The mind can't outsmart the body

This one is for you if you are interested in psychology, you've read lots of self-help books, and have a good understanding of where your habits, beliefs and behaviours come from. (eg 'I know why I react this way because my Mum used to say this to me when I was young').

This understanding is super helpful. It helps us makes sense of how we came to be the way we are.

This is what we call 'Conceptual self-awareness' - we understand the concept of something and how it came to be.

But if we want to change, unlearn and heal a pattern of thinking/feeling/behaving we have to move beyond just understanding it.

Knowing something conceptually doesn't necessarily create change.

I understand how to make bread. I watch 'Bake off'. I know it needs yeast to rise and then they stick it in a proving drawer! (sorry if you're a baker). But I've never actually made bread.

If I were to make bread, then I would experience that knowledge in my body - feeling the consistency of the dough with my fingers, watching it rise, smelling it, tasting it.

This is what we call 'embodiment' - experiencing something in the present moment through our senses.

So when it comes to healing our patterns that keep us stuck or make us feel bad about ourselves, understanding them is just one piece of the pie. Understanding something in our minds without having a conversation with our bodies leads to short-term changes, and is why we always end up circling back around to the same old thing.

We can try and change our thoughts, but our minds can't outsmart the body. You will know this if you've tried repeating positive affirmations and you're body is basically saying 'Really? You believe that? I'm having none if it!'.

The way I work with my clients is about bringing the mind and body into the present moment so they can have a conversation and get back on the same page.

This takes some practice because so many of us spend our time hanging out in our minds and leave our bodies behind. We have to get to know ourselves again.

It takes slowing down to be able to have a conversation with our bodies.

It's being able to notice our patterns as they come up, staying with the sensations in the body without distracting ourselves or running away.

Our patterns run deep. Sorry, but if they were just in our minds we could just decide to change them at any given moment.

It's not always easy to be embodied. But it's so worth it.

If you feel like you keep coming back to the same old patterns again and again, let's chat. With intention, practice and heaps of self-compassion you can embody new ways of being.

Oh and if you can make bread - maybe you can give a 'Bake off' lesson!