Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change

2011-2013, Fontainebleau

“The hardest thing is to see what is right in front of your eyes”

Johan Wolfgang von Goethe

Executive Master Thesis:

Leveraging the mind-BODY connection in clinical coaching

Ellen VERFAILLIE

Scientific Director: Professor Manfred Kets de Vries

Programme Directors : Professors Roger Lehman & Erik van de Loo

Associate Director and Thesis Supervisor : Elizabeth Florent-Treacy

To my father, brother and husband Executive Summary

This thesis explores how the mind-body unity, anchored in ancient practices and now

scientifically established, can be leveraged in clinical coaching. It proposes that capitalizing on

mind-body interactions, especially by fully re-engaging the body and its inherent wisdom,

within our being as a coach as well as in the coaching relationship and process, is a logical and

natural reversion to the original sense of the clinical paradigm and provides additional sources

of clinical insight and pathways for transformation that enrich the clinical coaching work.

This hypothesis is anchored in a substantial review of recent neuroscientific findings which I

clarify and organize to enable us -and our clients- to make sense of how we humans function

through our interrelated mind, body and emotions. Combining the work of others, I propose

working definitions of somatic awareness, embodied self-awareness and somatic intelligence

and suggest how as clinical coaches we can develop ourselves to be more embodied and more

consciously leverage the potential of the mind-body unity in our coaching engagements.

Keywords

Mind-body, somatic intelligence, embodied self-awareness, clinical, coaching, neuroscience

2 Acknowledgements

Engaging in the writing of a master’s thesis, while having outgrown student-life and having taken on other life responsibilities is a daunting task. Choosing to change topic to follow one’s heart and moving continents at the same time (the two no doubt interlinked) made the experience particularly spicy. I feel privileged to have been accompanied in my hazardous journey off the beaten track by so many warm-hearted, knowledgeable teachers, colleagues and friends who have altruistically and enthusiastically made time to encourage and guide me.

The list is long but starts with our inspiring teachers Erik van de Loo, Roger Lehman and Manfred Kets de Vries who are the alpha and omega of the CCC experience.

A specific word of thanks goes to Chris Balsley and Paul King who have put extensive time and energy in reviewing large chunks of my scribblings and sparring with me.

I am grateful for the interviews, conversations, suggested literature, nuggets of wisdom and introductions received by, Jean-François Manzoni, Liz Florent-Treacy, Thomas Hellwig, Theo Compernolle, Jonathan Marshall, See Luan Foo, Akiko Mikamo, Cam Danielson, Avital Carmon, Paul Hemstaedt, Caroline Rook, Jane Grafton, Barbara Marienbach, Sai Ram Nilgiri, Mrs. Patar, Lynne De Lay, Marie Faire, Kimberly Brayman, Brigitte Deden, Evelyn Thomas, Ingrid Verhaegen, my CCC partners-in-crime Marie-Claire Dassen, Andrea Claussen and Frank Dannenheim and to Silke Bequet and the dexterous INSEAD library team. You have made this thesis-writing process come alive and blossom. I want to send you my heartfelt thanks and hope to be able to continue engaging with you on this fascinating topic.

Thank you finally to my dear husband and children for your quietness, patience and comprehension.

3 Contents

Executive Summary ...... 2

Acknowledgements ...... 3

Contents ...... 4

Introduction ...... 7

1. Neuroscience explains the mind-body interaction ...... 12

A. Mind and body interact continuously and intrinsicly ...... 15

i. Evolutionary conditioned responses - the triune brain ...... 15

ii. How body and mind interact via the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) ...... 17

iii. Postural mind-body dynamics ...... 20

iv. Facial expressions and experienced emotion ...... 21

v. Voluntarily inducing relaxation ...... 21

B. Brain structure & neuroplasticity ...... 22

i. Procedural memory – the embodied behaviors that make us unique ...... 22

ii. Neuroplasticity: we can rewire our brain through focus and practice...... 23

iii. ‘The power of consciousness’ ...... 23

C. The downside: unconsciously damaging our bodies through thoughts and emotions 24

i. Stress ...... 24

ii. Psychosomatics ...... 25

iii. Neuromuscular tension patterns ...... 26

iv. Body Armoring as the physical expression of psychological defenses ...... 26

v. Psychological trauma ...... 26

D. Centers of intelligence beyond the cranial brain ...... 27

4 i. Gut ...... 29

ii. Heart ...... 29

iii. Skin ...... 31

E. Relating cognitively, emotionally and somatically ...... 32

2. Phenomenological observations of the mind-body unity ...... 34

A. Holistic health and well-being practices ...... 34

B. Psychotherapy and somatics ...... 36

3. Becoming an ‘embodied’ coach first ...... 38

i. Practice what you preach ...... 38

ii. Working definitions...... 40

A. Somatic Awareness ...... 40

B. Embodied self-awareness ...... 44

i. Mindfulness training ...... 46

C. Somatic intelligence ...... 47

i. Centered presence & alignment ...... 49

ii. Mood / attitude ...... 50

iii. Affect tolerance ...... 50

iv. Conscious regulating of whole self ...... 51

4. Embodied clinical coaching ...... 52

A. Expanding clinical concepts ...... 52

B. Embodied Self & Other-Awareness ...... 52

i. Observing the clients’ body ...... 52

ii. Visual kineastic syneastetic – feeling what the client feels by observing ...... 53

iii. Sensing our own body ...... 53

5 iv. Empathizing and containing ...... 53

v. Grounding ...... 54

C. Somatic coaching: helping to client change through movement ...... 55

D. Convincing executives ...... 56

5. Understanding resistance rooted in Western dualistic conditioning ...... 57

i. Cartesian Dualism: Philosophical, scientific and religious roots ...... 57

ii. Individual & collective Ego defenses ...... 59

6. The adaptive work of embodying the mind-body unity ...... 65

A. Self-actualization: becoming a more resourceful me ...... 65

B. Holding environments to developing embodied coaching skills ...... 66

Conclusion ...... 71

Bibliography ...... 73

6 Introduction

I chose the topic of this thesis “Leveraging the mind-BODY link in clinical coaching” out of a

deep personal experience. While I sensed my emerging hypothesis “to consciously include the body in the clinical paradigm so as to naturally extend it to the whole self, consistent with the mind-body link ” as congruent, it generated numerous questions which I set out to research in this thesis.

During the last years I have extended my expertise and understanding of psychology and

coaching, in particular from the clinical perspective . As a result of experiencing my own and

others growth, I hold a deep respect and appreciation for its transformative powers. A couple of months ago, during the Asia Pacific Coaching conference I won a free Tension Release

Workshop (Berceli, 2009) offered by The Works Partnership. While I would normally not have ventured toward such an ‘atypical’ experience, I seized the opportunity and discovered a whole new level of growth. The workshop allowed me, through a series of body-based exercises, and after surmounting my defenses and shattered rational self-image, to transform in a different, complementary way. The somatic pathway shortcut some of my ego control mechanisms and defenses and once trusted and empowered turned out to be a complementary lever for awareness and change . I believe the impact from this somatic experience was equally due to my built-up experience with classical clinical psychology which helped me notice my defenses, practice negative capacity and frustration tolerance, master my impulse to regain ego control,

7 and make sense of the process to integrate the learning. All at once I felt like everything, including myself, came together. I want to emphasize that I am by no means advocating a hierarchy of methods or techniques where body-work is better or worse than conventional talking practices. Instead I propose an integration of complementary approaches . Intuitively this corresponds to a practical (re-)integration of mind and body.

When working with the clinical paradigm we attend to the live in-the-moment human experience and relationship. The term ‘clinical’ (or bedside) refers to the medical practice of observation and treatment while being next to the patient’s bed. Clearly this involves the body and the mind of the doctor, and the body and -if conscious and coherent- of the patient. To a large extend many of us are already relying on wisdom from our body in our day-to-day clinical practices, in various degrees of intent and consciousness. Whether in picking up bodily sensations linked to transference, defenses, noticing shift or inconsistencies in a client, or having a client move to open up new perspectives, verbalize or embody motivation. I am proposing to consciously and systematically re-integrate or explicitize our bodies into a more holistic, ontological practice of the clinical paradigm .

Grounded in my powerful experience I set out to undertake more experiences, to talk to practitioners and experts in the fields of psychology, somatics and coaching and to read academic literature, books and browse the internet to understand the theory and science behind the mind-body unity. I also conceived the thesis writing as live psychosomatic

‘playground’ and consciously tapped into my body to build energy, become unstuck, fight

8 anxiety, sense tiredness or even physical pain and tried to ensure my writing came from an embodied place.

I invite you to stroll alongside me in these pages to discover what the mind-body connection represents, and how science is increasingly revealing what others have been experiencing for centuries in non-conventional well-being and healing practicing; our body contains wisdom beyond the cranial brain; our mind, emotions and body are continuously interacting and we can learn how to consciously intervene; we can progressively rewire our brain through neuroplasticity; and we connect to others in multiple somatic ways. By understanding these mechanisms we can make sense of our behaviors and manage them more purposely. I suggest that tapping into somatic wisdom can deepen and broaden the clinical relationship and process, and propose to include the body explicitly in the clinical toolbox. First and foremost by starting with a deep mind-body integration within the coach who then from a strong embodied presence can relate to and guide others to bring about change by changing mind, emotions and body.

So much of this, once we pay attention to it, seems trivial and makes plain sense. What is to me fascinating is why then, we are not generally more aware of the power of the mind-body integration and have forgotten ancient wisdom? Why most of us are relying on somatic intelligence in a variety of ways in a day-to-day practices and professions, but could be more conscious and more deliberate about it? Why we sometimes treat ourselves as Ken Wilburs’

‘brains on sticks’ and delegate to the body the mechanic functions of transportation and nutrition only and say ‘we have a body’ rather than live fully in it? Centuries of Cartesian

9 Dualism have left us with a residue of unconscious ego-defenses and beliefs that make shifting our paradigm and behaviors from ‘mind is separate’ to ‘mind and body are one’ an adaptive challenge. Developing somatic awareness and self-mastery is a journey, not a quick acquisition, and requires investing time and discipline in durable practice. This is the price to pay if we want to gain access to this whole new source of knowing already part of us, expand our range of choices and tap into new pathways for development. And ultimately live and engage more fully; more alive and inherently more human. It is a self-actualizing decision, which for those of us engaged in relationships, whether as parents, partners, leaders, psychotherapists or coaches, can positively affect those around us.

