Revd Dr Gillian Straine talks with dance movement psychotherapist Rachel Michael, founder of Embodied Perspective and author of Embodied Prayer as Mission: Our Response to Cultural Change.

Rachel shares how dance, faith and therapy meet in her work — helping people reconnect body, mind and spirit through gentle movement, awareness and prayer. Together, they explore how the body can become a sacred space for healing, how trauma and emotion are held within us, and how embodied practices can deepen our relationship with God.

A beautiful and thought-provoking episode on rediscovering our bodies as instruments of prayer and transformation. 

In this episode Rachel and Gillian explore: 

Dance as expression: Rachel discovered early on that movement can express what words can’t.

From stage to healing: She shifted from professional dance to dance movement psychotherapy, helping others connect body, mind and spirit.

Healing through movement: Gentle awareness of posture, breath and gesture helps release emotion and restore balance.

Working with trauma: Movement can safely unlock feelings held in the body, bringing freedom and integration.

Embodied prayer: Rachel links movement and Scripture — especially Psalm 139 — to explore the body as a place of encounter with God.

Rediscovering the body in faith: Many Christians learn to ignore the body; Rachel invites us to see it as sacred and central to prayer.

Faith meets science: The conversation celebrates how research on spirituality and neuroscience echoes ancient Christian wisdom about embodied prayer.

Transcript for the episode can be found here

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Embodied Perspective

Embodied Prayer as Mission (Grove booklet) 

GoHealth LiFT course - where we explore the importance of movement