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October 2023

Listen to your Body 

Dr Sanjyot Pethe advocates giving your rational mind a break and tuning into your body’s intelli gence to transform your life 

for long hours, bodies being ignored, people  

spending a whole lot of money to change their  

bodies, or bodies just becoming something to  

be lived with. Then I heard that the body has its  

own wisdom. Really! 

This morning, I was speaking with a lady about  

my work, and she commented that all this is New  

Age stuff. I responded that my grandparents  

already knew this; they just did not have the  

language to express it. My grandfather would  

have a stomach upset, so he would skip a meal.  

My grandmother would cook and eat only what  

was needed. They did intermittent fasting  

throughout their life. It’s only now that I am  

realising it. 

The wise body 

So, going back to my story, when I began to  

notice my body was not just flesh and bones  

with something called life in it but a wise, fluid,  

alive, experiencing mechanism, something  

in me began to transform. I realised that I  

cannot separate myself from my body as long  

The body is my first home. For the longest  

time, it was a burden that I carried  along. I hated it, ignored it, and wanted  to change it and move out of it. It was ugly,  ill, and uncomfortable, and I wanted to run  away from the overwhelming anxiety, sorrow,  and pain I experienced. I thought I was alone  in this; then I began to see it in various forms  everywhere. I saw bodies being dragged to work  

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as I am alive. If I deeply connect to it, it will  show me a way to know and transform myself.  I began exploring and learnt that people have  been exploring this for six decades and more  now. I am more peaceful, wiser, joyful, and  healthy than I was ever before because I trust  the capacity of my body. I began coming home  to my body, after which I came across this  quote by Linda Harley: “Coming back home  means returning to ourselves, discovering our  wholeness and our inherent nature. Being and  

feeling at home in our bodies is essential to this  discovery of our basic health and well-being.” 

Connecting to the body 

Connecting to the body is not easy since  most of us have been indoctrinated into the  superiority of rational intelligence—our  ability to think. We have not been encouraged  to feel as much as we have been encouraged  to think, and body connection is all about  feeling. If you are anxious, can you sit and  experience the anxiety instead of running away  somewhere by watching TV, eating, or calling  someone? This is a capacity that needs time  and attention to build. We are so tuned to the  regime of the rational mind that we eat when  it is lunchtime and not when we are hungry.  We exercise because a book or a video says so  and don’t pay attention to the movement our  body seeks. Yoga is not for everyone, nor is gym,  walking, jogging, or dancing. The same applies  to food, entertainment, or rock climbing. It’s a  wonderful gift to humanity that we can choose  what works for us. 

Body is where the present resides 

A seven-year-old boy had nightmares and would  get up in the middle of the night screaming.  He would be unable to share his trauma and  would cry for hours. I taught him simple body  connection and movements by asking him to  describe what he felt after watching his body.  In a matter of weeks, the problem disappeared  completely.  

Another woman I was working with had a lot  of stress and was afraid of coming to harm. I  worked with her, helping her connect to her  body, and slowly, she began to release the fear  that she had held for so long.  

A deep catharsis 

I can go on with these stories. In the past few  years, working with over 100 clients and helping  them work with their bodies, I have seen how  much wisdom the body holds for each one of  us. All I did was support them through body 

based exercises or movements, and their bodies  helped them resolve their issues, find courage,  heal from trauma, unleash their creativity, and  find deep peace and joy within themselves. A  small 10-minute activity in workshops and a  body-focussed meditation have helped people  find their inner peace and stability. I did an  embodied leadership workshop, and it helped  people discover the path to embody their  leadership and manifest its reality. Habits  become stronger when they are embodied,  knowledge is wisdom when embodied, and we  are alive when embodied.  

It is a long journey of attention, patience,  and managing the intelligent rational brain’s  interference. We can’t do away with rational  intelligence; we just need to manage its trained  superiority. Life is about experiencing our  corporeal reality, and experiencing brings  about feelings in the body. If you tune in, she  will tell you her story. Will you listen? 

Dr. Sanjyot Pethe is a leadership and OD consultant, coach, somatic experiencing practitioner and story teller. She believes in the wisdom of the body and brings it to all  her work.