Some words of caution and humility in closing. I write out of personal experience, my educational and professional background in business, executive education and clinical coaching completed by conversations with academics and practitioners, by literature, phenomenology and logical deduction, but have found this thesis subject challenging in many ways. Because of our dualistic history, the mind-body link does not naturally fit within one specific Western educational discipline, and is not part and parcel of mainstream psychology or business administration. Rather, it spans a vast range of sophisticated and sometimes recently emerging fields including neuroscience, molecular biology, quantum physics, philosophy, psychophysiology… which -while fascinating- is challenging both to maintain focus as well as to find ‘field-bridging’ integrative experts, literature and concepts. When I did find them they didn’t necessarily correspond between different schools. Even though clarity and precise work exists within the various sub disciplines, I did not easily find the same rigor in over-arching holistic works. My overall impression is one of emergence, of work-in-progress. The very

10 intermingled nature of the mind-body subject where everything is interrelated and ultimately the same, as well as the sensed quality of somatic work, breathes through and doesn’t fit easily into the straight jacket of academic reasoning and writing. It is for those reasons that I have proposed some working definitions for the purpose of structuring this thesis, that strive to bridge predominant views in somatic coaching and psychology.

I have chosen to narrow the focus of this work on the individual or dyadic relationships, excluding the larger group experience and systemic perspective and refrain from including the spiritual dimension of the human experience, often inherently linked in many of the practices and literature.

The second challenge to writing this thesis is that learning about embodiment and somatic practices is best achieved through personal experience and repeated practice. While words are necessary to conceptualize, they reduce the experience. As such classical sources like literature and even interviews are indicative but limiting. I have compensated by extensively tapping into non-conventional sources such as videos and websites in which I have found a wealth of information and whom I include in the bibliography. My own experience both in becoming more embodied and practicing with these methods as a coach is just building up. The few authors I have come across who combine eloquence with depth write from a decades-long grounded experience and embedded subject expertise. In comparison I am a newborn trying to achieve an adult developmental task. Not unsimilar to a parent of a first newborn I have found myself fascinated, with vested interests to learn, theorize and project but also humbly aware of

11 the necessary years of ‘on-the-job’ training required before being able to relate to the intricacies of parenting.

If I had unlimited time I could have dedicated it to additional focused readings, restructuring, validating and refining with experts in psychology and coaching which no doubt would have had its merit. But I feel that this thesis ‘as is’ provides a sufficient theoretical and conceptual starting point for me to venture ‘out of my mind’ again as I realize my main learning in becoming a more embodied coach will be in grounded repeated experience and practice. I look forward to dedicating time to that now. For this reason also, the focus of this thesis is not on the specific techniques of somatic coaching as only a master could convey. Rather, it is a prelude where I curiously lift the veil on the many causes and possibilities of mind-body unity and explore its potential to deepen our work as clinical coaches. I take full responsibility for any errors or omissions in these pages and am grateful for your feedback and comments, as I aspire for this work to be a stepping stone for interesting exchanges and continued learning.

1. Neuroscience explains the mind-body interaction

As I will elaborate below, by now science has largely established that mind and body are intrinsically intertwined. Significant progress in scientific theory as well as measuring equipment and the emergence of new interdisciplinary research fields have generated the context to validate rationally what practice and ancient wisdom have demonstrated over centuries.

12 The implications for our human experience, and for us as clinical coaches, are vast. There is no (longer) such (a) thing as thinking without your body being involved and being affected physiologically. Emotions can be triggered and both the mind and the body will be affected and affect each other respectively. How we move influences how we feel and how effective we reason. And all of this goes for our relationships with others as well.

The downside of the mind-body unity is that when unaware, an action in one part, mind or body, will affect the other, seemingly randomly or disconnected. The upside however is that, provided we take on this responsibility, we have more choices to live and act consciously and purposefully:

• By accepting our body is an additional source of knowing, and developing our

somatic awareness by learning to also listen to what it is telling us, make sense of it

and increasingly trust the insights gained alongside our rational capacities.

• By deepening our understanding of the way our body typically reacts without our

conscious involvement so that we can adjust unproductive or unintended behaviors,

thoughts and emotions such as stressor-induced fight or flight or unconscious

conditioned responses.

• By changing and healing our bodies and minds through their interactions, and by

realizing that lasting transformation requires coherent change mind, body and

emotions

• By consciously practicing new behaviors, thoughts and emotions and over time

strengthening these into alternative unconscious neurosynaptic pathways

13 • By becoming aware of how our body influences others perception of us, consciously

and unconsciously, and by cultivating a desired embodied presence

How we can apply these levers for transformation on ourselves and with others in our clinical coaching practice is what I will elaborate in the third and fourth chapters. In chapter five

I will explain how not accepting the mind-body interlinkage, as we have been conditioned to do in the West, creates anxieties and resulting defenses but describe how the tide seems to be changing. In the last chapter I offer suggestions for us coaches to master the adaptive change of embodying, beyond cognating, the mind-body link.

But first I describe some of the science revealing the inner workings of the previously ego- intimidating ‘black box’ of the mind-body connection. Specifically, I review how the nature of our triune brain favors certain hard-wired behaviors over cognitively intended ones due to the brains evolutionary history and its conditioned development, as well as how we can strive to rewire some its pathways through neuroplasticity. I highlight how the autonomous nervous system links mind and body and how we can consciously work some of the pathways such as posture, facial expressions and breathing. I highlight the other intelligent organs of the body and (reproduced from the Far Side, Gary Larson)

14 convey how some of the mind-body dynamics, such as neural attunement, affect those we interact with. This selection of research insights remains just the top of the emerging iceberg of neuroscientific, molecular biological and psychosomatic research. It is chosen to unambiguously demonstrate the link of mind and body, explain some of its main principles and provide scientific substance to the dynamics of the embodied clinical coaching experience.

A. Mind and body interact continuously and intrinsically i. Evolutionary conditioned responses - the triune brain

In the face of certain stimuli, we may find ourselves ‘knee-jerk reacting’, before we can think and execute our desire response. The triune brain is model proposed by American physician and neuroscientist Paul MacLean (Triune Brain) that organizes the brain in 3 parts according to their evolutionary emergence in the human brain, each demonstrating a distinct capacity to solve the adaptive challenge of that phase of evolution.

The “reptilian brain” refers to those brain structures related to territoriality, ritual behavior and other "reptile" behaviors. It is the oldest brain structure

(200 million years), and consists of the brain stem and the cerebellum and is dedicated to instinctual survival reflexes or danger The Triune Brain (reproduced from nigelkerner.com)

15 responses (‘fight’, ‘flight’ or ‘freeze’), automated behaviors and vital functions (food digestion, reproduction). (TWP, 2012). (Levine, 2010).

The paleomammalian complex or “limbic brain” refers those brain structures, associated

with social and nurturing behaviors (feeding, reproduction, parental behavior), mutual

reciprocity, and other behaviors and affects that arose during the age of the mammals whose

defenseless young needed care. Evolved 60 millions years ago, the paleomammalian complex

or the limbic system (consisting of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala and hippocampus) is

linked to emotion, motivation, beliefs, anxieties, informs about safety or risk and holds

memories.

The neomammalian complex or "neo cortex " represents that cluster of brain structures

involved in advanced cognition, including planning, modeling and simulation. This recent

addition (only 19 millions years ago) is the seat of consciousness, language, abstract thought,

association, imagination and creativity.

The older parts of our brain tend to be very engrained and faster in response to certain stimuli (cortex responses in 1.3 sec vs. the limbic in 0.9 sec) and as such can highjack intended behaviors when triggered. Under stress, blood supply favors the older parts of our brain, and reduces blood supply to the neo-cortex. As a result we act more instinctively and out of our conditioned responses (reptilian), we become more emotional (limbic) and become less cognitively intelligent; our lower functioning, hard-wired brains take over. By gaining awareness of those stimuli that trigger us and their typical assorted behaviors, emotions and thoughts enable us to intercept, anticipate and over time modulate those conditioned responses.

16

Tarzan caught up by his conditioned response (reproduced from The Far Side, Gary Larson)

ii. How body and mind interact via the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS)

Our vital functions such as breathing, circulation, digestion and heart rate are governed by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which operates largely outside of conscious control. It consists of two systems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous systems, working together to maintain homeostasis. (Waller, 2010) (TWP, 2012).

The sympathetic nerve system (SNS) , also called the thoraco-lumbar system , provides the

‘fight or flight’ response to a stressor; our bodies single physiological response in the face of a real or perceived danger. In this state of alarm the body is literally readied to run away from the

17 danger or to fight it by mobilizing all its resources for immediate action.

Heart rate and force of contraction go up to raise blood pressure, speed up breathing and provide blood to the The ‘fight’ response (reproduced from ‘In an unspoken voice’ by Peter Levine) skeletal muscles and the brain, favoring the limbic and reptilian parts mostly. Pupils are dilated to see better, adrenaline is released to provide power and energy from glucose and fat, digestive and sexual activity are decreased as counterproductive. The overall state is one of contraction, closing and speeding up (o.a. through the psoas muscle (Koch, 2010); the chest & shoulders collapse forward in to protect the organs and heart, the jaw and fascial muscles tense and the chin is down to protect the neck, arms and knees are pulled up. In a real situation of danger, these reflexes are highly efficient and allow to be focused, in control, go fast and don’t show emotions. The same process is also activated in the face of any perceived danger, including unpleasant emotions, stress at work or in relationships etc.

This physical reaction to stress is designed to be short-lived so that the body can regain resolution , a state in which the sympathetic system is turned off in favor of the parasympathetic , rest-repose or craniosacral system . The parasympathetic nervous system

(PNS) reinstates the relaxation response creates deep rest and relaxation by relaxing the

18 muscles, slowing down the mind, increasing digestion and absorption of nutrients to build reserves, and sexual functions. The immune system thrives and healing happens (unless the depletion has been too deep and one falls ill first). The overall state is one ²²²breathing is diaphragmic. The parasympathetic state is our preferred state of being. It is where we can relate to others, be intimate, intuitive and present. (Waller, 2010).

Recent research by Stephen Porges in his Polyvagal Theory about the vagus nerve (or 10 th cranial parasympathetic nerve, originating in the brain stem autonomic area and travelling directly to all the organ systems without passing through the spinal cord) refines the understanding of the ANS by adding a social dimension. (Fogel, 2009).

Stephen indicates that the parasympathetic

system has a ventral and dorsal side, the

former, most recently evolved is dedicated

to the relaxation response, and the latter is

the oldest part of our ANS and generates

the immobilization response or ‘freeze’. He

argues that we are wired to respond to

stressors in the following order: if we

consider the environment safe we will

Vagus Nerve Innervation (reproduced from ‘Stephen Porges theory as engage socially from a relaxed homeostatic explained by Cheryl Sanders’) state triggered by our ventral PNS . This is why on a ‘good day’ we can deal with conflict constructively. If we do not consider the environment safe we will first choose to respond by a

19 defensive fight or flight (a SNS response), and only if that strategy seems ineffective then by an immobility response governed by the dorsal vagal PNS, similar to what can be observed in reptiles. (Sanders, 2012). Richard Strozzi-Heckler demonstrates our somatic responses to pressure in (Strozzi-Heckler, 8 November 2011).

