How we see our body affects the relationship we have with ‘it’.
400 years ago René Descartes made the intellectual separation of mind and body famous. His argument, put very simply, was that while we can doubt the existence of the physical world and even our own bodies, we cannot doubt the existence of the thinking self — hence his famous cogito ergo sum: “I think, therefore I am.” From this, he argued that mind and body are fundamentally distinct.
But dualism — as this view became known — isn’t the only way to think about the mind and body. If you fancy disappearing down a Google rabbit hole, explore neuroscience, embodied cognition, existentialism and philosophical monism for some compelling alternatives.
Personally, I think Descartes was wrong. I see mind and body as one thing.
In fact, I probably go further than that. I tend to see all of us as deeply interconnected — in a vaguely Jungian, Mahayana Buddhist kind of way. But this probably isn’t the place to disappear too far into my own ever-evolving beliefs about the human condition. What matters here is that this belief in mind–body unity affects how I live, think, eat and move — and how I teach and coach. And perhaps the easiest way to understand it isn’t intellectually at all.
When I score a goal, return a serve, ski down a mountain, block a punch, get wiped out by a wave or even fall down the stairs, I never experience a division between “me” and “my body.” In those moments, there is just experience. Movement, thought, instinct, emotion and sensation all happening together.
If you have ever entered a flow state — while training, meditating, writing, playing music, dancing or anything else — you probably know exactly what I mean. You stop observing yourself from the outside. You are simply doing. I believe the best way to understand — and enjoy — the mind–body connection is not through endless intellectual analysis, but through mindful movement, learning new skills and the art of play. Although I’m not against you reading Spinoza while sitting on a cross trainer.
Helping people feel more connected in mind and body is central to my Athletic Living philosophy, my work as a coach, and the way I shape everything we create, teach and explore at The Dan Roberts Group.