Devotion as Somatic Practice

Mirabai was known to dance; bhakti is fundamentally embodied, not merely intellectual or emotional. The body is the primary site where grief lives and where healing begins. For those carrying anticipatory grief, somatic practices rooted in devotional traditions offer ways to process emotion that bypass the thinking mind's endless loops. Dance, breathwork, ritual movement, and conscious touch create channels for grief to move through the body rather than get stuck as chronic tension or dissociation. These practices also anchor awareness in present-moment sensation—the only place where agency actually exists. A person fully present in their body, feeling their breath and their feet on the ground, is less likely to catastrophize and more likely to respond wisely to what is actually in front of them. Mirabai's devotion was not abstract theology but embodied ecstasy. Ours can similarly use the body as a path to stay sane, grounded, and capable during times of transformation.