The Nature of Luxury - Somatic Pleasure & Earth Matters

Somatic Expression® - Jamie McHugh

Body Wisdom for Modern Minds

Lace (2025) naturebeingart.org

"Don't think you have to be solemn to meditate. To meditate well you have to smile a lot." – Thich Nhat Hanh

“The biggest gift you can give is to be absolutely present, and when you're worrying about whether you're hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you're showing up, that you're here and that you're finding ever more capacity to love this world because it will not be healed without that.” - Joanna Macy (1929-2025)

Dear Friends,

The onset of late summer is here on the land. Abundant rows of green tomatoes ready to ripen, cucumbers and squash galore, planting spinach and lettuce for Fall - the dedicated work is paying off with delicious meals. How luxurious it is to live on the land and in a body!

According to the English dictionary Luxury: "is a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort, often associated with wealth and considered unnecessary." What would happen if you reframed the luxury of abundance, ease and comfort as here and now - and necessary?

Our survival and thrival lives in our bodies as much as in our minds, in our physical actions as much as in our thoughts. The spiritual teacher Thich Nhat Hanh knew this well: "Enjoy your breath and smile into life."

Right now while reading this screed, what can you do to feel a bit more ease and comfort in your structure: Shifting your center of gravity a bit forwards or backwards? Easing your jaw? Softening your belly? Smiling?

And abundance? Water is available with the turn of the tap. The flowers on my deck are singing their song. The sky is vast and mysterious. And the seeds I planted weeks ago have become fat, spicy radishes.

These are trying times - socially, environmentally, spiritually. I am honestly not sure if we will make it through unscathed. And I also know things NEVER turn out the way I imagine them! So better to be enthralled with life as much as I can, to not take anything for granted, and to carry on being part of the solution. A tall order for sure - but what else can I do? In my case, that means showing up, teaching somatic practices for abundance, ease and comfort, and making art.

How luxurious to live on land and in a body - with an abundance of love!

Coming up this month:

August 8 is the YouTube premier of my interview with James Humecky on the Somatic Pleasure Podcast. A really great deep dive in an amiable conversation with a wonderful host.

And speaking of speaking, August 21 is the 12th and final episode of the Earth Matters online series I have been curating since 2023. I will be joined by my mentor and friend Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen for what I imagine will be a lively and spirited conversation.

August 10 is time for an hour of Breathing Room: A Somatic Pause for calming and regeneration.

A new 6.5 minute NatureBeingArt video - Summer Soothing - is online now for some respite, and a reminder: the Earth is a sanctuary of beauty and wonder.

Take good care of your wild and wonderful selves.

Warmly,

Jamie

PS Last chance to sign up for my October 3-8 Ecosomatic Retreat. Nurture your nature and replenish your spirit in the hills of Massachusetts with inner and outer explorations..

Somatic Pleasure Podcast with James Humecky Interview

August 8: Premiers on YouTube @ 10:30am PDT/ 1:30pm EDT/ 7:30pm CEST

Tune in HE RE

Breathing Room: A Somatic Pause

Enjoy Your Breath - Rest in Your Center - Relax Your Attention

August 10: 10-11am PDT/ 1-2pm EDT/ 7-8pm CEST

Earth Matters: Ecosomatics in the Anthropocene

Sponsored by The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association ISMETA

Jamie in conversation with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Movement Artists, Researcher, & the developer of Body-Mind Centering®

August 21: 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT/ 7pm CEST

Embodying Nature: An Ecosomatic Retreat

Unplug and connect with the living ecosystem of your body and the natural world - last chance to register!

October 3-8: Rowe, MA

All information HERE

You can find me on Bluesky @beingart.bsky.social

Jamie McHugh, MSMT is an interdisciplinary artist, somatic movement specialist and the creator of Somatic Expression® - Body Wisdom for Modern Minds. His somatic-expressive practices for re-wilding the body, mending the mind and restoring the spirit have been inspired by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Emilie Conrad, Anna Halprin, Thich Nhat Hanh and the wild places of the planet, and by working with diverse groups of people internationally for over 40 years. Jamie continues to study and research the mystery of the body as an element of nature and as an expression of our humanity.