By being aware of how we are influenced by our own PNS/SNS, by recognizing its environmental triggers and especially our conditioned hot spots, and by noting its various somatic, cognitive and emotional manifestations, we can learn to anticipate, intercept and modulate unproductive and unconscious responses. While most of the ANS functions autonomously, there are some levers we can use to induce a more relaxed or a more active state. iii. Postural mind-body dynamics

We can actively intervene in our body posture to moderate the ANS by transforming a contracted to an open body posture, or vice versa. The research by Ann Cuddy about power poses taps into this pathway. She has demonstrated that by taking on

‘high power’ poses (for instance arms crossed, leaning back feet on the table as in picture of Amy) for only 2 Power Pose (reproduced from Amy Cuddy ) minutes there were measurable and significant hormonal changes (increase testosterone, decrease cortisol) in the saliva and the subjects experienced being more in charge and appeared it. Her phrase ‘fake it till you become it’ taps into the above described link between body and mind. (Cuddy, 2012). Li Huang and Adam Galinsky’s posture experiment equally linked

20 adopted power postures to an increased sense of power and tendency for action (“The power of”, 2011). iv. Facial expressions and experienced emotion

Similarly, Paul Eckman has demonstrated that just taking on facial expressions (for instance by putting a pen between your lips without your lips touching it for 15-30 sec to produce a smile) will generate the associated emotion. The same Inducing happiness (reproduced from Richard Wiseman on Mentreprenbeeursblog ) effect happens by deliberately feeling or visualizing the same emotion which Damasio conceptualized as changes in body and mind in response to a stimulus. (Damasio, 1994). Over time, through the intervention of somatic markers the brain will associate certain real or projected environmental stimuli with specific emotions. Kevin Ochsner’s study about botox injections demonstrated that botox, which paralyzes muscles of facial expression) decreases the strength of emotional experience. (Ochsner, 2010). v. Voluntarily inducing relaxation

While most functions of the ANS our involuntary, respiration can be directly manipulated, both to gain increased arousal or relaxation. Conscious control of breath and routing breath practice may be particularly effective at facilitating feelings of calm and focus during times of excessive anxiety and stress. Conscious breathing techniques include paced breathing,

21 Sudarshan Kriya Yoga and diaphragmic breathing. (Defense Centers of Excellence, 2011).

(Mattsson, 2002)

Mindfulness, guided meditation, bodyscan, guided imagery or visualization, can equally induce relaxation and are often easily accessible as smart phone applications. Massage, yoga, sex, cuddling, physical exercise, art and stroking furry animals complete the list.

And of course, we can reduce the number of perceived stressors by changing our values and beliefs to more positive ones and by cultivating more positive emotions. We can treat ourselves

to some “psychological vitamins” by focusing on strengths, efficacy, safety, security,

compassion for self and others when avoiding harms; by focusing on satisfaction, fulfillment,

gladness and gratitude and when approaching reward; and by emphasizing attunement,

inclusion, recognition, acknowledgement, friendship & love in attachment (“What supplies” ,

2013).

B. Brain structure & neuroplasticity i. Procedural memory – the embodied behaviors that make us unique

Our idiosyncratic brains are shaped mostly by our biological and behavioral responses to sensory, social and emotional cues of our first caregivers whom we depended on for our basic needs of love and survival in our early years, when bodies and brains develop rapidly. This type of behavioral learning is a complex social, emotional and biological process.

22 These patterns of relating create procedural or implicit memory ; also called motor, skill or

perceptual memories and are nonverbal ways of doing and sensing things (Fogel, 2009). As our

brain is structured this way by our early adaptive responses for survival, these embodied

behaviors remain more easily accessible to us and can emerge faster than we can generate our

intended reactions. (Blake, 2010). ii. Neuroplasticity: we can rewire our brain through focus and practice

While many of the structures of our brain are inherited and shaped in our early years of life,

mostly through these interactions with care-givers, recent research has demonstrated the

brains’ capacity to change. Neuroplasticity shows that new neurosynaptic pathways can be re-

created and strengthened though intensity and practice. Over time these new conditioned

responses can overtake existing ones or (partially) repair certain damaged areas of the brain.

(Doidge, 2007).

The potential of neuroplasticity is enormous; rather than being victims of our heritage, childhood and certain trauma, we have some power to create durable change through disciplined practice. (TWP, 2012).(Waller, 2010). iii. ‘The power of consciousness’

The American developmental biologist Bruce Lipton, has developed a theory explaining that

is our beliefs that shape our DNA , rather than the other way round. In other words, how we perceive our environment affects who we become, as well as who our children become through inheritance of our genes. As our perception of the environment is filtered through our encoded

23 belief systems; changing what we believe about certain things, people and our general outlook on life, even if hard work, can change who we are and how we behave. We basically can help create our own reality. (Lipton, 2011)

Deepak Chopra, M.D. and author of SuperBrain says: “We are not our brains, we are users of our brains. Our minds influence the key activity of our brain , which then influences everything: perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships: they are all a projection of you”. (Martin, 2012)

“Watch your thoughts for they become your words. Watch your words for they become your actions. Watch your actions for they become your habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny.”

Lao Tzu

C. The downside: unconsciously damaging our bodies through thoughts and emotions i. Stress

While some stress in our lives, called e ustress, is beneficial and makes us perform &

develop, too much stress, or distress, is counterproductive. Yerkes-Dodson’s law indicates that

performance under stress follows an inverted U-shape: at first stress makes you alert, focused

and efficient, but past a certain level stress compromises your efficiency and health. (Chapman,

2005).

24 When we are durably exposed to a real or perceived stressor, we experience chronical

stress. The SNS remains activated and the body will start creating cortisol which has the

function to mobilize blood sugar for anticipated activity and is anti-inflammatory (it suppresses

the inflammatory body response that is part of normal healing) so that you can keep going on

‘until you make it to the cave’. The continuous release of cortisol and other stress hormones in

this adaptation state damages the body. Unless there are sufficient periods of relaxation and

rest, the result is fatigue, concentration lapses, irritability and lethargy. Over time one reaches

the exhaustion stage ; the adrenal glands are exhausted leading to decreased stress tolerance,

progressive mental and physical exhaustion, illness and collapse also called burn-out . (Waller

2010). ii. Psychosomatics

Long-time know phenomena such as the placebo and nocebo effect have demonstrated

how the mind affects the body and vice versa. In the placebo effect , control groups basically

self-heal themselves by believing in the healing brought about by unknowingly inactive

mediation prescribed by their trusted doctor. Ted Tatcheck from Harvard has demonstrated the

importance of having these positive self-healing beliefs while being cared for by the treating

doctor. The reverse effect, the nocebo effect demonstrates how the mind can make the body ill

by believing or fearing one will become ill or by losing hope after a hopeless prognosis by a

trusted doctor. (Rankin, 2012). Psychosomatic diseases such as anorexia nervosis,

neurodermitits have equally since long established this connection. More recently science of

25 psychoneuro-immunology (PIN) builds on these insights and looks at autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities and immune deficiency. iii. Neuromuscular tension patterns

Our interaction with the world, when we were children wholly dependent on others for our

survival, were entirely physical. The earliest emotional experiences become therefore

associated or linked with muscular or postural patterns called neuromuscular tension patterns

(NTP’s) . As a result, when there is sufficient resemblance between the current and original body state these emotions are reinstated but may keep us in familiar, infantile emotional patterns no longer serving us as adults. ( Embodied mindfulness , n.d.) iv. Body Armoring as the physical expression of psychological defenses

Reich believed the suppression of specific emotions (for instance intense psychological pain) is stored in the body by chronic muscle tension and leads to the formation of neuro-muscular

'armor'. Almost literally like a tortoise shield this body armor inhibits feelings and their emotional expression and locks in bio-energetic tension. Body armor is therefore linked with

'character armor'. In short, as we create psychological defenses these are physiologically matched in a more defended (and closed) body. (Glazer, 2010). v. Psychological trauma

Trauma happens when we lack the physical or psychological resources (f.i. by saying no, run away or asking for help) to protect ourselves and end up being profoundly injured. Unresolved trauma is stored as procedural memory and can keep influencing our lives and normal

26 physiological responses as traumatic stress. Internal and external cues readily trigger unconscious sensorimotor responses associated with overwhelming negative emotions and maladaptive cognitions. As if the body hard-wired itself to be able to deal with similar situations in the future.

When the memories of the trauma are activated by an internal clue (such as a feeling) or an external trigger, the survivor feels as if the old traumatic experience is reoccurring in the present moment and unconsciously utilizes the same freeze or fight defenses as at the time of the original event, even though they may no longer be appropriate to the present-day situation.

This pattern may render the survivor incapable of effective coping with day-to-day life, having a detrimental effect on sense of self, their relationships and overall functioning in the world.

(Classen, 2012).

Rather than aspire to heal such trauma by verbal processing or introspection only, some authors suggest the need for sensori-based stabilization that focuses on sensations associated with internal resilience. As such various psycho-somatic techniques offer an integrative cognitive, affective and somatic response to trauma by attuning to non-verbal responses, supporting the client to recognize and modulate somatic experiences by bringing hypo and hyper-arousal to tolerable levels (systematic desensitization ). (Classen, 2012). (Levine, 2005).

D. Centers of intelligence beyond the cranial brain

“But the awakened and knowing say: body I am entirely, and nothing else; and soul is only a word for something about the body. Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, there

27 stands a mighty ruler, an unknown sage – whose name is self. In your body he dwells: he is your body.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Also Sprach Zarathustra

As quantum physics -with its fundamental assumption that energy is matter- is incorporating into biology, the mind is being understood to be much more than the brain.

Emerging work on communication modules called neuropeptides by Candace Pert. These messenger modules circulate throughout the body in the blood, extracellular fluid and spaces, and cerebrospinal fluid and send chemical messages from the brain to receptor sites on cell membranes throughout the body. Candace uses the analogy of neuropeptides being the sheet music containing notes that allows that body to orchestrate the physiological and emotional processes. The fact that neuropeptides are produced in the brain supports the physiological connection of emotions (feelings) and muscular motor patterns. Her work has led to the term bodymind to describe our being. The mind is everywhere: it is a network or flow of communication both in the brain as well as in the body. (Pert, 1997).

