Interview with Toni Bergins, M.Ed., author of “Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life through Movement”
Toni Bergins is an embodiment trailblazer who has taught at the premier holistic healing centers for the last 27 years. She’s on the faculty at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Massachusetts, and has worked there as a movement artist, dance educator, expressive arts workshop leader, and expert in creating transformational workshops. Her upcoming livestream JourneyDance event, blending movement, music, meditation, and playful expression, is designed to enable participants to take self-discovery into the New Year.
What is “Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life Through Movement” about and why did you write it?
My book is a guide for readers on a transformative journey to reconnect with their bodies, release emotional blockages, and deepen self-awareness through movement and dance. At its heart, it’s about using mindful, expressive movement to access and process emotions. I share my own journey of changing negative thought patterns and offer a way for releasing what no longer serves us so that we may expand our emotional bandwidth and cultivate joy, freedom, and self-love.
Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life Through Movement provides readers and listeners with an opportunity to experience embodiment: an authentic sense of presence that comes from reuniting the mind and body, so you can experience an integrated connection with yourself and the love that you deeply desire. Every day I teach my students how to get out of their minds and back into their bodies so they can process and digest their experiences (both the wonderful and difficult), and can live full lives. The change is dramatic: they shift from dissociation to presence, and from a place of stagnation to one of flow and limitless possibilities.
Embody is structured as a journey through various “qualities” or themes — Embodiment, Awakening, Alchemy, Sensual Freedom, and Celebration. It encourages readers to explore these concepts through both reflection and physical practices. Each chapter offers music playlists, guided exercises, and visualizations that support healing and self-discovery by moving through each theme. Tapping into different emotional tones helps readers explore new parts of themselves while finding both empowerment and peace.
The book invites readers to see movement not just as exercise but as a powerful tool for self-healing and personal growth, encouraging them to trust their bodies, embrace their emotions, and experience freedom in their unique expressions.
I share many embodied movement processes in the book, as your guide, and share an experiential portal of videos and playlists to move with me and follow along the journey.
I wrote this book to help people get back into their bodies, end cycles of perfectionism, and learn to feel their feelings in a container of personal development. I believe that self-awareness and self-mastery are the keys to improve our relationships, community, and lives.
If you are feeling stuck, numb, or overwhelmed, you too can safely expand the confines of your comfort zone so you can finally feel, heal, and transform your life. I know from my own personal experience, and what I’ve seen on the dance floor with thousands of my students, that healing is not for the faint of heart. In fact, I believe it’s for the brave and the courageous.
Can you talk a little bit about your personal and spiritual journey. What are some of the challenges you went through and what were some of the tools that helped you overcome those challenges?
My journey has been one of deep transformation. I’ve faced challenges of self-doubt, perfectionism, and struggles with body image, and it took me years to heal and integrate these experiences. The tools that helped me were primarily through movement — specifically dance and somatic practices. Movement allowed me to release what I couldn’t process through words alone. Spiritually, I turned inward, learned to trust my body, and cultivated a deeper connection with my own soul’s truth. This process wasn’t easy, but it led me to a place of true alignment.
How does dance and movement help to facilitate healing and growth?
Dance and movement are incredibly powerful tools for healing because they allow us to bypass the mind and directly engage with the body. When we move, we tap into a primal form of expression that’s not bound by language or logic. This allows suppressed emotions to surface, old wounds to heal, and new energy to flow. It can feel like the body holds the wisdom that the mind doesn’t always have access to. Movement creates space for growth because it reconnects us to our true essence and opens the channels for transformation.
What advice would you have for someone with no experience or talent for dancing, but would like to incorporate dance into their healing and spiritual journey?
First, forget about talent and focus on feeling. It’s not about being good at it — it’s about being present and allowing yourself to move however your body feels. Start with simple movements like shaking, stretching, or breathing deeply. Let the music guide you. The more you practice listening to your body and moving without judgment, the more you’ll tap into your innate rhythm and power. Dance isn’t about perfection — it’s about liberation and connection to yourself. Let go of any expectations and allow yourself to just feel.
In your book, you write about sensual freedom. What does that mean and how can we develop it?
Each of us comes to the Sensual Freedom quality from different places along a wide spectrum of perspectives and experiences of our bodies. You may be completely at ease, open, relaxed, and expressive. Or you may have a difficult or complex relationship with your body, your sensuality, and sexuality. These different outcomes may be related to sexual trauma, highly restrictive or identity harming environments, or a sexually positive upbringing — and all points in between. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, this quality is an invitation to enjoy the sensual nature of your body, experiencing it from a new perspective that’s positive and beautiful for you.
You are capable of being sensual, whether you experience it or not. Sensuality is human nature. It’s how we enjoy nourishment, pleasure, and connection. It’s the anticipation of flavors and textures hitting your tongue; it’s the first bite. It’s the enjoyment of life’s moments. It’s about enjoying your body shamelessly as you embody a total appreciation of what’s possible. This practice can become an act of self-love and compassion, affirming our worthiness and value.
Your connection to your sensuality and sexuality can deeply affect your self-esteem and how you feel about your physical body. Imagine what it would feel like to have a sensuous love for yourself, completely on your own terms, without having to consider other people’s expectations or the external gaze. We could cast aside the false and harmful assumptions about which types of bodies are beautiful and which aren’t and once and for all transform the societal burden we carry. This shift to enjoying our sensuality from the inside is game-changing work.
You are your own aphrodisiac: just dancing and moving sensually can make you feel wonderful. When you dance sensually, you naturally increase your proprioception (sense of where your body is in space) and your interoception (sensing what’s happening mentally and physically in your body), because you start to see and feel your body moving in space in a slow, smooth, luscious way. And when you do that, you turn on a sensory perception that I call embodied intuition. This is intuition that leans on your body’s wisdom in tandem with your mind. You begin to have a deeper insight and develop a new sense of boundaries and begin to say yes to what truly feels right for you and no to what doesn’t.
When we’re not connected to our sensual body, we can miss the subtle cues of what “good” feels like. When we have access to our sensations, we can pick up these sensory signals much more easily. When you practice this sensual freedom state, you can feel a visceral sense of self and may notice when your personal, and even sexual, boundaries are being encroached upon, allowing you to make new choices.
You also write about healing through poor body image. How can someone improve their body image and enhance their self-confidence if they don’t meet society’s standards for what’s traditionally considered beautiful or good looking?
The more we dance in this JourneyDance style, without mirrors, without specific steps, we begin to feel more and more comfortable moving in our body. With this comfort we start to feel better about how we feel and more confident in how we look.
Healing body image starts with breaking free from society’s narrow definitions of beauty. When we dance in a freeform style like JourneyDance, there are no mirrors, no right or wrong way to move — only freedom and authenticity. This creates a safe space for individuals to reconnect with their bodies and stop judging themselves.
Through consistent practice, you’ll begin to feel more comfortable in your body, which naturally boosts your confidence. The more you trust your body and allow it to move without judgment, the more you’ll fall in love with its uniqueness and strength.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I want to remind everyone that this work is about being brave. Healing through movement requires vulnerability, but it also brings the most incredible transformation. Every time we show up on the dance floor, we’re choosing to be present, to feel, and to heal. I encourage everyone to embrace this work fully — to trust their bodies, embrace their emotions, and dance their way into a life of freedom and joy. The world needs your unique energy. Don’t hold back.
How can we dance with you online?
You can join us online every Tuesday at 12pm EST/9am PST for a JourneyDance with me or one of my supportive team of teachers. And, we have a Special Live Streaming Event this December 28th, 7:30pm EST, Moving into Unity and Community.
To learn more, visit journeydance.com.
