“The Kinesthete” The Way of the Body

The Kinesthete within us utilizes physical movement and inner awareness as a natural mode for experiencing spiritual states of consciousness.

• Does your need to be active make it difficult to sit still?
• Do you like to explore and express your spiritual insights through movement?
• Do you feel subtle emotional and spiritual states through your body?

The Kinesthete takes pleasure and finds satisfaction in physical movement and ‘listening to the body.’ But when a kinesthetic or somatic learner becomes physically inactive, they can easily lose emotional balance and mental sharpness, and thus also lose confidence and begin to suffer from stress. If your style is the Way of the Body, you learn and practice spirituality physically, kinesthetically, or somatically. You may find it difficult to sit still through long periods of meditation, prayer, study or ritual. You may be drawn to Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, or physical labor, walking, running, climbing, cooking, serving tea, or even eating. You might even find that the focus of physical exercise helps you to achieve a single-pointed, tranquil, endorphin driven bliss, and that your greatest epiphanies arise when your body is engaged in just the right form of movement. If this is true for you, then your job is to combine your prayers, mantras, visualizations, rituals and meditations with physical movement. Physical activity can help you calm your thoughts and emotions and engage in the complimentary mental activities that help us to be receptive to a sacred or otherwise profound experience. For more of this article, refer the the book “Mandala: Creating an Authentic Spiritual Path.”