When we consider human intelligence in the West, we tend to associate with the brain contained within our skull, which can be considered the control center of our activities. This brain extends out of our head into the brain stem and spinal cord. It is then connected to the peripheral nervous system which consists of nerves and sensory receptors and carries information back and forth between the brain and every extremity of the body. What is probably less known is that other organs also have intelligent capabilities. Familiar sayings such as to ‘spill his guts’, ‘having a gut feeling’, ‘vent your spleen’, ‘my heart goes out to someone’,

28 ‘my heart isn’t in it’, ‘to break one’s heart’ often capture these bodily intelligences and other medical traditions and cultures than our Western dualistic paradigm actively tap into them. i. Gut

Our digestive system actually has a vast and complex nervous system of its own, called the enteric nervous system (ENS), which mediates our digestive processes, some of them completely without interference of the central nervous system. Our intestines contain cells that are so similar to brain cells that even PD’s cannot differentiate them easily. Because of its extraordinary Gut as second brain (reproduced from scientific american) amount of neurological tissue and activity, the gut is often referred to a “second brain” by physicians. These insights substantiate long established notions such as ‘having a gut feeling’, the layman’s term for intuition or knowing from a deep place. (Waller, 2010). ii. Heart

In many ancient civilizations including Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Hindus,

Hebrews and early Christians, the heart is respected as harboring an intelligence that operates independently from the brain, yet in communication with it. ‘Logos’ and ‘mythos’ thus make sense of the world in a complementary way. The heart is commonly seen as the place of one- ness, of self and the place where we connect with God. It is also closely related to emotions,

29 most predominantly love, as well as with wisdom. This is often reflected in language, customs, writings, spiritual practices and even medical systems.

The heart indeed is much more than just a highly sophisticated pump. It also regulates produces hormones that affect blood pressure, multiple organs and even the reproductive system. The heart is the literal pacemaker that sets the intrinsic rhythm of our system and continues to do so even if removed from the body and put in a bowl of sugared and oxygenated water. Contrary to common belief the rhythmic beat of the heart naturally varies dynamically from moment to moment in function of heart-brain interactions and ANS dynamics. Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to these beat-to-beat changes.

Heart rate variability patterns or heart rhythms are very responsive to emotions, especially negative emotions the heart -cardiovascular system (reproduced from wellington cardiac services) (anger, frustration, anxiety) which lead to desynchronization between the PNS and SNS and make heart rhythms more erratic and disorder. (Arguelles, 2003). (HeartMath, n.d.).

Frederickson & Kok discovered that a healthy vagal function (for instance enhanced by meditation) makes it easier to generate positive emotions which in turn increases the vagal tone; literally as a physiological positive feedback loop. ( Think yourself well , 2012).

Various accessible biofeedback tools have been launched to allow us to start monitoring our relaxation. emWave’ for instance allows you to learn to change your heart rhythm pattern to create coherence by using a pulse sensor, to collect pulse data and translate it into

30 coherence information as user-friendly graphics on your computer screen. The StressEraser® is another portable biofeedback device that uses a finger sensor to convert your pulse into an

HRV wave. This wave guides you to synchronize your breathing with your heart rate cycle.

(Defense Centers of Excellence, 2011).

The heart seems to be the largest brain in the body. McCraty discovered that the heart receives information moments before the brain does and actually informs it. Forebodings of good or bad news were felt in the heart (as measured by electromagnetic waves speeding up or slowing down) just before it was shown. Dr John Andrew Armour discovered neurotransmittors

in the heart that signal and influence aspects of higher thought in the brain. Recent research on

cellular memories of donor hearts indicates that donor receivers may remember either the

violent death of the donor, or the names of the donor and his family. And finally the heart is

central in generating the electromagnetic field around our bodies which allows communication

within the body, but also with others and our environment. (Arguelles, 2003). (Waller, 2010). iii. Skin

Weighing about 9 kg and spanning up to 2 square meters in surface area, our skin is our

largest organ. During fetal development skin cells arise out of the same cluster of cells that

eventually grows into the spinal cord. The skin consistently recognizes patterns faster the

rational mind, measurable by variances in its electrical conductance. (Blake, 2010).

Biodot® skin thermometers are another biofeedback tool allowing you to see how you

system is reacting to a stressful situation; if the Biodot® shows cooling, i.e. lower temperature

31 and a sign of indicated stress, you can use a recognized relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, hand warming, or meditation.

E. Relating cognitively, emotionally and somatically

Just like we connect verbally, we connect emotionally and bodily. At a macro level, we may

posturally mimic those who we are connected to, for instance when sitting face to face in a

conversation. Bill Bowen explains this causality by psycho-physical parallelism ; our body gives

physical form to our mind’s story and vice versa our body informs our mind through our 5

senses. By changing the beliefs we are physically and psychically organized around we will

change our physical structure, or by changing our physical structure we will change the story a

personal believes in cognitively and emotionally. (Bowen, 2012). As such children will inherent

their parents ego stories via postural dynamics; as they mirror their parents form, their psyche

has to adjust accordingly. Recent research around mirror neurons , neurons that fires in the

observing person, as as though the observer were itself acting, may provide additional

explanations for these patters, but remains non-conclusive. (mirror neurons , n.d.).

At a deeper level research inspired by quantum mechanics proposes that the way we

connect with others is also governed through the magnetic waves of our heart and brain

rhythms . In connection, these rhythms entrain or move in sinc and can even align the breathing

pattern (Waller, 2010). Research on independent cardiac cells in a petri dish has demonstrated

that after a while they will entrain; they need to function together.

32 Limbic resonance is the capacity for sharing deep emotional states, such as feelings of empathic harmony and emotional states of fear, anxiety and anger through limbic brain waves.

In shorthand you could say the emotions of others around us contaminate ours, and draw us into almost immediate congruence called neural attunement. Unless we are very resilient, .i.e.

that our emotion is stronger than the environment, we will fall into the emotions and action

patterns of the groups we life, work, play and socialize in (Courcy, 2012). When fully entrained

the amplitude of the waves will increase as does the intensity of the experience. This process

explains why a movie viewed in a movie theatre is electrifying, and not so much at home. Or it

explains why the CCC class room is such a unique loving environment.

The concept, first advanced in the book A General Theory of Love (Lewis, 2000), refers to

the capacity for empathy and non-verbal connection that is present in animals, and that forms

the basis of our social connections as well as the foundation for various modes of therapy and

healing. According to the authors our nervous systems are not self-contained, but rather

demonstrably attuned to those around us with whom we share a close connection. "Mammals

developed a capacity we call 'limbic resonance' — a symphony of mutual exchange and internal

adaptation whereby two mammals become attuned to each other's inner states. Because limbic

states can leap between people, feelings are contagious. And through these emotions we can

affect the others thoughts and body.

33 2. Phenomenological observations of the mind-body unity

In the previous chapter I have elaborated and grouped various scientific insights

demonstrating the inherent wisdom of our bodies beyond our brains, the autonomous

pathways between mind and body and some levers for change that we can consciously use to

alter our mind, body, emotions and indirectly those of others. The insights, while now being

acknowledged academically, have been ‘known’ and trusted since ancient times and are

prevailing in the Eastern hemisphere but seem to steadily be gaining ground in the West.

A. Holistic health and well-being practices

In the West somatic wellness practices -often influenced by Eastern body-mind unity and

lived body notions- are on the rise, as is the albeit discrete usage of non-conventional medical

therapies. Even the World Health Organization in 1948 already defined health as “ a complete

state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or

infirmity” . It was a clear signal to actively take responsibility for our body’s condition by defining

health as the achievement of a balance among physical, mental and social well-being. (Taylor,

2006).

Long before the arrival of conventional medicine based on medication and surgery, and in

non-Western inspired regions of the world, the body has been actively involved in its own

healing. Holistic healthcare systems such as Ayurveda , the Indian mind-body medicine and

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) work with mind, body and spirit and engage with the vital

energies that circulate through the body. The Chinese call this energy qi or chi, the Indians

34 prana. They mapped it clearly (meridians and chakras) and understood that if energy flowed good health would follow. They also understood the interlink of mind and body and therefore the importance to change one’s mind-set, change one’s body, shift posture, realign joints and release tension in the muscles and fascia. (Alexander, 2011) (Koch, 2010).

In the West somatic wellness practices -often influenced by Eastern body-mind unity and lived body notions- are on the rise, as is the albeit discrete usage of non-conventional therapies. Here is just a small selection of the many practices available.

Trauma release techniques include the Trauma Resilience Model (TRM) where the body’s

response to fear is targeted through increasing body awareness during times of awareness and

arousal and by working to reverse the body’s engrained and automatic fear responses. Trauma

Release Exercises (TRE) uses simple exercises to evoke neurogenic tremors that release deep

chronic muscular tension. (Defense Centers of Excellence, 2011) (Berceli, 1998).

Practitioner-administered bodywork can address posture (Feldenkrais (Buchanan, 2012)

(Goldman Schuyler, 2010) and Mésières), the skeletal structure (osteopathy, cranio-sacral

therapy (Pelowski, 2011), the fascias (Rolfing, Hellerwork), pressure points (acupuncture,

shiatsu, reflexology) and works through massage (thai massage, aromatherapy, indian head

massage, manual lymphatic drainage) or energy (reiki). (Alexander, 2011).

Individual or group practice can entail (often slow) deliberate exercise such as yoga, qigong tai chi, chi kung, pilates as well as more cardiovascular exercise and dance. Emotional freedom technique (EFT or ‘tapping’ (Richardson, 2010) ( Emotional freedom technique , n.d.) (, breathing,

35 meditation, mindfulness, guided imagery as well as spiritual practice and prayer are a source of well-being. Last but not least wellness requires the importance of sleep and good nutrition, light, relationships, sex, friends and staying connected with nature and plants.

B. Psychotherapy and somatics

Psychotherapy includes the treatment of psychosomatic illnesses where the mind and body

interplay. The field has generally accepted that the body stores preverbal and bodily-based

memories.

Freud successfully treated Anna O for hysterical (physical) symptoms that had no apparent reason. The Id was according to him of the body and rooted in biological drives. Melanie Klein’s clinical observation of small children’s play convinced her that unconscious phantasies are experienced in the first instance as bodily sensations, later as plastic images and dramatic representations and eventually in words (isaacs in turp). Donald Winnicott’s work describes the way in which the body becomes inhabited as well as the related role of physical handling during infancy and childhood. Winnicot put at the centre of his developmental model not a conflict between incompatible forces but the localization of oneself in one’s body. Joyce McDougall

(1989) draws attention to the early infants state, meaning literally without speech and to the infants dependency upon the body for self-expression. Buckroyd argues that in many instances showings may take a healthy place alongside tellings, offering alternative paths for self- expression. We can regard the body, similar as the way we regard dreams, as a potentially creative site of symbolization, elaboration and self-expression. (Turp, 1998).

36 Various ‘ talking psychotherapies’ involve some observation and involvement of the body .

In Gestalt therapy , founded by Fritz Perls in the 40s the therapist emphasizes personal

responsibility and applies the phenomenological exploration method of what the client

experiences in the moment while talking. His exclamation ‘Loose your head and come to your

senses” captures the essence of Gestalt well. (Yalom, 1980)

In Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) inspired by Albert Ellis, dysfunctional emotions,

maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes and contents are addressed through a number

of goal-oriented, explicit systematic procedures. Interventions include "self-instructions (e.g.

distraction, imagery, motivational self-talk), relaxation and/or biofeedback, development of

adaptive coping strategies (e.g. minimizing negative or self-defeating thoughts), changing

maladaptive beliefs about pain, and goal setting.

