We think with our body
We think with our bodies.
Yup, you read that right. Thomas Hanna, one of the somatic pioneers, describes thinking as an action of the entire body.
Because thinking mobilizes the entire sensory-motor system, the nature of our thinking activity automatically determines the nature of our bodily activity. This works in the inverse as well. The nature of our bodily activity determines the nature of our thinking activity.
Our sensory-motor system is a closed loop system in which we cannot sense without acting, and we cannot act without sensing. It is not possible for us to create a sensory perception of a situation without already having an established motor response.
Roger Sperry said that the entire output of our thinking mechanism goes into the motor system.
Thomas Hanna points out that this is a somatic viewpoint — that thinking is actual physical movement in the living body.
Does this resonate for you? It’s pretty different than the way many of us learned to think about thinking.
Many of us sit at desks all day, wondering why we can’t seem to think at our best.
When do you do your best thinking? Do you think best when your body is moving?
In her book The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama describes the experience she had when she took up knitting during the pandemic.
This is a beautiful description of how the nature of our bodily activity determines the nature of our thinking activity.
Healthy habit
Incorporate movement in thinking
Next time you find yourself needing to do your best thinking, find a way to incorporate movement into your process. Experiment with different types of movement. Do you feel calmer and more centred while in motion?
How can you incorporate this into your workday more regularly? Can you shift to a movement chair or a standing desk? Can you stand up and walk at least once every hour?
Catch yourself in the act of thinking and notice what your body does when you think. Do you have specific movement patterns or habits that appear? Are these helpful, or do they cause pain or discomfort?