3 reasons why body wisdom reaches far beyond mind wisdom.

Yes, I think we all agree the mind is a valuable part of us. Could we also agree we need to connect to the wisdom that our bodies provide, now more than ever?

In today's society, the perception lives that our mind's intelligence is way more important than our body's wisdom. Having a strongly developed mind intelligence is the key to a long-lasting, happy, and successful life, right?

No, not at all. The opposite.

Incorporating body wisdom, emotional intelligence, and the ability to access different dimensions of being, will lead to a more authentic and fulfilling life. For me it's not about diminishing the importance of the mind but rather expanding the understanding of intelligence to encompass the full spectrum of the innate wisdom as a human being.

Before I continue, I would love to take you on a short exercise to let you experience your body intelligence. And show you not only proof of your body's wisdom, but let you feel a touch of life that reminds you of your innate power.

1. Close your eyes and continue breathing in your natural rhythm.

2. Place both feet on the ground, your back against the chair. Feel your spine. Your shoulders and neck. With every inhale and exhale your become more aware of your body.

3. Now go to a specific moment in your life where you felt a physical reaction so strong, so deep, so profound, it overwhelmed you and blew your mind. Boom. Just like that. Fully present in that moment in time.

4. If you have the memory in mind, go back to the feelings and sensations you felt in your body, and the physical response you had. Can you feel them? Your body remembers everything.

Massive, right?

Now that we have experienced this, let's go into 3 main reasons why body wisdom is the key to self-awareness and why it is so incredibly important in today's society to go back to our roots and lead in a connected and aligned way.

"Your body just knows."

We call it intuition. Or deep knowing. That inner voice that whispers to you through sensations, feelings, visions, experiences, and memories. Your internal awareness system reaches way further than your mind awareness, and can guide you in a way that is sometimes faster and more effective than conscious, rational decision-making. It's raw, real, wild, instinctive. Your body always knows the answers before your mind can comprehend them. It is a waterfall of wisdom that lives inside of you. Never ending. Are you aware of it? Are you connected to your inner voice?

The challenge here is that intuitive leadership cannot always be explained from a rational thinking point of view. Therefore it requires a strong body connection, deep trust, and a firm standing.

Here is a simple exercise to develop your body-awareness: sit relaxed, close your eyes, put both feet on the ground, and just breathe as you normally do. Take a recent personal or professional situation that comes to mind. Go into the situation with precision. Who was around you? What were you doing? And now just notice what happens inside of you. In which part of your body do you feel a sensation? What is the sensation? Does it have a color? A structure? Does it come with visions or memories? What is it telling you? Just becoming aware of it, without any judgment, is strengthening your body consciousness.

"Your body is always speaking to you."

It constantly provides signals and cues about your physical and emotional needs. I say speaking to you, as often it's not a two-way conversation as we tend to ignore these signals. Maybe you recognise this yourself. In very simple day-to-day things your body speaks, like "recharge me (go to bed)", "fuel me (eat and drink)", or "my temperature is low (put on an extra sweater)". And even those 'minor' signals we too often ignore or neglect.

In a bigger context, it also speaks. Creative, sensual sensations, wildness, joy, love, hunger for life. But also internal dilemmas, anxiety, depression, severe feelings of stress, and physical discomfort.

Taking time to be fully present with your body, listening to what it tells you, and responding to its needs will help you to build stronger self-awareness, and develop your personal compass as a leader.

If you want to strengthen the connection with your body start spending 15 minutes per day with yourself. It sounds simple, just 15 minutes. But in reality life takes over quicker than you expect. No distraction, no music, no podcasts, nothing, just you and your beautiful body. Move, breathe, meditate. Consciously feel and become aware of what your body is telling you in that specific moment in time. 

"Your body is a complex system, so profound it even gives you access to different dimensions of your being."

A strong connection between your mind and body results in a more powerful collaboration between cognitive abilities and bodily intelligence. Of course this will eventually lead to deeper self-awareness, but... and this is the profoundness, when you reach a certain level of alignment, your doors open, it will give you access to different dimensions of your being. As you're not just an intellectual or emotional being but a multifaceted one; energetic, spiritual, past, now, potential, lineage, grounding, manifestation and so on.

Opening these doors, your gateway to your full self, will make your presence in the here and now even more impactful.

You want to strengthen your body & mind connection? First take notice of your strongest inner voices. Often critical voices. Who prevents you from moving beyond your comfort zone? Why? The mind's primary function is to keep you safe. Once you become aware, create distance between you and these strong voices. Place them intentionally somewhere further away from yourself. Don't ignore them, they are part of you as well. But place them in such a distance you lead them instead of the other way around. Now become aware of what is happening in the rest of your body. What is flowing through you? What are the sensations? These sensations might differ from the critical voices, but provide valuable insights into your authentic self and your true desires. Do you like it?

About the author:

As a Leadership Coach, Feminine Embodiment Mentor, and New Woman Leader with +15 years of (international) leadership experience and an extensive track record of supporting many people with reaching personal physical goals, Elise has developed a profound sense of reading human beings on all levels.

She is on a mission to grow recognition of the importance of holistic self-leadership by restoring the connection to our bodies. To live from a place of pure, honest innate wisdom.

She is now guiding other conscious women leaders in their deep dive into this New Way of Self-Leadership; Full Embodied Leadership. To Lead and Live in Full Alignment. Learn more: https://elisevroonland.com/