Focusing is a psychotherapeutic process developed by Eugene Gendlin focuses on that which is directly experienced but not yet in words and which contains information about the resolution the patient is experiencing. (Focusing , n.d.)

Another axis of more somatic psychotherapies actively involves the body in diagnosis and

resolution, grounded on the conviction that conventional talk psychology results only in fleeting

psychological change which without concomitant somatic change tends to relapse into

characteristic dysfunctional experiential and behavioral patterns. (Glazer, 2010). Examples of

psychosomatic therapies are Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Ogden, 2006) which uses

modifications directly at the most basic sensorimotor level (rather than modifications at the

37 conscious goal-oriented behavioral level) as a primary entry point in processing trauma and Bio- energetics which combines physical movements and psychological integrative explorations to reduce body armor (Glazer, 2010).

Touch , in spite of its demonstrated importance in emotional development and everyday life, remains a delicate issue in psychotherapy. Confusion about the purpose of touch, lack of experience amongst psychotherapists in the use of touch and anxieties about using touch such as fear of sexual provocation or physical aggression. (Westland, 2009)

In the next chapter I elaborate how as a coach we can become embodied; which specific skills we should develop and how. I start by explaining why it makes sense for a coach to first and foremost become ‘embodied’ oneself.

3. Becoming an ‘embodied’ coach first i. Practice what you preach

“I can tell you that the integration needs to happen in you first. Then from a strong embodied presence you guide others.” Dr. Kimberly Brayman

When I contacted Dr. Brayman to solicit an interview, this essential statement was the first

line in her email. It rings very true. As a coach we are advised to work through our own psycho-

emotional issues, with the help of a therapist or clinically trained coach. This growth experience

allows us to become more cognito-emotionally self-aware so as not bring these themes

38 inadvertedly into the coaching relationship. As the client, the process also allows us to familiarize ourselves with the nature of clinical work (and probably learn by observation) and experience the -at times frustrating and disappointing- learning curve. All of these integrated insights enable us to better connect to our coaching clients experiences subsequently.

Similarly, when learning to work somatically, we –and ultimately our clients- benefit from developing our own embodied awareness and somatic skills first. We come to be integrated first, and then we learn how to connect to others in this holistic manner. And only then we can effectively help others grow. “Practice what you preach” becomes even more poignant in view of the experiential nature and deep adaptive change of somatic learning. In order to be able to discursively verbalize, beyond non-verbally guiding and modeling, our own learning needs to be solidly incorporated. “Practice before you preach” seems even more appropriate here.

Because some of the insights gained via somatics make such common sense, we could be

seduced to imagine that developing our somatic intelligence and skills set is a triviality. In reality however we are undertaking the re-wiring of our hard-coded belief system and its many related conditioned thoughts, emotions and behaviors. Beyond the technical acquisition and understanding of the biological underpinnings, jargon and specific tools and techniques, there is a major adaptive developmental challenge to overcome. We need to embody the mind-body link, rather than cognate it. More precisely, we need to embody and cognate it simultaneously.

39 ii. Working definitions

In order to apply these mind-body insights to ourselves as coaches and our practice we need definitions that explain what it means to be aware of one’s body, of owns whole person as the interaction of body, mind and emotion and of ones integrated intelligence. Trying to find such commonly agreed upon definitions has appeared to be one of the trickier aspects of this work as I have come across diverging interpretations in function of the field and practioner. The multi-disciplinary and emerging nature of this material seems to be in need still of overarching mutually agreed-upon concepts. While I trust this will happen over the coming years as more and more publications hit main stream media, for now I will propose my own working definitions as an extrapolation of the emotional awareness and emotional intelligence definitions developed by Steven Stein and Howard Book (Stein, 2006). As such I strive to stay close to the teachings of the CCC program, and incorporate the perspectives of as some of the leading authors I consulted.

A. Somatic Awareness

Selected psychotherapists have developed terms approaching awareness in our (or our clients) body. Eugene Gendlin created the notion of ‘ felt self ’, a bodily awareness of the ongoing process, very different from emotions. It is an unclear, preverbal sense of ‘something’ that is an awareness of an old hurt, or something that is coming. It is very precise, more intricate and can be conceptualized in a variety of ways. (Focusing, n.d.)

40 Bion posited that to learn from experience one must transform beta-elements (unmetabolized psyche, soma or affective experience) into alpha elements (thoughts that can be thought by the thinker) by being aware of the impressions of the experience. (beta, n.d.)

Somatic awareness is the physically felt experience of self for which I adopt Fogel’s definition:

Somatic awareness is an intricate capacity to perceive our movements in relation to other people and our surrounding, to register the textures and depths of our senses and to explore the

intricacies of our emotions. As such somatic awareness constitutes an innate wisdom that people have about their own psycho-biological state and health. (Fogel, 2009)

While being somatically aware we attend to posture, body position, gross locomotion, fine

motor control, balance, orienting, breathing, gestures, facial expression, sensations, tone and

pace of voice, emotions, energy and attitude. (Haines, 2012). Through regular practice we learn

to develop and manage these anatomical and physiological qualities more effectively, regain

energy and enhance our resilience by trying to locate tension and refine our experiences. They

support a sense of competence and of well-being, and may affect psychological functioning

when they do not adequately. (Bowen, n.d.)

Somatic awareness can be gained through various ways of sensing (rather than observing):

(Fogel, 2009)

• by being aware of our body schema : a sense that our body belongs to us and no one

else, our sense of movement and balance, our ability to locate particular parts of

41 ourselves, to sense our body size and shape, and awareness that our body has

boundaries that separate us from other objects and bodies

• through interoception : the ability to feel one’s own internal body states such as

heat/cold, pain and respiration

• proprioception : the felt (vs. observed) sense of location and relative position of

different body parts. Proprioception is a manner of self-sensing from the inside out

(contrary to an outside-in object-level experience of our body, which is based on visual

images of self or other, and leads us to experience body parts as massive. (Kaparo,

2012)

• visual kinaesthetic synaethesia : enabling to sense in ones muscles what one is

observing in someone else (personal conversation Paul King).

Firstly we need to put into practice our newly gained understanding of our bodies, equal yet different source of information and knowing by paying attention to and acknowledging its wisdom. We therefore need to be open to the signals our body sends us and need to learn how to read, decode and recognize them. We need to consciously scan for information that our body may be offering us, even if discretely or confusingly. Because we are used to use our minds mostly, we will need to direct extra energy to this during the learning phase. And we may be pretty bad at it in the beginning and go through trial and error and repeated practice before we start can evolve from consciously incompetent to feeling competent at this new ‘language’.

42 In order to train for feeling it is important to also develop the vocabulary of this language with such nuances as subtle differences in temperature, pressure and movement and to practice it in action while interacting with others. (Blake, 2010)

We enhance our sense of moving more easily and powerfully, our somatic perception and confidence through deliberate movement and poses, balance, lengthening, flexibility and discipline with can be developed with the practice of deliberate slow-moving body disciplines for instance yoga, martial arts such as akido (Strozzi-Heckler, 2007) or Feldenkrais (Buchanan,

2012). With repetition, not only is pain reduced, and physical performance improved, by paying attention to how we move and where we use force unnecessarily we become more fluid and use our power more effectively. Research indicates that 300 repetitions produce body memory or the ability to enact the correct movement, technique or conversation by memory and 3000 repetitions create embodiment; not having to think about activity anymore because it has become part of who we are (Strozzi-Heckler, R. 2007)

The notion of time is an important, reoccurring theme is the development of somatic awareness. Firstly, awareness is inevitably in the here and now; our senses need to be attuned to the current moment and the specific locus of attention. Secondly, to fully sense the subtle inner workings of our physiology and anatomy we need to slow down and take our time to experience fine nuances and movements. Thirdly, in order to become skillful we need to dedicate time for practice and repeat this over a significant period of time. And lastly, as we become more aware of our body, we will hear its alarm messages sooner and will build in time

43 to rest. The price of a fuller awareness of experience in the moment is to do less but to do it consciously; “less is more”.

B. Embodied self-awareness

I conceive embodied self-awareness as broadest sense of awareness of oneself , including

one’s thoughts, emotions and feelings. I extrapolate the definition of Steven Stein & Howard

Book of Emotional Self-Awareness (Stein, 2006) to include bodily sensations and thoughts:

“Embodied self-awareness is the ability to recognize your thoughts, feelings and sensations, to differentiate between them, to know why you are thinking, feeling and sensing them and to recognize the impact they have on others around you.”

A trait of embodied self-awareness is to know be aware of one’s buttons and how they manifest themselves in body, mind and emotion.

On the other hand however, we must learn to keep an eye on our thoughts, body and emotions so as to make sure they are firstly conscious, and secondly coherent with our intended outcome. If they aren’t, this gives us information, in all likeliness about a defensive reaction that is worthwhile exploring. We can for instance find ourselves tense in an apparently safe environment. Or we can react defensively in the face of a fairly neutral remark. By directing our attention to these contradictory experiences we can become more conscious about our perceptions and attributed emotions and module them.

44 Checking for negative mind shatter, unhelpful emotions or revealing body postures equally requires a new level of presence and mindfulness. Special attention should be given to developing awareness of our hot spots so as to recognize the patterns, identify typical triggers and be able to prevent or rapidly mitigate our knee jerk reactions.

Because we want to combine this newly gained somatic information with our related cognitive and emotional insights & skills we need to be very focused. Rather than having somatic info substitute the other, we learn to merge them and create an integrated picture.

Mind and body collaborate, in a way much similar to distributed leadership. This parallel processing of multiple sources of information requires our mind to be very present, rather than wander in the past or future. This may require us to become better at being mindful and maintain focused attention.

When Body language goes bad (reprodu ced from Dilbert by Scott Adams )

Embodied self-awareness is the key to transforming ineffective psychological patterns into newer and more effective patterns because it allows for observation and if necessary altering

45 the functioning of his or her body. Rather than be managed by your body, awareness allows you to regain control.

Embodied awareness happens from a place of non-judgment or evaluation, no planning or reasoning. It involves being in the subjective emotional present without wanting to act or escape. i. Mindfulness training

There are many techniques to practice the mind, clear our unconscious mind chatter and calm the ANS. Many practionners recommend daily meditative practice as a hygiene condition

-as vital as sleep and a proper diet- to develop self-awareness, impulse control and therefor conscious choice, enhanced productivity as well as increased health. (Think yourself well, 2012).

