Physiology Drives Psychology (and It Might Be a One Way Street)

I’d prefer to think my way through things. Maybe you can relate. The trouble is that in times of difficulty 1) it doesn’t always help me to live from the neck up, and 2) research continues to emerge that our physiology is likely the optimal entryway to our psychology. 

Think about it (no pun intended), our physical bodies and the somatic power of the senses are much older from an evolutionary perspective than our cognition and rational mind. This is why you cannot think your way out of primal reactions like fear. 

As much as you might want to analyze your feelings (like me), it’s likely much more effective to feel them. If you’re reading this blog, it’s likely not a leap for you to see how at its foundation the response to a high heart rate while navigating a barbell or the sensory experience of being neck deep in an ice bath makes us feel more alive than less alive. 

Being close with our physiology is how we get close to life itself. 

If you find yourself living from the neck up, try noticing and even shifting your state with movement. It doesn’t need to be back squats and sled pushes, either. Rub your fingers together, count your breaths, jump up and down. 

Now, that’s living.