Feelings are the Language the Body Speaks with the Brain
On this snowy day I thought I’d share with you what I’ve been reading and listening to recently. Perhaps you’ve seen these interviews with Michael Pollan, too. He just published his newest book A World Appears, a Journey into Consciousness and has been giving wonderful interviews, including on Terry Gross’ radio program Fresh Air,The Late Show with Steven Colbert, and others. Pollan is a fascinating writer. I particularly appreciate how he bridges the gap between different subjects, in this case, philosophy, neuroscience, A.I., and even psychedelic drugs.
So, what is consciousness, anyway? It’s a big question with no definitive answer, but Pollan references neurobiologist Antonio Damasio, who theorized that consciousness begins with what we’re feeling in our body, not in our thoughts. “Feelings are the language in which the body talks to the brain. And the way the body gets the brain’s attention is with feelings,” he wrote.
Can you guess where I’m going with this? Qigong, of course! Whenever we enlist the concept “ice to water, water to steam, steam to qi” in Qigong, what we’re doing is feeling where in our body we are holding tension or stagnation. Then we stretch, breathe, and move to gently activate and relax the muscles and fascia (which is even more highly innervated than the muscles). This encourages connections between the body and the mind to flow more freely and smoothly.
We all know this because we FEEL it: Qigong changes our conscious state. It expands our consciousness. Through our bodily sensation and the focus of our intention (Yi), we effect the neural signals going to our brain. The brain (which, as Pollan explains, exists to keep the body alive, not visa versa) then senses the changes, and responds.Our blood pressure lowers. Our arteries relax. Our immune system revs up. What a simple, pleasant way to create little miracles in our bodymind! And it happens whenever we play Qigong!
If you find this subject intriguing, too, click on the link below to read Pollan’s interview with the Times. I’d love to hear what questions and thoughts this stimulates in you!
Next Millbrook Library Free In-person/Zoom Qigong: Fridays, March 6th and 20th,10 - 11am. Please register for this class by contacting Millbrooklibrary.org. The library will send you a reminder a few days ahead of time.
Love to dance? If you live locally, come to the Club Friendly All Ages Dance Party, at Millbrook Village Hall, 35 Meritt Ave, Millbrook, NY Friday January 27, 5-7. There’ll be a DJ! This is sponsored by the Millbrook Library, so contact them for further info Millbrooklibrary.org.
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Zoom Qigong Classes Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 9:30 am EST