(Strozzi-Heckler 2007)

Peter Bregman explains why making time ‘to tune into your mind’ pays off, especially in the face of overwhelm. Meditation (or similar mind-calming techniques) other makes you productive by increasing your capacity to resist distracting urges, to focus and to make intentional choices about which urges ones to follow or let pass, about what you say and how, and you can anticipate outcomes before acting. All are especially important in practicing new behaviors. Meditating daily strengthens one’s willpower muscle. While your urges won’t disappear, you will be better equipped to manage them and feel confident in your capability.

Applied to coaching, it is a simple method to become present in every moment and to face circumstances openly and directly. (Bregman, 2012).

46 Meditation involves sitting tall and still to focus and clear one’s mind by focusing on one’s breathing, or on mantra’s or abstract shaped. It is a process to bring the mind ‘home’ and allow it to rest in natural peace so one is spacious and at ease (Goldman Schuyler, 2010).

Alternative mind training can involve ridding oneself of negative mental states and

fostering and developing constructive ones. It does not necessarily involve meditative practices

and can be invoked in midst of activity in order to shift one’s attitude to compassionate action.

Mindfulness is sometimes described as resting in awareness by paying attention to what

one is sensing, feeling and thinking while suspending judgment and with an attitude of

acceptance (Kabat-Zinn, 2007). Benefits from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programs

(MBSR) have been extensively studied by amongst other Dr. Jon Kabat Zin and have been found

to effectively alleviate a wide range of psychological and physical symptoms including chronic

pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, mild depression, anxiety, panic, respiratory disease,

headaches, skin diseases and heart disease (Kabat-Zinn, 2007) (The Potential Project, 2012). At

a neurological level, the active practice of meditation intervenes in, and changes the networks

of our brain in order to change and simplify the patterns of our thoughts and actions (the

Potential Project, 2012).

C. Somatic intelligence

Whereas some definitions of somatic intelligence focus on the body only, I adopt the line of

reasoning of the Richard Institute (Strozzi-Heckler, 2003) and the Beyond Partnership (Somatic

47 Intelligence, n.d.) in calling somatic intelligence the integrated intelligence of body, mind and emotions (and spirit - excluded here).

Similarly, extending Steven Stein & Howard Book’s definition of Emotional Intelligence

(Stein, 2006) leads to the following definition:

Somatic Intelligence (SQ): the ability to perceive emotions, sensations and thought, to

access and generate emotions, sensations and thought so as to assist either of the other two, to

understand emotions, sensations, thoughts and their meanings, and to reflectively regulate

emotions, sensations and thought in ways that promote emotional, somatic and intellectual

growth.

Various aspects of emotional intelligence defined by Book and Stein, such as assertiveness

(the ability to clearly express your thoughts and feelings, to stand by your ground and defend a position), self-regard (the ability to recognize your strengths and weakness and feel good about yourself despite your weaknesses), flexibility (the ability to adjust your feelings, thoughts and actions) and empathy (the ability to understand what others may be thinking and feeling), naturally expand to include the physical dimension in the same way. (Stein, 2006)

Somatic intelligence in this sense could be perceived as integrated self-mastery . The following skills are existing or similar concepts to the ones used in psychodynamic coaching. In the context where we work with the full mind-body-emotions perspective, they gain in intensity and complexity because of the inclusion of bodily sensation and the mind-body interactions.

48 i. Centered presence & alignment

Centering is the practice of truly finding one’s centre by aligning the physical body so that it is holding the least amount of contraction possible and congruently aligning your emotions and thoughts. It is a place without judgment where you de facto align your entire psychobiology. It can involve connecting to who you are and what you care about so as to act of out what is most important to you.

At physical level you induce a parasympathetic state which allows to interrupt embodied reactive behaviors to stressors. It is a way to create a space between experiencing the impulse

(feeling, emotion, thought) and acting on it so that the chosen response can be conscious. We stop to interrupt the reptilian and limbic response and replace it with a chosen one. (Blake,

2010)

Skillful attendance to ones sensations and emotions will indicate when coming back to center is required (Strozzi-Heckler, May 2012). Cultivating effective centering creates an attitude where one

‘is ready for anything, expecting nothing’. When your three centers (head, heart, belly) are aligned your communications are authentic and confident and you move more easily when faced with difficulty. This quality is not attributed to you Alignment (reproduced from Wendy Palmer, The Beyond Partnership ) personality, but to your centering. (Palmer, 2006) (conversation Paul King)

49 By fully attending to your feelings, aligning and relaxing your physical body and centering in

what you care about and attending to yourself as well as to others simultaneously, you are fully

embodied or present . This relational quality is felt by others and leads to trust. You will be

authentic, purposeful and inspiring in your actions. According to Ladkin & Taylor authenticity , as perceived by others, may be rooted in the embodiment of the ‘true self’ (or the socially constructed and refined throughout the years) (Ladkin, 2010). ii. Mood / attitude

Mood is the orientation we give to a given situation and reflects our disposition and outlook

on life. It indicates how we respond to experiences, judge them and learn to pay attention or

not pay attention to as well as how we relate to ourselves (beyond). It is also called our energy,

our being-ness in the world and is a bodily phenomenon. If we fake it by putting on a different

face we will feel inauthentic. We can change our mood by changing our body after becoming

aware of it. (Strozzi-Heckler, 2007) iii. Affect tolerance

In the moment between awareness and choice it is critical to tolerate the physical

discomfort and emotional and relational triggers without acting while shifting attention and

sensation to a more grounded centered and resourceful presence.

Affect tolerance is this capacity to tolerate, in any moment your internal state or feelings,

sensations and emotions, similar to the concept of impulse control . ( Embodied Mindfulness,

n.d.). Developing affect tolerance typically is increased a little over time so as not to overwhelm

50 one’s ability to self-regulate, a technique called systemic desensitization . (conversation Akiko

Mikamo). iv. Conscious regulating of whole self

Because our thoughts, body and emotions are all interconnected the color of one will

influence the other. Realizing this can allow us to carefully aim for a desired presence and mood

by matching the inputs. Practicing this balancing act of how to adjust for instance a specific

posture to generate a specific emotion is again a new skill to develop.

An interesting somatic experiment is to experience Psycho-physical Parallelism (Bowen,

2012) by first imagining and feeling a specific emotion and observing the subsequent change in

one’s body and then doing the reverse, to change one’s body and start experiencing the

corresponding emotion. This exercise beautifully demonstrates the dual pathways available to

us for change.

The opportunity to initiate change through the body offers the benefit of being able to

shortcut some of ego’s sophisticated defenses. It may also be easier for those who fear or

distrust their emotions but know their bodies well, for instance through the practice of sports.

And some aspects of somatic works is often easily observable, can even be photographed.

51 4. Embodied clinical coaching

A. Expanding clinical concepts

When we consciously incorporate the body and its mind-body linkages in our way of

perceiving the world, we can also reinterpret the many clinical concepts taught during the CCC

program in the physical as well as cognito-emotional experience. Similarly to how we extended

the emotional intelligence definitions to somatic ones before we can extrapolate for instance

the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) (Luborsky, 1994) (Book, 1998), Hidden

Competing Commitments (Kegan, 2001); Set-Up-to-Fail (Manzoni, 1998) etc can by imagining

the related bodily sensations and mind-body interactions. Working from an embodied

integrated perspective automatically leads to this broadening.

B. Embodied Self & Other-Awareness i. Observing the clients’ body

When relating as a coach to our client, we extend our awareness to include the clients’ and our own body to gains access to a new source of clinical information. We attend with “evenly

hovering attention” to the ‘music’ behind our clients words, explicitly including pre-symbolic

and pre-verbal movements, postures, gestures, fine motor activity, gait, bodily sensations,

sound vocalizations, rate volume and pitch of speed, arousal and energy level and enactments.

Through practice the coach can discover a whole new world in which the hands, head and body

speak, sometimes completing what is being said, sometimes contradicting. By observing the

52 body we can also perceive defensiveness, stuckness and shift (Kimsey-House, 2011), and validate that the change we are working on is coherent across mind & body. ii. Visual kineastic syneastetic – feeling what the client feels by observing

Visual kineastic syneastetic is the sophisticated capacity for the coach to sense what the client is sensing by observing the body of the client and simultaneously experiencing this sensation. It is not an imaginary projection but a real felt experience. This skill can be used when observing a client to generate the same feeling sense internally (rather than cognate it based on observation) and deduce information from it. iii. Sensing our own body

‘Listening with the third ear ‘ describes how we intuitively use their our unconscious minds,

as felt in our body and emotions, to detect and decipher the unconscious wishes and fantasies

of our clients. This way of understanding clients deeply already involves the body.

Close dyads, such the coach-coachee relationship, are characterized by rapid, fast-acting,

nonverbal spontaneous emotional reciprocal communications due to projective identification

(Lewis, 2001). The coach can use his body to capture this preverbal psychobiological

attunement between the limbic system of the coach and coachee to build clinical hypothesizes. iv. Empathizing and containing

Empathizing in this somatic manner involves letting sensory-motor, chaotic, diffuse and potentially traumatic experiences to invade your body and hold on to this visceral state long

53 enough so that you can help the client tolerate and process their experience by generating sensori-affective images (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic and olfactory) to which words can be put. (Lewis, 2001). Sometimes, beyond ‘holding’ to facilitate the coachee’s experience, the coach intervenes by suggesting for the client to move, breath, focus attention or will touch the client.

The fully embodied body coaching connection is a very powerful one and can be risky. The coach, overwhelmed by the intensity of his own limbically entrained experience may defensively return to a left-brained position and cut off the emphatic connection to himself and his client prematurely.

Personal development and supervision, as well as all the skills mentioned above are good practice to cope with this intensity. An additional tool is grounding. v. Grounding

Grounding is the capacity to, from a centered place, allow a feeling to come and move

through us. It is the potential to take a strong experience without judging nor reacting and to

let it go again. While this allows for momentarily connection to the clients’ experience it also

protects the coach from becoming overwhelmed. The more you are grounded as a coach, the

more others will sense this capacity to take on intensity and bring more on.

One example of a grounding technique is to centering first so as to find oneself, to then

standing, feet apart, knees bent fully feel the pull of gravity on every cell of your body, to grow

54 roots out of soles feet, and to then breath in stressors, to feel them and allow them to leave out of the roots of your feet. (TRE workshop)

C. Somatic coaching: helping to client change through movement

Sometimes bodily movement, rather than sitting still and talking, is maybe the only and

most adequate way to remember something the client hasn’t been verbally or imaginally

encoded. (Lewis)

When working with a clients’ emotions and thoughts, as clinical coaches we do not go into

the realm of deep unconsciousness and trauma where we may accurately perceive a certain

blockage but refer our client to a trained psychotherapist. Similarly as a clinical coach we can

work with the body in safe, non-pathological, surface zone but leave deep trauma and

corrective work to psycho-physical therapy. When we observe a lack of bodily awareness we

can suggest to our clients to engage in bodywork practices (postural, moving,… ) themselves

develop their somatic resources.

