Whole Body Intelligence: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body to Achieve Greater Wisdom, Confidence, and Success - Hardcover

Sisgold, Steve

 
9781623366179: Whole Body Intelligence: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body to Achieve Greater Wisdom, Confidence, and Success
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1623366178 ISBN 13: 9781623366179
Verlag: Rodale Books, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

Most self-improvement programs train people to identify and solve problems by grappling with them endlessly, often to no avail. Executive coach Steve Sisgold, however, knows that the body--not the mind--is the most reliable and effective pathway to realizing your innermost desires and achieving success. His unique, body-centric approach will show you how to get out of your head and take charge of every area of your life with increased awareness, clarity, and confidence.

Whole Body Intelligence teaches you how to become aware of subtle body sensations--such as gripping the phone or clenching your jaw during a tense conversation--and how to interpret their meanings, linking them to negative thoughts and behaviors that are impeding your success and happiness. You will recognize the patterns and imprints that have shaped your experiences and decisions for your entire life and learn how to change these thoughts and behaviors before they become self-sabotaging. No more overthinking! Decisions will become easier to make and you will stay engaged, resilient, and relaxed in any situation.

With an easy-to-follow 30-day plan, body centric stress management tools, and inspiring stories of people who have changed their lives using this system, Whole Body Intelligence empowers you to channel the power of your body to achieve your wildest dreams.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Steve Sisgold is a motivational speaker and executive coach who has shared the stage with Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson, and taught workshops with Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, Alan Cohen, Shakti Gawain, Marcia Wieder, and others. He has appeared on TV and radio shows, including OWN's Dr. Laura Berman Show and The Montel Williams Show, and blogs for popular websites such as Psychology Today, Owning Pink, and Belief.net. He lives in Marin County, CA.

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CHAPTER 1

BODY FIRST: EVERY MOMENT IS A CHOICE POINT

It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

--DUMBLEDORE, IN J. K. ROWLINGS'S HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

YOUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION ON this adventure is to fully understand, learn, and practice being Whole Body Intelligent. This chapter is your first stop on the ride. You will practice the skill of shifting your attention from your thinking mind, or what is called mental cognition, to the sensations and information available from your body, i.e., embodied cognition. I call this shift body first.

The ability to direct your attention and take a body-first approach is the foundation of Whole Body Intelligence (WBI). Free will is the human ability to make choices that are not determined by external circumstances. We can increase both the reach and effectiveness of our free will when we become keenly aware of where we put our attention.

In the following exercise, you will get your first stamp on your WBI passport through a tangible experience of the body-first approach. To help you feel what I mean, let's go back to Keawakapu Beach, which you visited in the Introduction.

Imagine that you and I are sitting in a couple of comfortable pelican pouch beach chairs. We're watching the ocean waves rise and fall a few feet before us. Hear the waves as they crash on the beach and return to the ocean in a steady rhythm. Smell the salty air, feel the sweet ocean breeze on your skin, see the setting sun spray color across the sky.

Now take a minute and listen to the thoughts passing through your mind. What are they saying? The voice in your head might be comparing the weather in Hawaii to the current temperature where you live. Perhaps you are reflecting on your last vacation or musing about going back to your favorite beach. You may even find that your thoughts free-associate as you start reviewing your bucket list and begin planning that long-overdue scuba- diving trip to Belize. Next thing you know, your mind has wandered off to the other to-dos on your bucket list and you're jumping out of an airplane, living in a village helping kids, or exploring the Mayan ruins. These are typical comments I've heard from clients who came to work with me in Hawaii; these were their responses when I asked, "What are you thinking about as you look at what is in front of you?"

Now that you've witnessed your own thought stream, let's shift your attention.

Go back to the beach scene and engage all of your senses. See the ocean, hear the wind in the palm trees, feel the warmth of the setting sun. Now intentionally shift your attention from your thoughts to your body.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Take another deep breath and fill your lungs from bottom to top. Place your hand on your belly; feel your belly expand as you inhale. Release the breath; your exhale will happen with no effort. Now take another deep breath and relax completely.

