Chuck Whetsell: Somatic Intelligence, MIndfulness, and Cognitive Flexibility

Chuck Whetsell is an old friend and classmate, an accomplished Rolfer, body worker, therapist and meditation teacher. In this episode we take a deep dive into the nature of somatic intelligence. In times of rapid change, cognitive flexibility – our ability to change our mind and see things differently – is absolutely critical. But the mind can’t change itself. Chuck’s perspective is that we can only get out of our heads by cultivating somatic intelligence, which can only happen through expanding our sense of our bodies and our repertoire of movement. Somatic intelligence, unlike logical intelligence, is a product of a complex interaction grounded in the body, which produces insights that seem to arrive in a single moment. We talk about practices for cultivating somatic intelligence, including mindfulness of our breath and the practice of pausing.