying deeply rooted in our hearts and honoring the truth of our experience while also staying curious about the lived experience of those we engage with. Her orientation to all parts belonging allows us all to take a collective deep breath. Every family system needs an Ayna!

Jonathan, Manhattan, NY

★★★★★

★★★★★

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