While most of us never think about it, our body is the seat of a tremendous innate intelligence. At any given moment, this innate intelligence coordinates millions of processes that regulate our health and our mental and emotional well-being.
In our age, however, we have become divorced from this important self-regulating force, says author and somatic visionary Tom Myers in this free download. As a result, our health and well-being suffer on numerous levels.
At the root of the issue is the growing epidemic of inactivity, which leave us disconnected from our body. We are in the midst of an inactivity crisis, and in addition to the health impact this has, it has another profound effect: People are losing touch with their kinesthetic sense and the innate somatic intelligence of the body.
Normally, we learn important things about our body and environment through bodily experience. Once divorced from these important bodily signals, we are no longer able to heed intuitive signals from the body, or what we also refer to as gut feelings. And many of us have lost touch with even more basic functions, such signals of satiety and fullness after eating.
Moreover, Tom explains, complex feelings are all grounded in your body – grief and anger and exaltation and delight happen in the body as well as in the mind. When we ignore the bodily feelings that come with emotions, we suppress the emotions that are going with them. This can have significant health effects down the road.
Tom shares his insights into how we can reclaim our kinesthetic sense, and why it’s essential to address the growing epidemic of somatic amnesia in society.
He further talks about kinesthetic empathy, and why this is an essential skills for yoga teachers. When we develop kinesthetic empathy, we are able to tune in to where our yoga students are at and whether you’re going too fast or going too slow. This can take a long time to develop, but there are ways to work on this, Tom explains.
Also check out Tom’s YogaUOnline course: Creating Embodiment: The Role of Yoga & Movement in Healing Somatic Amnesia.