Continue to place your attention on your breathing and take three more full, deep belly breaths in and out. Notice anything you observe that you were not aware of a few moments ago.

Let your body move organically and do whatever it wants. If you are inclined to make a sound on the exhalation or let out a big sigh, do it. If you feel a bit of tension in your neck, follow the urge to roll your head from side to side. Shake your hands to release tension and pent-up energy, if that is your impulse.

Now take one more deep breath in through your nose and allow your jaw to loosen all the way as you exhale. Empty your face of all expression.

Next imagine you are back on the beach. Notice any body sensations that arise. Scan your body from your head to your toes. What do you sense and feel in your body right now?

You just made a fundamental attention shift from a mind-first to a body- first orientation. The focus of your attention went from thinking about the beach scene to experiencing what you feel when you imagine being on that beach. You expanded your experience by engaging with what is happening inside your body in addition to what is going on outside or floating through your mind.

It's important to note that it isn't necessary to silence the mind or stop your thoughts to broaden your attention and include what your body is feeling and telling you. Your mind may frequently wander here and there. If you continue to reorient in this body-first way on a regular basis, however, your thoughts will slow down and allow your body more bandwidth to communicate with you, to give you information, feedback, and direction.

Now that you've had an initial experience of the body-first approach, let's move deeper inside and find out what else your body is telling you.

Again allow your awareness to move inside your skin as you shift your attention away from your thinking mind and attend to the sensations and "felt sense" available when you focus on your body.

Notice what is occurring. You may realize that you are bouncing your knees up and down, tensing your jaw, gripping this book or your tablet tightly.

Next begin a conversation between your body and your mind. For instance, you might say, "I notice butterflies in my belly" or "I seem to be holding tension in my hips, and there's a restless feeling in my legs."

Now shift your attention to some detail outside of you. Perhaps you discover a large stack of papers on your desk. Observe what your body has to say about that pile of papers--you may shake your head a bit or hear a quick "tsk" come out of your mouth.

Go back and forth from your inner experience to how you mentally frame, judge, explain, or make assumptions about what you see.

What have you learned about yourself?

Did certain parts of your body talk to you when you opened your eyes and observed conditions or events outside of your body?

What is your body saying right now?

This is how you begin to have an integrative conversation between your mind and your body.

Keep practicing and noticing what you discover when you include body awareness in your internal dialogue.

When I think about ___________, I have the following thoughts: ________________________________________________________

When I think about ___________ and listen to my body, I notice: ________________________________________________________

Continue and observe any changes in your breathing, posture, body temperature, or body movements.

As you practice this exercise, your body will come alive. No matter what your opinion of your body or your complaints about how your body looks or functions, your body will respond when you shift your attention and listen to what it has to tell you.

THE SECRET TO LIFE: STICK TO ONE THING

In the movie City Slickers, 39-year-old Mitch Robbins, played by Billy Crystal, is having a midlife crisis. Robbins's antagonist in the film is the tough-as-nails trail boss, Curly. Midway through a grueling cattle drive, Curly gives Mitch some advice about life. He begins by asking Mitch, "Do you know what the secret of life is?"

ADVANTAGES OF USING THE BODY-FIRST APPROACH

• Your body readily alerts you when you fall into negative mental traps and conditioned patterns such as assumptions, comparisons, and blame. You instinctively shift your focus and call on your body's intelligence for clarity.

• You are self-aware and alert to subtle body sensations--a tightness in your jaw when not speaking up, the tension in your hand while gripping the phone tightly during a business call, or a twisting feeling in your gut that says "No!" when you are about to make a wrong decision. You know how to access and interpret the meaning of these sensations and link them back to specific...

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Verlag
Rodale Books
Erscheinungsdatum
2015
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1623366178
ISBN 13 
9781623366179
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
304
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar