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.
