Embodiment IS Medicine: Reclaiming the Non-Verbal Intelligence of the Body in Modern Medicine

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Published: Oct 7, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/ijwpc.v13i2.911
Keywords:
Medical Education, Embodiment Training, Embodiment, Healing, Somatics

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Marina 'Heron' Tsaplina
www.yourbodyismedicine.com

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How to Cite
Tsaplina, M. (2026). Embodiment IS Medicine: Reclaiming the Non-Verbal Intelligence of the Body in Modern Medicine. The International Journal of Whole Person Care, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.26443/ijwpc.v13i2.911
Issue
Vol. 13 No. 2 (2026): Embodiment in Medicine
Section
Narrative Perspectives
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Author Biography

Marina 'Heron' Tsaplina, www.yourbodyismedicine.com

Marina ‘Heron’ Tsaplina is an award-winning interdisciplinary performing artist, writer and scholar in disability studies and medical humanities whose work centers the intelligence of the body within medicine, disability, and environmental healing.  She holds a Master’s in Bioethics and Medical Humanities and is a certified Developmental Trauma Therapy Coach. Her embodied training program, Your Body is Medicine, evolved during her time as a Kienle Scholar in the Medical Humanities at the Penn State College of Medicine, as co-founder of the Reimagine Medicine program at Duke University, and through a research residency with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. From 2024 - 2026, she was an Artist-in-Residence with Dr. Rana Awdish at Henry Ford Health to bring the healing power of embodiment to seasoned clinicians, medical students and healers across the country.