There are numerous techniques that exist and can be created to induce change by moving or changing the body. Some of them include adjusting owns posture to a more expanded one to create an external and felt sense of power; singing to reconnect it ones emotions and feelings; silent 1-1 dancing to experience leading and following, expressing group dynamics through the construction of a statue involving the bodies of all group members etc etc.

55 D. Convincing executives

When Body language goes bad (reproduced from Dilbert by Scott Adams )

Executives face grueling demands over long periods of time. In their HBR article ‘the making of a corporate athlete’, Loehr & Schwartz analyze the similarity with a top athletes career and advocate to bring mind, body and spirit to peak condition by working through the

‘high-performance pyramid’ which suggest to first build physical, then emotional, then mental and ultimately spiritual capacity. (Loehr, 2001).

Executives represent a challenging group and require careful proceeding when coaching somatically. Pressed for time, cognitive and result-oriented they may be skeptical towards working with their body. Narcissistic and borderline personalities, not uncommon amongst senior executives, can retaliate in response to feeling incompetent, fragile or insecure. Yet executives are also practical, action-oriented and may be more familiar and at easy with their bodies than with their emotions. (Kets de Vries, 2006).

To succeed successfully working with executives is more likely to be productive once a productive working alliance, including trust and positive affect has been established. It seems many practioners work verbally first and when they plateau may suggest a small ‘no strings

56 attached’ experiment. If the client agrees to participate he may experience the power of the technique after which awareness can be brought and sense can be made together with the coach. While scientific and psychological explanations may reassure and satisfy intellectual curiosity it is only the experience that will provide real conviction of the power of the body.

(conversations with Akiko Mikamo and Theo Compernolle)

5. Understanding resistance rooted in Western dualistic conditioning

Executives, just like for instance medical doctors, academics and engineers are prototypical

products of the centuries-long influence of Dualism, or the split between mind and body, that

pervades our educational, religious and medical systems and Western societies. While glorifying

the mind and rational, we have developed a range of subconscious individual and collective

ego-defenses in relation to the body that we may encounter in our clients and ourselves when

we increase our attention our bodies. If we wish to adjust our belief system one of mind-body

unity, being conscious of some of these ‘default’ behaviors, emotions or thoughts can help us

monitor and where appropriate adapt. i. Cartesian Dualism: Philosophical, scientific and religious roots

Historically philosophers have vacillated between the idea that mind and body are part of

the same system and the idea that they are separate ones. (Taylor, S., 2006)

57 The Greeks , contrary to early civilizations, did no longer attribute illness to the spirits. They established a humoral theory, first proposed by Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 BC), where disease arises if the 4 bodily fluids are out of balance, which also affects the mind. Aristotle (384-322BC) considered the soul to be to the body what the cubical shape is to a toy building bock.

In the Middle Ages , supernatural explanations of illness by mysticism, demonology or punishment by God for evil doing, prevailed. As the Church took over as the guardian of medical knowledge and practice, healing and religion became indistinguishable.

In the 17 th century René Descartes (1596 – 1650), one of the key figures of the Scientific

revolution proclaimed his famous words ‘Je pense donc je suis’ (cogito ergo sum). He posited

that mind was different from matter (body), but could influence it, also called Cartesian

Dualism . He suggested that thinking, and awareness of thinking are the real substrates of

being. And since he imagined thinking as an independent activity quite separate from the body

he therefore separated the mind or ‘thinking thing’ (res cogitans) from the nonthinking body,

that which has extension and mechanical parts (res extensa) (Damasio, 1994).

With the arrival of the Renaissance great progress was made in microscopy (Anton van

Leeuwenhoek 1632-1771), anatomy as well as cellular pathology (Giovanni Morgagni 1682 –

1771). As a result of these advances medicine looking more to the medical laboratory and

bodily factors while philosophers and theologians became the caretakers of the mind. For the

next 300 years physical evidence became the sole basis for diagnosis and treatment of illness.

58 20 th century post-war French structuralist philosophers rejected the mind-body dichotomy.

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980) maintained that we need to experience "death consciousness"

so as to wake up ourselves as to what is really important; the authentic in our lives which is life

experience, not knowledge. As such, death emphasizes the burden of our free, individual

existence. Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908 – 1961) rejected the long philosophical tradition of

placing consciousness as the source of knowledge by emphasizing the body as the primary site

of knowing the world and stating that the body and that which it perceived could not be

disentangled from each other. ii. Individual & collective Ego defenses

Cartesian dualism has conditioned us to place our primary focus on ego, whereas the body

is considered a mechanical pre-determined instrument. Our ego (dictated by the reality

principle and associated with the mind) moderates the desires of the Id (in all likeliness linked

to the body and governed by the pleasure principle) with the norms of the superego (dictated

by those around us we care about, or depend upon and by our society and environment). These

continuous psychic struggles generate anxiety, guilt & shame against which our ego will erect

ingenious and unconscious defense mechanisms. While those have a protective function, they

also engage a large portion of our energy. (Funder, 1997).

Now that science has reassured us that mind and body are one, we may reinterpret these

defenses. Most of the anxieties such as death, fear of pain or impulse remain, but can no longer

be attributed solely to our bodies. They become an issue for our minds as well and confront us

as whole human beings. As such reconnecting mind and body offers us the option to

59 consciously look for new, more conscious coping mechanisms. Or to extend, as I have purposely excluded from this thesis, an additional –spiritual - (not necessarily religious) dimension to the mind-body equation.

Unlike our wandering and meandering minds, our bodies exist visibly to all in the here and now. They confront us with our fear of our ultimate death by the unavoidable aging process and the vulnerability of the flesh. We may fear the death and vulnerability of our loved ones and the pain it will cause us. The naked body, warts and all, may not correspond with our idealized self-image , or social mask; it doesn’t lie. Our bodies are the vehicles that can make us feel powerful instinctive , as well as intense negative emotions and sensations that we may dread. They can vehicle stronge physical or emotional pain . We may fear experiencing genuine intimacy by naked touch, the undeniable knowledge of our craving for connectedness and loving care, and the sexual impulses that govern us (Bartholomé, 1997). We may fear that abandoning ourselves to our inhibited emotions, desires and fears will make us loose our mind or lead to socially inacceptable behaviors that will be punished. We may fear that trusting the wisdom of our body comes at the expense of our intelligence as if there is a trade-off and will mean we lose our edge .

Individually and collectively our ego’s have devised a multitude of defensive thought patterns, behaviors, customs and even ethics to keep these anxieties at bay. How they are adopted is idiosyncratic and the following is remains a generalization, but as individuals raised in the West we are bound to be unconsciously affected by at least some of these defensive

60 strategies. While defenses have a useful function in the event of a genuine anxiety, it is worthwhile reviewing them consciously in the light of mind-body unity and its potentiality.

We split our mind and body by attributing all positive qualities to the willpower, savvy and virtue of the ego, and dedicate all the weakness to the flesh. We even extend this analogy to our spiritual icons, angels and devils. We deny our bodily functions through our heavy emphasis on bodily hygiene and hygienic treatments of major life events such giving birth, illness or dying. We ignore the wisdom of the body and its warning signals and keep ‘using’ it instrumentally until it ‘lets us down’. We can live disconnected from our bodies like James

Joyce’s Mr Duffy “who lived a short distance from his body”. We project our bodies’ wisdom onto experts such as doctors and therapists and fantasize about the magical power of anti- aging pills, botox and cosmetics, sometimes creating a life-long expensive and not necessarily effective dependency where we are reduced to passive victims needing to be saved. We construct our identity from our mind only, ignoring our body and its image, especially if the latter does not conform to conventional norms of eternal slim & toned youth, but shows signs of aging, obesity, skin imperfections, handicap or illness. On the opposite, we can sublimate our body narcissiticly, emphasizing only utilitarian functions such as sexual appeal or athletic performance. We suppress unpleasant feelings with drinking, eating, drugs, or even self- harming. We end up walking ‘head first’ with the rest of our bodies amorphously following. We spend a fortune on external attributes such as clothing, jewelry and make-up to mask our naked body, and wear accessories such as glasses, suits to emphasize our rationality. We crave to be loved and connected to our emotions and to others but unaware of the insights that connection should exist within ourselves first. We strive to experience thrills in sports cars,

61 movie and extreme sports. We portray perfect in art and use humor to deal with our bodily functions. We regress in controlled evacuation taps such as sports, dance and legal sex. We may intellectualize our emotions. We may publicly preach ‘pure’ behaviours and give into our instincts and desires in secret. And we may feel guilty to take the time to tend to the needs of our body through well-being and development of our somatic capabilities, and consider these activities as ‘indulging’ in luxury and pleasure, without acknowledging the are vital to our health, personal effectives and on-task performance.

At a collective level such behaviors are putting increasing strain on society and us in it. Our health systems are collapsing, medicine is often allopatic; focused on treating the observed symptoms of illnesses with treatments and medicines, rather than adapting a more systematic vision. Pharmaceutical companies are suspected to lobby against the adoption of alternative treatments (homeopathy) and therapies (acupuncture, psychotherapy, osetopathy… ) who remain non-reimbursed, stigmatized and largely untaught to doctors.

Our learning mostly happens by information-transition through books and ex cathedra teaching by experts, rather than by experiencing and practicing. We work until we drop, ignoring the increasing alarm signals. We explicitly or implicitly stigmatize those who choose to slow down, balance mind and body balance more and write them off as ‘soft’, ‘new age’ or engaged in ‘esotheric’ practices more readily associated more with crystals and earth rays, than with well-established somatic work. There remain major taboos about sex and sex education, publicly and in-house is low. The aging, handicapped, ill and dying are hidden in institutions outside of mainstream life. Death is largely ignored until it happens, and grieving is supposed to

62 be quick, solemn and discrete. We cling to outward measures such as money and success as the paths happiness and dedicate our lives to it.

(reprodu ced from Calvin & Hobbes Dilbert by Bill Watterson )

I realize this enumeration is too pessimistic. It doesn’t do us credit as self-actualizing, creative and intelligent beings. It doesn’t give explicit recognition to those hospitals and doctors that co-consult with psychiatrists, family therapists, sociologists. It doesn’t acknowledge recent evolutions in learning, including at business schools, where experience is included. It doesn’t credit the many organizations where real efforts are being undertaken to enhance the workplace and quality of work, including the appointment of Chief Health Officers. There a lots and lots of initiatives and it is my sincere hope the tide is slowly but certainly changing. But the adaptive challenge is real. As long as our generations have been around, we have been conditioned to think, and to think ‘mind’ only. Our bodies and brains are coded and shaped this way.

