´“To be really man or nature when thinking, one must think with all one’s body.” - Mallarme
We hear a lot about the mind-body connection. That our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes can significantly alter the positive or negative functioning of our bodies. Despite this truth, much about the structure of our lives has remained the same as it's always been; we tend to separate mental activities from physical ones- sitting at a desk for the important work of our lives and going to the gym or exercise class to satisfy the physical parts of ourselves.
The truth of the matter is that we think better when we are moving. This is especially true of children. I found it fascinating to learn that kids exhibit complex eye movement patterns when cognitively processing information when they are otherwise restricted in their movement, say at school taking a test or learning a new math concept. Nature's way of compensating. I know that when I hike or bike or simply move around in a studio, ideas flow much more easily.
Empirical evidence has shown that psychosocial factors such as depression can influence cancer survival. Our health and longevity to a significant extent depend on what we believe about ourselves (Simple But Not Easy). Healthcare professionals are realizing more and more the power they wield by what they say to patients. It's a huge craze to spit in a test tube and send it off to one of the many DNA testing sites to find out about our ancestry and health predispositions. But what if we find out about a genetic predisposition to breast cancer, for instance? Won't we forever be prejudiced to expect this outcome in our lives and perhaps even manifest it because of our fear? The mind has a powerful and integral relationship with the body. The fact of the matter is that all of our thoughts come from our sensory experience and likewise, every thought elicits a corresponding physical response. We have all felt the heart-racing pump of adrenaline in response to tragic news or an anxiety-provoking situation. But our bodies also respond when we think about what we want to eat for dinner or watch a movie or fall in love (that one we know!). It's a constant loop of information-sharing between the body and the mind; they truly have a symbiotic relationship.
I would say that I’m a body person. Everything I ever learned, in the sense of knowing, came from my body. It doesn't mean I don't think I'm smart or am not thoughtful about my decisions. But my first "gut instinct", my intuition about something, gives me invaluable information about any and all situations. And when I act counter to that primal signal, I can always retrace my steps back to that first impulse. For example, I have been attracted to men on a body level even though my gut has warned me that a relationship with this person could be "trouble". So there's body attraction and there's body intuition. The first can be a powerful override to the second. But the truth of the connection eventually manifests itself resulting in heartbreak and emotional upheaval. After a few rounds of this, we learn our lesson. Hopefully.
When I graduated from college with high honors, my father expected me to become a successful woman. And when I told him I was going to graduate school for my MFA in Dance Performance and that was what I wanted to do with my life, well you can imagine his response. But dance was my passion and my gut told me that was the direction I needed to go in. And after a life of making my living and deriving fulfillment in relation to my embodiment, I know it was the right choice. My younger son almost took an attractive job offer in finance after he graduated from college. Not a field he was particularly interested in, but where he had done two internships in college. There was nothing else on the horizon, but he wisely had the courage to endure the uncertainty of having no job, to instead pursue a career in the music industry. After a summer of job-searching, he was lucky enough (luck= when preparation meets opportunity) to land a job and work his way up to being a VP in A&R at a prestigious music label. Fear and anxiety towards the unknown are powerful motivators and it takes great courage to trust our gut instinct and actively manifest what we want in our lives.
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