I often blog on the subject of bodymind, and my perception that body and mind are not two different things. I see them as metaphorical, a way of dividing up our experiencing so that we can talk about it and make sense of it. As I understand it mind can not exist without a body, and within a functioning body mind arises. Mind is not brain, it seems to arise from and be reflected in our whole physical form.
Oftentimes, when we are struggling mentally, we look for solutions that focus on mind. And yet Einstein reminded us, you can’t solve a problem with the same order of thinking that created it. If you could think your way out of mental distress there would be far less need for therapeutic practitioners, and far less mental suffering to treat.
To heal, we need to notice ourselves as a whole system, a bodymind. We need to intervene in multiple ways, acting on multiple aspects of our experience.
One particularly helpful theme I notice in therapeutic work is physical release. Be it from physically exerting exercise, yoga, chi gong, orgasm, stretching or another route, releasing tension in the body is incredibly helpful when you are suffering mental tension. Find the physical tightness and release it, and your over-thinking and mental taught-ness may lessen.
The busier you get, the more full on life is, the more release and renewal are important. Stress tightens us up, the body can begin to form armour that hardens us, reduces our flexibility, and lessens our ability to discharge emotion and to let ourselves be.
If you don’t have them identified yet, take a few moments to consider how you want to release the inevitable tension that arises as you move through your days and weeks. What does it for you?
