Using Body Knowledge

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Janie Santoy, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.

I heard Jonah Lehrer speak at a distance education conference a few years ago. During his talk, he shared one of the stories in his book titled How We Decide.

The story is about a Navy radar technician who sees a radar blip and has to make a split-second decision: friend or foe. If the aircraft is friendly then he risks opening fire on a comrade, but if the blip is a missile then many lives are in danger. He decides the blip is a missile because of a “gut feeling.”

I’ve always been fascinated by this story as an example of body knowledge. Our brain is able to process enormous amounts of information and relay that knowledge using our bodies.

What I am interested in is:
How many of us are aware of our body knowledge?
How do we learn to listen and trust that knowledge?
How can we benefit daily from this knowledge?
What happens when we ignore that knowledge?

I decided that I did not want to be like a fellow coach who began making lifestyle changes only after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, or a family member who developed a immunological disorder and experiences painful flare-ups during moments of great stress, or another family member who was told she would die in five years if she continued her current lifestyle.

I didn’t want to wait for a painful wake-up call before making changes. So, for the past six months, I’ve been on a journey to become aware of my body and the messages I receive from it. I’ve slowly began to honor that there are messages that my logical brain cannot communicate. I am becoming more aware of those messages and learning to “read” and trust them.
How does the body communicate that knowledge?

It’s different for everyone and that is one of the self-development aspects we explore during our coaching program. Each of us can become aware of WHERE we personally receive those messages and then learn to READ what those messages are saying.

For example, for me, most messages come in my solar-plexus area. What I feel is different depending on the situation.

For something that is really painful and that I need to resolve, I feel tightness that extends up to my shoulder blades. It is a tightness that is suffocating if I pay attention to it or that becomes dull if I ignore it.

The feeling is different when I am joyful, or unsure, or excited, or nervous.

It is difficult at the beginning to be in the moment and, at the same time, become aware of the feeling and process that knowledge. But, it is a skill that can be learned and can be used to our benefit.

I invite you to keep the following in mind:

If you process these questions consistently, the awareness you gain from your body knowledge will serve you well.