I have found that connecting to my body is as simple as making a choice to stop and do so. I allow myself to become aware of my breath and then to breathe gently, allowing my breath to return to its own natural rhythm. I often find myself focussing on feeling my lungs as they move gently with my breath and then it is easy to feel when events of the day, such as driving my car or pressures at work, have affected this natural rhythm. From here I can start to become aware of other parts of my body – my shoulders, arms, feet, back and how they are feeling – deepening the connection with my body; it is in this connection that the intelligence of the body is revealed.
This is an intelligence that inspires a deep love, care and honouring of myself, my body and others through a way of living that honours what the body knows before what the mind knows. I’ve come to know this as whole body intelligence. What I’ve discovered is that my body feels far more what supports it to be vital and healthy in life and relationships than anything I’ve ever read in books.
But this wasn’t always the case. For most of my life I’ve held the intelligence of the mind as the marker of success, enjoying and excelling in formal study, holding postgraduate degrees and working within academic research for the past twenty years. In the world of academia, intelligence is synonymous with knowledge and is linked to job security, prestige and power. The body comes a distant second to the mind and I have observed over the years the constant pushing of the body to meet deadlines; the vast amounts of coffee and/or caffeinated drinks consumed, often as a meal replacement; and a growing trend of chronic back pain and mental health issues amongst students and staff. I know myself that I gave my body little attention when studying, as I would focus only on getting an assignment finished on time or getting good grades.
You could say I was absent from my body, paying little or no attention to any physical sensations or signs from my body. For example, I can’t count the number of times I would find myself sitting in the same spot for hours, engrossed in some task, only to finally stop, move and then become aware of my numb backside and the tension in my shoulders. Another example would be eating while reading a book or watching TV, only noticing you’ve eaten too much and are feeling bloated when your plate is empty AND you haven’t even tasted the food. It seems that pain and discomfort quickly bring us back to being present in our body.
It has to be asked though, what kind of intelligence is OK with allowing the body to reach such a state of discomfort, pain and disharmony? Is that really intelligent?
To be honest, it’s not always pleasant to feel what’s happening in my body, but I’ve come to understand that any pain or discomfort is my body’s way of communicating to me that I’ve not been connected and, therefore, unaware of how absent or present I am in my daily life. I’m learning that the body knows exactly what it needs to support it to be in life, in complete harmony within, and with others, without stress and tension, moving through each day with ease – this is what I call intelligence.
Our body is in constant communication with us, however we tend to ignore it at the expense of our own health and well-being. I know when I allow myself time to stop, to breathe gently and to reconnect to my body, I have rediscovered a deep stillness, warmth, delicateness, loveliness, lightness and vitality within me. In feeling these qualities, I am inspired to move and act in a way that allows me to maintain them throughout my day, to the best of my ability. These qualities are always present in my body, but if I’m not connected and present with my body, then I can’t feel them and I’m more likely to do things that may cause me pain or discomfort.
Everyone can connect, or reconnect, to the innate whole body intelligence, simply by making a choice to stop and become present with the body, allowing an awareness of how or what the body is feeling at any given moment. Connecting with our breath is a great place to start to connect to the body and its very loving form of intelligence.
By Michelle Sheldrake, Social Science Researcher, Esoteric Massage Therapist, mother
Related Reading:
The Body’s Intelligence
On True Intelligence
Coming Back to Whole Body Intelligence
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
It is amazing what we can feel if we allow ourselves to stop and really feel our body, ‘when I allow myself time to stop, to breathe gently and to reconnect to my body, I have rediscovered a deep stillness, warmth, delicateness, loveliness, lightness and vitality within me.’
“Our body is in constant communication with us,” And the mind can be a constant distraction from being aware of the communication passing through the body.
How important is it to bring a focus to our body especially how we breath and also not to stray from the True teaching about body awareness and being present with what ever we are doing, such as when we are walking to the fridge what are we thinking about?
Focusing on our breath helps us to feel and connect with our body, ‘I allow myself to become aware of my breath and then to breathe gently, allowing my breath to return to its own natural rhythm. I often find myself focussing on feeling my lungs as they move gently with my breath’.
