a strong branch with full blossoms

“Amid time scarcity, we now ‘set aside’ time to focus on our bodies: to eat, to work out, to sleep, and to relax. However, these activities ‘invest’ in the body as an instrumental thing meant to carry us through a productive work day. In a dominant culture of disembodiment (Rendon, 2009), discourse around appearance, fitness, and health transform the body into an inert object to be managed by the mind (Freiler, 2008). Unless, there is a problem with the body such as sickness or pain, it remains invisible and is left unacknowledged. As they navigate and occupy colonial time, our bodies become ‘things’ to be serviced toward the ends of production and efficiency. Further, the neoliberalizing academy converts the body into a commodity whose exchange is tied to market value. Instead, our bodies could be acknowledged as valid knowledge producers and elevated having its own value for generating focus, stillness, and more importantly, anchoring us in the ‘now’ moment. To undo this colonization of our bodies, we should strive to ‘embody’ ourselves: inhabit our bodies fully, acknowledge the interconnection between mind, body, and spirit, and contest the insertion of the body into the market.”