Body intelligence.

This one is largely a personal reflection based on something I’m continuing to explore and experiment with…

Body intelligence and muscle memory.

It will be worth a read if you relate to any of the following -

• You tend to over-analyse or be ‘too in your head’

• You feel a little awkward, clumsy or slow sometimes carrying out more practical/‘using your hands’ type tasks

• You feel a little awkward or uncomfortable moving about spaces

• You tend to feel anxious and avoid being the center of attention

It may sound strange to some but I can personally relate to the above and it’s a little mission for me to continue to overcome and improve in these areas!

Here’s what I’ve discovered as the main key to this overcoming -

Thinking less with my mind and more with my body.

Our brains are all wired differently with certain areas of our brain being stronger than others (for example the motor cortex is associated with movement and the frontal lobe thinking and problem solving). Our ‘body intelligence’ also being connected to the brain.

We all vary in how our mind and body intelligence works, or how we use it.

For example, people who seem much more adept to sport, with sharp movement and coordination.

Or those who effortlessly good at practical hands-on tasks, perhaps they work in a trade or have a particular craft.

Or people who have sharper thinking skills, for detailed analysis or concept design for example.

I only developed an awareness of my muscle memory or body intelligence perhaps not being as balanced as my mind or brain, when I had a career change from a corporate type of job to floristry.

While I loved the flowers, I felt challenged by trying to create what I envisaged, fumbling my way through the hands on part of the creating process.

I compared myself to others who seemed to be able to whip something up with absolute ease and speed.

Now, this brings me to a story from last weekend, when a friend came over for dinner.

I mentioned to them my somewhat fumbly ways with practical tasks.

In response they explained how they went about their work (a very practical, hands on job).

They said, when carrying out a task, in their mind they weren’t consciously thinking about the task they were completing in front in them.

They were actually thinking about the next task.

Preparing themselves and thinking how they were going to do that one, rather than the one they were actually working on.

I found this quite intriguing.

It made me realise that when I carried out a task, I always had my mind on the specific task.

So much so that I knew I was overthinking it.

Overthinking it and making it more difficult that it really was.

We all know when we overthink something or try too hard, it generally doesn’t work in our favour.

Hence my fumbly, slow response.

And it would often be for tasks that most people do ‘without thinking’.

Without the conscious thinking that is, that I was still doing.

So, following this conversation, I started to experiment a little.

When carrying out small practical tasks, such as making a cup of tea even, I decided to direct my thoughts towards what I had to do next rather than on the task at hand.

For example:

• As I was putting the tea bag in the cup, I directed my thoughts to pouring the water.

• As I was pouring the water, I directed my thoughts to getting the milk from the fridge.

• As I got the milk from the fridge, I directed my thoughts to pouring the milk.

(You get the idea).

I also tried to have an awareness of ‘being in my body’.

Making sure I was breathing, my body was relaxed and feeling the groundedness of my feet.

Suprisingly it worked.

It allowed me to complete the task much more naturally, easily and efficiently.

WHAT A REVELATION.

A revelation that seems so ridiculous but really does illustrate how the way we use our mind has so much power.

That if we simply have an awareness of how it operates and how we might like it to change, we can.

The biggest part of the challenge is sticking with the intention of consciously doing the re-wiring. Trusting that over time it will eventually come naturally.

One other part of this exploration, again which might sound strange, is how I feel being in or moving about a space.

Even just walking through the house for example.

What I started to realise (an outcome from regular yoga practise) was that I couldn’t feel relaxed and truly present within a space or moving about a space while all my attention was on my mind, rather than my body.

I believe this tension or disconnection with my body could be part of a survival response. My body going into defence mode because, for whatever reason, my brain believes I may need to protect myself.

We can all carry different survival responses for different reasons.

So, again, to work towards overcoming this, it’s a matter of being intentional about ‘being in my body’ as described earlier and building the awareness that we can relax, we are safe. We can be in spaces and move about freely and openly.

I believe the mind and body balance is also key for memory.

The more we can be in a relaxed state within our mind and body, the more we can easily absorb information and think clearly.

If we’re in a relaxed state, we’re not in survival mode, where all our energy is directed to the situation right in front of us in that very present moment.

If we’re in a relaxed state, our mind and body, through our senses can absorb so much more and without effort.

As I say these are reflections of my own exploration and experimentation that I will continue to enjoy navigating, improving on and overcoming!

If you can relate to these challenges, realisations or experimentation, I would love to hear from you. Click the book a chat button.