The simplicity of this blog is offering us to make a choice and every one of us have this ability innately to make that loving choice. We ALL have this body intelligence and it doesn’t require any stop moments that asks us to reconnect to our bodies.
My relationship with my body has vastly improved over the years and it beats any pictures of how it needs to look or be shaped like. As you become more acquainted to your body, you become more astute to the communications it has with you and as that becomes stronger, we live from a different place, then from our heads.
It starts somewhere and as already stated, it starts from a single simple choice, you…
Knowledge may bring security and success but it doesn’t bring Wisdom or contentment like the body does when connected to.
Thinking you know it all brings more restrictions upon our bodies. It kind of feels like having an affair with something else, when the affair needs to be with oneself first – the love with you and the body is unfathomable.
The body is amazing in the wisdom it shares if we truly listen, ‘ What I’ve discovered is that my body feels far more what supports it to be vital and healthy in life and relationships than anything I’ve ever read in books.’
With the exquisite level of sensitivity that we can hold, if we are not feeling like we know how to handle it, then we can more easily turn to abuse – for the abuse numbs us out and hence we think we are not feeling the initial sensitivity. This then in a perverted manner makes sense as to why we abuse ourselves so much. But would it not make more sense to then love ourselves up more and allow the space to understand what one is actually feeling? Such a conundrum for us to live with on a daily basis, and yet the answers lie within simply waiting for us to activate them.
Not connecting to our body, and listening to its wisdom is a form of abuse, ‘You could say I was absent from my body, paying little or no attention to any physical sensations or signs from my body.’
Stopping for a moment to just check in with my breath is so revealing and supports me endlessly to navigate my way through my day without losing myself by the end. I enjoy building this awareness and consistency.
Thank you Michelle (M) and Matilda (M), you give a truly deeper meaning to M and M as you are both in the Mastery of your breath and our breath is super important to stay connected to our bodies.
Stopping to connect with our breath really supports us to be with our body, ‘I can start to become aware of other parts of my body – my shoulders, arms, feet, back and how they are feeling – deepening the connection with my body’.
How can we consider ourselves intelligent when we learn to switch off from the communications of the body and instead turn towards abusing it? This form of intelligence to me is very limited, and why prescribe to that when we know there is an even grander option that encompases the other intelligence but also holds the body as equal in importance?
Michelle, the first paragraph of this blog is a simple and beautiful summary of how to connect back to the body .The breath and then feeling the rib cage as it moves gently up and down is super powerful in re-establishing our natural rhythm and from here there is no end to how the body can awaken. The key thing is to make that choice, to let yourself remember this, do this and enjoy it.
We have been tricked by an intelligence thinks its intelligent. But when this intelligence places itself above others, does not allow others to make their own choices, tells others what to do we need to question the intelligence of this intelligence. Our body communicates simply and honestly. That’s all it does, with no judgment or opinion.
You have nailed it here Jennifer – when we put it in the words as you have above, we get to feel what a restricted and controlling form of intelligence we are dealing with – one that wants to be the only form and the dominating one. And it simply does not have to be this way. Body intelligence holds a care and warmth whilst never negating the intelligence of the mind so long as it is holding all as equal in importance.
Yes Jennifer, our body communicates simply and honestly.
The intelligence of the body doesn’t play ball with the self-absorbed and self-gratifying focus that the mind when in isolation from the rest of the body can run with.
The wisdom of the body is beyond what the mind can offer, ‘I’m learning that the body knows exactly what it needs to support it to be in life, in complete harmony within’.
Our own bodies are the ultimate encyclopaedia of life.
Thank you Andrew, and may I add Universal Wisdom and the volumes it brings!
What a gift our body is every single day again. We have the opportunity to connect to ourselves every single day.
Yesterday I was in an expression workshop with Chris James where one of the participants shared that she was surprised she could express great stuff while being connected with her body, that it wasn’t nonsense that came out of her mouth.
Education can be so overwhelming, there is always so much to do and a striving to be better. Yet who sets that bar? I have realised that there has to be a dedication to staying present and aware of the communication from our body when studying to ensure you don’t drive yourself so hard that you break down in the process.
Absolutely Lucy, ‘ there has to be a dedication to staying present and aware of the communication from our body when studying’.
