For quite some time now, I’ve been dreaming of teaching a course on the Science of Somatics. More information about this 6-session teleconference-based series is coming soon. Here’s a brief preview:
[+][-] Session 1: The Wisdom of the Body
This session is an overview of the research that points to an intelligence that lies beyond our cognitive, rational faculties. I’ll introduce some basic brain science as well as review some of the significant new research that demonstrates connections between felt sense, “knowing,” and action.
In this session we’ll cover the process by which adaptive strategies develop and become embodied, automatic actions. I’ll show you how behavioral tendencies change cellular structure and ultimately become muscular armoring that you can see in how a person holds themselves. We’ll cover the inextricable link between body and behavior and explore how actions are both compelled and constrained by our biological tendencies, which often makes change quite hard.
In the third session we’ll enter the realm of neuroplasticity, and begin to explore how the brain and body changes through attention and training and how we can deliberately cultivate practices that help us get out of the ruts we sometimes find ourselves in. I’ll share a model for change that applies to individuals, teams, and organizations, and show how this model is supported by recent findings in neuroscience.
This session is about developing a deep sense of meaning and purpose by accessing your felt sense. We’ll touch upon the importance of emotions to decision making, including the fact that you literally can’t make decisions from a purely rational perspective. We’ll also see how touching into emotion and sensation are crucial for developing a sense of meaningful, purposeful leadership. I will talk about some of the embodied practices for developing the skills of purposeful leadership, and speculate about the likely neurobiological changes these produce.
This week is all about developing resilience and emotional intelligence. It’s about centering in the face of pressure, change, and overwhelm. In terms of neurobiology, we’ll focus significantly on the elements of the fight / flight system and how developing the ability to pause in the midst of an emotional trigger opens up access to more of your cognitive creativity. I will be talking about the skills of personal leadership, how we train for those in an embodied way, and the likely neurobiological changes that training produces.
This is about the relational aspect of leadership, whether in teams, partnerships, families, communities, or across disciplines or divisions. It’s about influencing by way of your presence, rather than through positional power. We’ll discuss mirror neurons and electromagnetic fields that extend beyond the body. We’ll also cover speech acts along with several other important relational leadership skills, and again speculate about the likely neurobiological changes that are produced by a more holistic leadership training that includes the body.
The pilot version of this course is presently available by invitation only. If you have received an invitation to the pilot program and plan to attend, please pay your fee here:
Science of Somatics Pilot – $275
If you’d be interested in joining me for the next round, please register your interest below.
In the meantime, you’re always welcome to join the mailing list if you haven’t already done so.
