How to express the thing we can't put words to
3 min
'I am not sure what to say.' 'There are no words.'
On certain occasions, more than others, we understand that we don't have the words to fully grasp our experience. There is so much we feel, but we lack the vocabulary to truly express it.
When it comes to grief, a deep spiritual experience, or a deep emotional release, this tends to be a shared, collective experience.
Analog and Digital
There are two ways we can experience and communicate with each other: analog and digital.
Inside my holistic therapy practice, we work mainly within this analog space of human experience—a space rich with feeling and an abundance of sensation. The non-verbal way we communicate.
The space in between the words, where so much more is said.
The digital side holds our vocabulary, structure, and, in a way, more rigidity. There are cultural boundaries and linguistic restrictions we follow, which can grasp but also minimize our actual experience.
I always think about the number of words Eskimos have for snow. About 40-50 words. As a Dutch girl who only saw snow a few days each year, I only have three:The snow you make snowmen from (aka the snow which makes me love winter for a day), and the snow that evaporates the moment it touches the earth and wet snow (the one I dislike the most)
Within the same experience of snow, some see more than others.
Or maybe we see the same, but I can't give meaning to it because I lack the vocabulary. Who's to say?
During our holistic therapy sessions—whether during a massage or talk therapy—we try to create space for this analog area of our human experience.
Within this area, we are a mosaic of everything.
Contradiction is an essential part of being human.
We can feel one thing and its exact opposite at the same time. Both are equally true.
We can be sad and inspired.
We can feel hopeful and exhausted.
We can feel angry and compassionate.
We can hold everything all at once.
Most of us live from our head
Many of us walk around only paying attention to our digital experience—what we can see right in front of us and what makes sense.
This is what living from our head feels like.
When we reconnect with our body, we open ourselves up to a broader way of experiencing life.
A sensation can speak volumes, though much of it gets lost in translation—and that's okay.
A big part of this is trusting that even though we can’t fully express our experience in words, the power of the experience remains untouched.
When we dive into our emotions and the wisdom our body shows us, healing happens on layers we can never fully grasp.
The unmistakable truth of our experience makes sense, even if we are not able to make sense of it.
‘A big part of this is trusting that even though we can’t fully express our experience in words, the power of the experience remains untouched. ’
How to express the thing we can't put words to.
So where do we start?
What if you’re someone like… well, almost everyone, who spends most days living from the head? What if you start to feel nervous when something BIG happens and you feel like you need to pin it down with words to explain it to yourself and others?
A way to tap into this analog area is to express yourself through other ways than words.
In our practice, we use movement and sound, but there are many other tools.
If I could offer you some practical tools, these would be it:
Let’s get practical!
Practice 1: Dance & Shake It
Movement is one of the most powerful medicine to express. We offer somatic shaking in our practice, but you can do it easily at home too.
Play a song that captures the experience you're having.
If you don't know of any, try this one here—it beautifully expresses the unexplainable.
See if it resonates.
Practice 2: Paint It
For me, painting used to be something I did with my mind.
I had a clear image of what I wanted to paint and would try to copy it onto the canvas. This left me feeling frustrated and insecure about my painting skills.
So how do you skip the mental chatter and allow yourself to fully express what needs to be expressed?
The goal is to express yourself on the canvas through the experience you’re having. The journey becomes the goal.
Tap into this feeling and let your hand move.
If that still feels difficult, I invite you to try Acrylic Pouring.
To me, it was one of my most liberating outlets for quite a while a few years ago and the results are often spectacular too (or might look like a mess, but that’s okay too).
Check out this Acrylic Pouring Guide here!
I am curious to hear about your journey connecting more to this analog area of life.
Comment down below or send me a message sharing your experience and let’s learn from each other!
Curious to find out if Holistic Therapy at With ease could work for you?
Let’s hop on a free discovery call together!
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Whenever we don’t like something about ourselves, we instantly try to keep it hidden. From ourselves, not to have to deal with the judgemental thoughts and from others too. We try to live our lives rejecting that part, even though we still carry it wherever we go.