It is simply a choice to be aware and from there the magic can happen because the communication never stops!
Yes, I can fully relate to this blog Michelle. My body continues to reflect the wisdom of true intelligence and is getting my attention these days. The mind is not in the slightest bit concerned with the pain of sitting awkwardly for hours on end, as long as something is ‘getting done’.
“I’m learning that the body knows exactly what it needs to support it to be in life, in complete harmony within, and with others, without stress and tension, moving through each day with ease – this is what I call intelligence”.
The body´s intelligence has a simplicity and profoundness to it that is easily ignored or dismissed by the sophisticated (or basically arrogant) mind – in a world we have made complex the mind likes to indulge in its own version of complex intelligence, the simplicity of the body puts a stop to that. And it is actually easy to do for everyone, just as you describe, but will the mind give permission or make it complicated as well as often can be for people who have not yet connected with their body in such way.
quoting again: ‘..in a world we have made complex the mind likes to indulge in its own version of complex intelligence,..” We have found ourselves in a situation now where we are more familiar with complexity than with the simplicity of our true inner-heart.
“What kind of intelligence is OK with allowing the body to reach such a state of discomfort, pain and disharmony?” – this is a great question. It obviously is disconnected with the body, and very likely is in opposition to the intelligence the body is in its particles. The simple fact that I don’t have to keep reminding my body to breathe but it just knows how to keep going at a pace it needs to is a miracle that the mind cannot even begin to fathom, and the mind on the other hand needs constant reminders.
When I feel my mind running away with me, I find the Gentle Breath Meditation a great way to bring me back to my body, which then allows me to hear what my body is saying.
When the mind is running the show the body has to shout very loudly to make us aware of how we are treating ourselves.
When you come to realise the intelligence of the body is the true intelligence it can often be a very challenging time as it goes against the societally accepted belief that says that it is the mind which is the seat of our intelligence. But once accepting this absolute truth, the connection to the body becomes the most amazing relationship ever. It’s like you’ve met your best friend after a very long absence only to realise they have been with you the whole time, you’d simply forgotten they were there.
Ingrid this is a very gorgeous way of expressing our relationship with the body and how it is like our best friend that stands by our side all of the time, patiently waiting for us to turn towards it and realise that it is holding our hand the whole time. A very humbling realisation and a symbol of our relationship to the Soul, for the relationship with the body is indeed the bridge to our relationship with the Soul.
Reaching the understanding that our body does not punish us is huge. Therefore, when its communicating a truth that we don’t want to hear, its important to not judge ourselves or what is being communicated because no matter what, it is a simple communication. Sometimes the more we ignore that the louder it can become.
Yes, and when we hear something from our body we don’t want to hear that is often a nugget of gold that can explain a pattern of behaviour we have used to avoid feeling something for a long while. Being kind to ourselves and not being afraid of what we feel puts us in the driving seat for change in our own lives.
It is possible to have a great career if we choose our mind. Yet, choosing the mind is a choice than runs deeper than what is understood. It is saying no to our divine particles; it is rejecting everything that holds true in us to satisfy a spirit that wants to convince us about The Way.
Michelle, you’ve raised such a strong point about WHAT intelligence actually allows us to treat the very thing that carries us, and basically lives life for us, so poorly. What exactly are we listening to that tells us to eat that sugar snack or drink that caffeinated drink? Surely the body, knowing how damaging those substances are would never want to do that to itself as it also knows that it’s the one who actually has to deal with the consequences, the raciness, heart flutters and anxiety brought on by those ‘foods’.
Connecting with my breath when I feel a settlement within my body is a marker that I am clocking to assist and support me so that I become more aware of the natural rhythm of my breath. Becoming more aware of the natural rhythm of my breath then helps me to be steady in my connection to self during my day.
With our ability to be more and more aware of what actually is going on in the world we see an enormous rise of things that actually harm the body: self-harm is rising, the amounts of food and the quality of what people eat and drink is not truly supporting our body, the gaming and amount of television we watch all keep us far from connecting to our body. Our bodies are copping it, which is confirmed by the numbers op people being sick, having mental health issues, have eating disorders etc. All of this makes it even more clear how powerful the connection to our body is.
