Earth embodiment

The idea of this activity is to use the human body as a metaphor for the earth in an experiential way to help explain and understand the climate and ecological crisis and in particular global warming.

Step 1:
An explanation is given about how the human body is a pretty accurate model of the earth. E.g. mostly water, a living system made up of interdependent living systems.

Step 2:
Highlight the concept of comfort and how it is something we strive for AND it is something the earth strives for. E.g. Wearing the right clothes for the different types of weather, which is like the earth over so many billions of years finding the right balance to support life on this planet. The sun is presented to the group (as a prop or image) and it is explained how the sun beats down and the earth then finds a way to manage that and maintain comfort. Just like humans, if we are too
hot or too cold, we adjust in order to find and maintain comfort.

Step 3:
Explain to the group that each of them is going to BE the earth! Remind them that the human body is like the earth. Mostly salt water, a living system made up of interdependent living systems, the body is one living thing when you look at it as is the earth when you see if from space, When you zoom in there is so much complex stuff going on which we cannot live without. All of the essentials in the human body and the earth are related to survival.

Step 4:
The group are then asked to do a strenuous activity depending on the profile and capacity of the group which should be simple, repetitive and will cause fatigue and sweating. Before the start of the activity (and in preparation) make sure that the group have extra layers available to put on, E.g. jumpers and jackets, hats, scarfs, etc.

As the physical activity progresses the facilitator will do two things 1. Share a narrative about the earth and how it connects to a part of the body. 2. As appropriate add layers of clothing and intensify the activity.

The Respiratory System - How is our breathing during the activity? The more we push, the more it struggles. Think about how our forests are the lungs of the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Deforestation is like carving out sections of the lungs. There is going to be a consequence to that for US and the Planet!

The Circulation System - Our veins, arteries and capillaries are like the rivers and oceans. Think about the tide and how it has a rhythm like our heartbeat. Think about how the water brings nutrients around the planet like blood in our bodies. Think about how damming of rivers is like clogging the arteries. When the natural flow is affected, there are consequences.

The Digestive System - Think about the nutrient cycles, the intake, the excreting of waste and how it all contributes to the system again and again. Now think about industrial toxins, chemicals, plastics, and other waste that clogs up the system, just like junk food. When these elements that are not part of the natural cycle find themselves mixed in and impacting on nature and living things E.g. plastic in the oceans, we will suffer the consequences of that.

The Skeletal System - Mountains, valleys, geological structures are like the bones of the body. Ecosystems need those geological structures just like our muscles and organs depend on the skeleton. If we do not think about how mining for example is like breaking the bones of the planet, then we will find ourselves suffering the consequences of a system breakdown.

Step 5:
At a certain point ask participants to stop. You can start to debrief by asking them to check in, how is their breathing, their muscles, etc. You can reference
‘sweating’ as a mechanism by which the body moves water around to cool itself down. Mother nature also does this but for us we see melting ice glaciers, super
storms, and rising sea levels. Follow on by describing how disrupting the multiple systems (in the body and the planet) has a knock-on effect on health and well-being. If the natural systems are unable to manage disruption because there is too much pressure, we end up with a risky situation. Use the example of a fever and how the body can manage it up to a point (just like the earth) but beyond that point is system failure and death. WE are giving the earth a fever (global warming) and just like the human body, if we go beyond the point where the natural systems can look after themselves or be supported to find their balance, we are in dangerous territory.

Step 6:
Invite participants to discuss how that experience was for them and what learning they are taking from it? The message here is about the pathway towards
reducing the global temperature by 2 degrees and how it will represent a fundamental shift of planetary systems and by consequence, human life. Ask participants how they maintain this balance?