If we truly choose to embrace the mind-body unity we need to rewire. Moving from the paranoid-schizoid position where ‘body is bad and mind is noble’ to the depressive negotiation of accepting the limitations and potential of both mind and body is huge. It requires dealing with this new ambiguity which can be discomforting to some. Individually we may be frustrated

63 by our incompetence at first. Collectively these emotions can be mutually validated and reinforced and can lead to aggressive, repressive responses (as demonstrated for instance in medicine’s reaction to some ‘heretics’ like Reich).

It takes courage to stand up and risk being expelled from ones community and be unloved

by one’s peers. To be judged on values you used to hold and are trying to let go off and are still

hesitant about yourself. It may be easier to conform rather than carefully to negotiate the

boundary and follow one’s own convictions while not judging, nor alarming, others. Ignorance

is bliss. The personal responsibility over our lives that the mind-body unity presents is

intimidating. It is the existential freedom that amongst others Sartre and Yalom describe so

well as the intrinsic freedom to be the authors of our existence and which can lead to

existential guilt , the guilt we feel for not assuming our responsibilities, a transgression against

ourselves. To embrace our freedom of choice, Yalom emphasizes the importance of being able

to feel as our feelings reveal our wishes and inform us to act and decide while fully

understanding our feelings around our choices. (Yalom, 1980)

“Wisdom does not lead to madness, nor denial to sanity: the confrontation with the givens of existence is painful, but ultimately healing” Irvin Yalom

"It is our running away from pain and towards pleasure that cements the neurosis that makes life unbearable”

Sigmund Freud

64 6. The adaptive work of embodying the mind-body unity

We referred briefly in chapter 3 to the individual mind-stilling practices one can engage in,

such as mindfulness or meditation to develop embodied self-awaress. Similarly we can cultivate

somatic awareness through the discipline of slow moving body practices as yoga, feldenkreis,

akido, tai chi,… While these can be practiced individually and are recommended as a durable

practice, ideally they are first acquired in the context of a group and with the help of a master.

As a coach one can also start laying the foundations for somatic intelligence through classical cognitive learning via books, conversations and ‘taught’ classes. But this learning will not be pervasive enough to overcome our ingrained behaviors as the limbic and reptilian sub- brains will remain unaffected and unchanged. A more important and lengthy commitment of time and energy is required to navigate this adaptive change. (Heifetz, 2001).

A. Self-actualization: becoming a more resourceful me

Developing our somatic intelligence is first and foremost a choice to self-actualize . Carl

Rogers (Rogers, 1961) attributed to the self-actualizing force ‘man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities...to express and activate all the capacities of the organism’ the curative force in psychotherapy. Abraham Maslow (Maslow, 1943) conceptualized self- actualization in his hierarchy of needs theory as “the final level of psychological development that can be achieved when all basic and mental needs are fulfilled and the "actualization" of the full personal potential takes place”. Steven Stein and Howard Book in the EQ edge (Stein, 2006) coin self-actualization as an ongoing, dynamic process of striving toward the maximum

65 development of ones abilities and talents, of persistently trying to do ones best and improve yourself in general.

In short, if we want to be a better person, as well as coach, developing our somatic intelligence is a way to tap into, and actualize our inherent human potential . By cultivating our somatic intelligence and skillfully navigating the mind-body pathways we develop purposeful attention that reduces our in adverted manipulation by unconscious drivers. By learning to trust and operate our bodies as well as our mind, we gain in self-awareness, authenticity and presence. We increase our self-mastery by expanding our range of chosen responses, freeing up energy and by building resilience. By connecting more effectively to ourselves we become more skillful at connecting to others. And ultimately increase our self-confidence, well-being and health.

“Leadership has nothing to do with power and rank but is a matter of self-realization; attain self-realization and the whole world is found in the self. Leadership has nothing to do with wealth and status, but is a matter of harmony.”

Lao Tzu

Through understanding ourselves we can understand others better, be conscious of how we affect them and help them change creatively and fully.

B. Holding environments to developing embodied coaching skills

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, reflected in the somatic coaching program offerings by

the players such as The Newfield Network or the Strozzi Institute, suggest that developing ones

66 somatic intelligence and coaching skills is best attained over an extended period of time, in the company of peers, under the guidance of a teacher and in a safe place, throughout a learning journey that combines experience with reflection, insight and theory.

These journeys resemble our INSEAD Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for

Change which provided for us the intermittent learning space to exercise and internalize emotional intelligence and the practices of clinical coaching, in the safe container of the class room, supported by our peer group, under the guidance of our teachers and over a long period of time where practice, experimentation and theory was mixed with reflection.

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle theorizes the underlying mechanisms of these learning journeys designed to successfully navigate lengthy, intense and at times frustrating transformational learning, such as mastering ontological coaching skills. Kolb explains that experiences [ 1] in themselves do not suffice to learn, they need to be reflected upon [ 2] to generalize and formulate concepts [ 3] that can be applied in renewed experiments [4 ]. Theory

(mind) and action (body) as such reinforce each other to make sense and deepen the learning.

We will typically start the learning cycle through a specific, sufficiently powerful experiential learning moment [1] where we experience, observe and maybe attempt to move our own body and its mind-body interactions. This experience can happen anywhere but is most productively generated in safe holding environment Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (reproduced from Industrial Engineering ) such as a collective training program, and often symbolized by the respective class room. Much

67 similar to a martial arts dojo (Strozzi-Heckler, 2007) this safe space offers our play ground where we can experiment safely, without being seen by ‘outsiders’, without being judged and with the support of an experienced teacher and learning-buddies. The role of the teacher (or

leader) is multiple, he will help identify the adaptive challenge (becoming more embodied), as

well as the upside and downsides. He will set and secure the boundaries that ensure trust and

safety. Our peers are equally important as we will learn together, with and from eachother,

while practicing and making sense of our experiences. The potentially emerging support

network can remain a valuable resource after the initial training. Both the teacher and peer as

well as safe holding environment will be our ‘container’ if we reach a ‘Dark Night of the Soul’

and start doubting our choice to change or our capacity to succeed. They will ‘hold’ us so that

we can tolerate the ambiguity of our reality influenced by new and old beliefs as well as better

tolerate our frustration with unavoidable learning set-backs. Their role is also to support us,

actively or just through caring presence, through the experiencing and processing of unpleasant

sensations, pains and confrontation with personal insights that threaten our established

identity.

As we come out of our first deep experience we may be excited by the new insights and the

potential, but after the initial high we may encounter less powerful experiences or failure that

may leave us disappointed or conflicted. The teachers’ role at that point is to maintain balance

and forward movement by avoiding defensive off-task behaviors, emotions and thoughts,

excessive exultation and by making helping to make sense of our experiences. Through more

systematic reflection on, reviewing , analysis and articulating of our experience we can

explicative intuitive insights and integrate what we lived. [2] Theoretical material, exchanges

68 with peers and with the experienced teacher help us appropriate or conceptualize our learning

[3] .

In this phase the teacher may also re-explain the motivation to change and emphasize the

nature of the lengthy and challenging change process, as well as the merit of practice, so that

the student can consciously choose to continue learning out of a place of intrinsic motivation.

During these -in between practice- phases the leader will ‘go to the balcony’ with the group

to point out task avoiding patterns such denial, attacking and scapegoating, focusing on

technicalities. Lastly, through his presence and poise, the master will inspire and lead the group

back into the next phase of active experimentation [4] where the cognitive learning insights will fine-tune the experiences and restart the next loop of the learning spiral.

The INSEAD L.E.A.P. or Leadership Excellence through Awareness and Practice program,

directed by prof. Jean-François Manzoni operates around the same principles. It, amongst many

other objectives, provides a space for leaders to become more conscious through the practice

of mindfulness. To avoid resistance, mindfulness is not stated as an explicit program goal but is

very discretely introduced as an exercise one week in between module 1 and 2 by asking

participants to practice mindful breathing and reflect first individually and then collectively,

moderated by Jean-François, on their experience. In the second module Dr. Sven Hansen from

The Resilience Institute provides these executives the explanations to make sense of their

powerful learning experience. Afterwards, the group supports eachother beyond the initial

‘Aha-Erlebnis’ and through the moments of disenchantment, and strive to firmly insert

69 mindfulness as a daily activity in their bulging agenda. (personal conversation Jean-François

Manzoni).

Like any adaptive change, becoming more conscious of our and others bodies, gaining in embodied self-awareness and self-mastery and expanding our coaching process and toolkit with somatic insights is a significant developmental process that transform’s our whole being. It requires a significant investment of time and energy (and probably money) to learn, the support of teachers and peers, surmounting frustration and changing oneself but pays off in increased joy, vitality, more satisfying connections and a more informed and versatile clinical coaching capability.

70 Conclusion

In this thesis I substantiate how we can leverage the mind-body unity in clinical coaching. I ground the hypothesis that including the body explicitly into the clinical coaching paradigm is a natural extension, by describing and organizing a broad selection of scientific discoveries . This academic research validates ancient wisdom and widely observed practices by demonstrating

the sources of intelligence across the body beyond the cranial brain; by revealing the

neurological and biological mind-body mechanisms of a.o. the autonomic nervous system and

the pathways available to us to consciously modulate our states of arousal and relaxation by

steering our emotions, thoughts and body; by explaining how we affect others through limbic

resonance and mirroring; and by exposing our inherent capacity to gradually rewire parts of our

evolutionary and conditioned brains through focused, repeated attention. These insights

deepen the understanding of our human experiences and further our –and our clients-

development by allowing us to cognate these experiences.

Having found variation amongst authors and different disciplines, I propose bridging working definitions of ‘somatic awareness’ ‘embodied self-awareness’ and ‘somatic intelligence’ to integrate the mind, body and emotions facets of our human nature, by

extrapolating the work on emotional intelligence in the traditions of Daniel Goleman, Howard

Book and Steven Stein.

I suggest how as clinical coaches we can develop our embodied self-awareness and self-

mastery including skills such as centering and grounding. I then elaborate how expanding this

71 embodied awareness to the other in the clinical coaching relationship generates increased clinical information, and how we can purposely tap into the various pathways of body, emotion or thought to induce change.

In view of our Western Dualistic and idiosyncratic conditioning , I explain the challenging nature of the adaptive transformation towards becoming embodied and practicing the mind- body unity, and describe potentially sabotaging ego-defenses . I propose that attending more fully to our own body and its mind-body interaction can be a self-actualizing act that enables us

to become more conscious and purposeful as a human and as a coach. Finally, I suggest an

experience-based developmental path towards becoming an embodied coach via an extensive

learning journey along the principles of Kolb and with significant importance of the master, peers and holding space, combined with the durable individual practice of meditation and a somatic discipline such as martial arts, yoga, Feldenkreis to respectively enhance consciousness and impulse-control and to deepen somatic awareness.

It is my hope that in throughout these pages I have ‘limbically’ managed to convey my personal passion for the potential that resides in our unified mind and body and may have piqued your own curiosity.

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