Jamila Kinney on mindfulness, letting go of perfectionism and exploring the neighborhood of what is.

Jamila Kekulah Kinney (she/they) is the creator of The Moving Soul, a holistic movement practice that utilizes curiosity, focus and self observation to explore body awareness, body conditioning, and self-inquiry. Jamila's multifacted body and movement training includes GYROTONIC® & GYROKINESIS® methods, Pilates, dance, dance/movement therapy, mindfulness training, somatic meditation, Reiki, yoga and Zen Shiatsu.   As a life long learner they believe that "uncovering the gifts of being human can occur through developing a relationship to self through mindfulness and the body."  In our conversation, Jamila begins by describing her embodiment as originating through suffering and pain; in order to manage the discomfort, Jamila moved. They emphasize the importance of acknowledging what we don't know so that we may "be open and curious to meeting ourselves and what is, in the moment."  Jamila observes and interacts with the forces both internal and external that restrain and constrict how we are allowed to exist and move in our bodies. In follow up conversations, Jamila and I have discussed how internal forces include but are not limited to personal/familial traumas or mental habits of self-criticism or fear. Although Jamila doesn't specify in this conversation the external forces that disempower, this is invitation to identify all conditions –-systemic, intergenerational, social, and cultural-- that live in our collective consciousness and often separate us from the possibility of flourishing together. In particular, I want to call out the dominant cultural forces that oppress bodies, especially for Black, Indigenous and people of color, for women, for LGBTQIA+folks, for those with disabilities and anyone who deviates from the prescribed ideal fostered by industries and structures that capitalize on the insecurity and shaming of our bodies.  As the United States reels from yet another white supremacist act of violence, I want to also remind us all that violence against others begins in the mind, in the consciousness, in how we conceive of bodies of others. This work, the work Jamila does, offers a way through. Jamila offers online and in person classes and individual sessions through her website: "https://www.themovingsoul.com/" https://www.themovingsoul.com/ She can also be found on instagram: @themovingsoul To support the labor of love that is The Return to Embodiment, visit https://www.patreon.com/returntoembodiment