"THERE IS MORE WISDOM IN YOUR BODY THAN IN YOUR DEEPEST PHILOSOPHY "
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCH
Has anyone ever told you to listen to your body?
While most of us know that our body is full of present moment intelligence –– through our senses, through our intuition and though our physical cues –– most of us tend to live more in our heads.
Our worldly paradigms are not structured in a way to promote our strengthening or listening to our body sense.
When we turn this conversation to food, our self-judgment, body shame, food feelings, and fear (or avoidance) of our bodily sensations keeps many of us from self-regulating our eating.
Yet, when we live with our body as our ally, we have all of the information we need.
According to psychologist, Dr. Alan Fogel: “Your body sense is the ability to pay attention to yourself, to feel your sensations, emotions, and movements in the present moment, without the mediating influence of judgmental thoughts".
Our body sense sparks an increased awareness that helps us to better track and understand our bodily sensations and cues.
When we practice living and eating with a bottom-up, body-centered approach –– descending into our body and feeling our body sensations –– we can learn to recognize and trust the intelligence within us.
In doing so, we strengthen our resiliency and our pathway to well-being.
A few months ago, while I was knee deep in book research, I came across the work of Dr. Alan Fogel. I must have been feeling extra confident that day, because I reached out right away to ask him to join me on SATIATE.
Dr. Alan Fogel is a wonderful resource for embodied psychology and well-being. I am so excited to share his wisdom with you in today's new episode on the Boulder Nutrition podcast.
Listen and learn:
How to begin using your body sense in your eating
Why we could exchange the word mindfulness with bodifulness
How embodied living leads to embodied eating
Restoration and resiliency from the lens of the body sense
Our greatest moments of personal fulfillment and pleasure are times we spend fully engaged in a situation and present with our whole selves.
Leading with your body sense can revolutionize how you eat and how you live.
MEET DR. ALAN FOGEL:
Alan Fogel, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Utah and has been an active contributor to research on emotional development in human relationships from infancy through adulthood.
His books include Developing through Relationships (1993, University of Chicago Press), Infancy: Infant, family, and society, 6th edition (2014, Sloan Publishing), Body Sense: The Science and Practice of Embodied Self-Awareness (2013, W. W. Norton), and Restorative Embodiment and Resilience: A Guide to Disrupt Habits, Create Inner Peace, Deepen Relationships, and Feel Greater Presence (North Atlantic Books, September, 2021).
Dr. Fogel is also a licensed massage therapist, a Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner and Senior Teacher, and founding editor of the Rosen Method International Journal. He has a part-time practice in online Embodied Self-Awareness Consulting and in-person Rosen Method Bodywork. Further information and links to publications can be found at http://www.alanfogelrosenmethod.abmp.com/ and at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-fogel-701a03122/ .
When not working, he finds restoration in gardening, singing and playing guitar, hiking and skiing in the mountains near his home in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, swimming and biking, and being with family and friends.
