For Now We Are Free: A Poetic Soul Bath

In this video, I share with you are poem that I wrote after the Polyvagal Institute gathering in the fall of 2022. Polyvagal theory teaches us that our own personal journey of healing and embodiment is intricately connected to other people and the world around us.
This poem brings is inspired by the quote by Fannie Mae Townsend Hamer who said, “Nobody is free until we are all free”
I offer this poem from my heart and as in invitation to a sense of freedom, I hold is as a beacon of hope that this freedom is possible...not just for some of us, but for all of us. I invite you to allow these words to carry you like a poetic soul bath.
Learn more about Dr. Arielle Schwartz here: drarielleschwa...
For Now We are Free
by Arielle Schwartz
There is a pattern hidden in the tapestries of our biology that carries within it a map to our freedom. Like blueprints, there is a pathway to be discovered in the cellular matrix and connective tissues of heart and lungs, belly and brain.
Deep in the very fibers of these precious bodies we inhabit we discover portals to personal and collective liberation.
But this is not where our story begins. No, we must return to a time when we are confined by the binding forces of separation, loss, and heartache. Perhaps a time when you too have felt imprisoned by pain, constrained by your mind, or disoriented by the distress of this broken world.
To a time when you too were locked in this room with no key, no way to escape,
To a time when you too had no choice but to surrender.
Head bowed close to earth,
we are called to descend;
Descend into darkness,
cocooned within,
You settle into the marrow that
carries your existence
Pulsing through your veins
Nothing to do
but to be.
It is here that something new begins to appear;
slowly your eyes adjust,
You begin to sense space and time;
slowly your ears fine tune themselves to the subtle tones of songs sung in hushed tones passed down through generations.
And the patterns begin to reveal themselves
They arise
waiting to be discovered,
As if for the very first time.
You find them in this stillness,
Like constellations of light that stand out against the vastness of a blackened sky.
Like a North Star,
A compass in the night.
Perhaps you too have sensed how these moments resonate;
in the pit of your belly,
the catch of your throat,
the ringing in your ears,
The ache in your head,
And the cry called out from the depths of your very own heart,
as if for the very first time, you too are longing to be heard.
Your very own voice,
Your clarion call has been heard
by this benevolent universe that we share,
Love has heard the call
Love has come to guide your way
And you stand, uncertain at this new edge of life
Oh, but this love is so new, so unfamiliar.
You turn away in fear.
Once and again,
But it is time to let go of what is known for what is yet to be revealed.
And love, she is patient and persists in her quiet manner.
You sense her as the light shifts across the window sill sending a play of shimmers and shadows across this place you have learned to call home.
She returns as birdsong and honeybee,
in the distant ocean roar,
And the howl of the wolf under a NOW full moon.
Suddenly, without realizing it, you too have stepped across the threshold onto the soft green moss, where the ferns unfurl their ancient wisdom inviting you to join them in their dance toward the sun.
It is here that you discover the fibers of connection resonating in your hips as your lay your belly down on the moist earth to embody the primordial movements of salamander and snake.
It is here that you learn to crawl and walk
as if for the very first time.
For these evolutionary blueprints guide you
as they have done for countless other brave souls,
over thousands of years.
Indeed, they are here to guide a path to personal and collective liberation
as we rise up like the tree,
our roots firmly ensconced in the moist, dark earth.
It is here that you look around
as if for the very first time.
You, too, have discovered that you are not alone,
You find soft smiles,
bodies rocking,
drums beating,
dancing storytellers
spinning webs like maps
woven into ritual and song
Yes, you have arrived.
you are standing on this path,
A trail traversed by countless wisdom seekers who have come before you,
they have left you their guideposts and lanterns to illuminate your way
out of the dark woods.
To the clearing
Where WE arrive.
We join each other,
hand in hand,
heart to heart,
eye to eye,
for now we are free.

Dear Ariel, your words where a shower of hope and love for me! Thank you from the bottom if my heart❤

[@givingpresence]

this beautiful poem reminded me its okay to go back to the pain to feel it, not to stay in it, but to accept it is a scar that created a lesson I can still use everyday

[@lisaorfield7992]

That was beautiful….thank you, Arielle!It is genuine people like you that are helpful in healing and I appreciate YOU!!!! I am still & always will be learning on coping with the death of my daughter Madeline May who was a victim of domestic abuse & murdered by her estranged husband in 2018. It is so much work in finding life’s positives & yet I am so grateful for people like YOU who truly care & YOU are helping me find love & happiness again 🙏🏻💜

[@kathyannk]

I’m so sorry for your profound loss. I hope little by little you’re able to let happiness back in, and perhaps even let your daughter’s happiness shine through you. 🌱✨

[@mmnuances]

I remember when you wrote this poem and it triggered a state of insight, realization, and relaxed energetic attention. It is all about energizing the body in the right sort of way. One way to look at it is using Polyvagal Theory, yoga, wisdom of the ages to attend to mitochondrial health...

[@dr.arielleschwartz913]

Thank you! I remember sharing it with you, inspired by your tapestry Sufi story…you were part of the weaving of this creation, Joseph. 💖

[@karendyrhaug9998]

Beautiful, Amazing 😮 Thank you so much for sharing this Poem. I felt that I was walking on this Journey with you 💕

[@valw100]

😮WOW! Inspired. Thank you so much Arielle for sharing this. And for all the other invaluable material you share. You have helped me and continue to help me so much in my journey...and no doubt many, many others. May you continue to serve as a soothing and guiding light. A seeker. Namaste 🙏

[@user-kx4tb9wd5t]

Thank you so much for those words! They cut me off from an aweful day and brought me back to the here and now. Tears of happiness running down my face, learning to let go ❤ 🙏

[@Lotuslaful]

❤❤❤thank you❤❤❤

[@mariafernandesaraujo7813]

Ho good morning Dr arielle I awake with these words of hope so beautiful and subliminal and I love the natural body language when you share the poem. All my love to you ❤

[@estarbiencadadia]

This is beautiful Dr. Arielle, thank you so much from my heart ❤ There is beauty and poetry in this path we call Human 🙏

[@micahkhanye]

This is so beautiful

[@elisajouannet7011]

Splendid ✨

[@evahelenstern]

...thank you🌟🌟🙏🌟🌟

[@sandramedina9482]

Thank you❤.