The counterpoint is remarkable when we compare the cold, clinical feeling of an intelligence that comes from the mind and pure knowledge vs the warm, spherical feeling that is so natural in a whole body intelligence. Quite the difference, and very much a choice each and every day.
When I have expressed to Serge Benhayon assisting his support for a reading on what is being shown to me his depth of love from the intelligence of the body is confirming — my attempt is usually not so confirming. The body does have an intelligence of truth that is beholding and not negative and lessoning like the mind is.
The set up in education trains us to be absent from the body and to put all the knowledge ahead of the health and well-being of our physical body, which actually doesn’t seem to be that smart. If education was that smart then surely the system and those who keep it going, could see the harm it is advocating.
Indeed a very good question: what kind of intelligence is making us finish e.g. a report, ending up the body with a pain in the back? A kind of intelligence that uses the body to generate results?
Wherever we go, the body is always with us, although it may be ignored and overridden by the mind. I love the simplicity you share here in your first paragraph, Michelle – “I have found that connecting to my body is as simple as making a choice to stop and do so.”
The more humanity awakens to the truth of whole body intelligence, we will see how we have limited ourselves with investing in the intelligence of the mind.
“I’m learning that the body knows exactly what it needs to support it to be in life,” The mind is reluctant to accept that it does not hold the natural intelligence of the body.
Oh dear, multi-tasking, like eating whilst doing something else, is such a familiar way to not hear, feel or listen to what the body is communicating. Perhaps it is time to lay a committed foundation by not doing anything when I am eating other than focusing on the quality in which I am eating. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Simply a choice to stop and feel – yet we have to consider that we are masters of making choices to override our bodies communication and that these choices happen quicker than we can realise. So perhaps the choice needs be to take a step back and give the mind a second place to the body and see what comes, not think but observe and allow it to be just that, an observation.
I am doing some study at present and can relate to that body numbing you speak of Michelle. So this is a very timely read and a great wakeup call as when I started the study I had all these lofty ideas that would surely keep me focused and take care of my body at the same time. But I now realise I haven’t put any of that awareness into practice. That’s ok because though I may not be able to change the past, I can change how I do things from now on.
Connecting to our own breath is such a simple yet powerful way to connect to our bodies.
The fact that our mind can run its own story irrespective of the body can be easily felt when the body feels a steadiness about something, but the mind wants to make the very same thing complicated.
It is a recognised fact that our body goes with us wherever we go, and yet the mind is often so busy in thinking about what is ahead, what should have been done or an event that happened sometime back etc, and this separates the body and mind from being in union together. After a while there is little or no connection with the body, only the energy of push and rush – disharmony and exhaustion become the normal.
I’ve found that bringing my thoughts/ mind back to being aware or more aware of my body, with all of it, does connect me with a different kind of intelligence than if I let my mind run disconnected so to speak. It’s like there is an innate wisdom we can access from inside of us, something we can bring our mind back to. The true unity of our mind with our whole body gives us the harmony of knowledge alongside the wisdom to know what to do with it.
Thanks for the reminder about that innate wisdom – we don’t credit ourselves with the gold that is naturally there when our bodies tell us exactly what is going on through our feelings. We all have it, and its equally available. Its just a question of activating it.
“is that my body feels far more what supports it to be vital and healthy in life and relationships than anything I’ve ever read in books.” When we listen to our bodies, it can reveal so much to us. I know when I listen, it shows me what to do next, what to eat etc… and when I choose not to listen to it, and do the opposite, it reveals how that feels with no judgement, through the the simple laws of cause and effect (i.e. I feel tired, bloated, sore etc…because I over ate, stayed up too late etc….)
When we loose the connection with ourselves we are in discomfort and this only since I came to the teachings of truth, the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom, that I understood what true connection is and made effort back in establishing a connection with myself. Ever time I drop my connection I can instantly feel how actually unloving that is and choose to come back to myself again. It is not about perfection I am starting to understand, but the willingness to come back every time again.
“It is not about perfection I am starting to understand, but the willingness to come back every time again.” Yes, and yes to this. So beautiful and simple, just coming back instead of meandering further away.