You are currently viewing Intelligence In The Flesh by Guy Claxton: Book review

Intelligence In The Flesh by Guy Claxton: Book review

The subtitle of this book is, Why your mind needs your body much more than it thinks. I think this subtitle really sums it up nicely. There is no mind and no body that are separate from each other, there is just us, one being. We do not have bodies, we are bodies. That is the argument the author makes.

Some of you know that as I write this review, I am in the midst of completing the Human Potential Institute certification program, which is an International Coaching Federation certified program. While not a compulsory part of the curriculum, this book was recommended, as the concept of “embodiment” is used heavily in the program.

I am glad that I have been working with these techniques for a few months now so as to make the concepts in the book more understandable, otherwise I may not have grasped the concepts fully. This book explains, in terms which allow a lay person like myself to picture, just how interrelated we are, that intelligence is part of our unitary selves. Real intelligence goes way beyond how we think. It’s how we move, how we feel and how we interact with the world and each other.

For many of us, Intellectual abilities have been put on a pedestal, leaving the very bodily processes they arise from, as second-class thoughts. It’s time to reconnect with the wholeness of ourselves. Many of us think we are stuck in our heads and that the body is this separate appendage that you just carry around with you. It is true, many people are stuck in their heads, but that is because they have forgotten about their body and how to get into it, how to feel it.

Many people intuitively know about the mind-body connection, but yet have no idea of how to harness this powerful concept.

In taking this course and practicing these concepts for the last few months, I can say that this has been profound for not only myself, but also for my clients. I am a much better coach for using embodiment techniques where appropriate. The breakthroughs I have seen with clients in doing just a short exercise or two in the span of a coaching session have been profound.

Some would say that this is a book of philosophy, but I would suggest that this is a book that explains the concept in a practical way.

I would recommend this book, but again, it may be more powerful for you, if you have engaged in some form of embodiment work beforehand. Would you like to try it for yourself? As part of my certification, I am offering 1 hour coaching sessions with no long-term commitment. You can book a session here.

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