{"id":10356,"date":"2020-09-30T17:21:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T17:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=10356"},"modified":"2020-10-01T11:05:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T11:05:25","slug":"how-to-unleash-your-bodys-physical-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/fall-2020\/how-to-unleash-your-bodys-physical-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Unleash Your Body\u2019s \u2018Physical Intelligence\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p class=\"author-credit\">By Claire Dale and Patricia Peyton<\/p><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">R<\/span>ight at this moment, can you feel the pace of your heartbeat? Can you feel the movement of your breath entering and leaving your body? Can you feel the shape of your spine? Can you capture the feeling of your current mood and what is creating that mood today?<\/p>\n<p>Take a moment to focus on each of these questions. As you do, you will likely become more aware, more actively present in your body.<\/p>\n<p>Over 400 chemicals (hormones and neurotransmitters) racing through our bloodstream and nervous system dictate how we think, feel, speak, and behave. Physiology drives performance; yet, most of us experience thoughts, reactions, and emotions without realizing that we can strategically influence them.<\/p>\n<p>Physical intelligence is the ability to detect and actively manage the balance of certain key chemicals so that we can achieve more, stress less, and live and work more happily.<\/p>\n<p>There are hundreds of Physical Intelligence techniques \u2013 breathing techniques, movements, thought processes and ways of communicating \u2013 many drawn from the worlds of elite sports and the arts, all well supported by neuroscience and easy to incorporate into your day to day life.<\/p>\n<p>Some only take seconds.<\/p>\n<h3>Four Elements and Eight Chemicals Form the Backbone of Physical Intelligence<\/h3>\n<h4>Four Elements<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Strength<\/strong>: Inner strength, confidence, resolve; appropriate risk-taking; keeping a clear head under pressure; establishing boundaries; remaining committed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Flexibility<\/strong>: Creativity, innovation and collaboration; having high respect for others; effectively engaging and influencing those around you; adapting to different styles; being agile and quick-thinking; embracing and instigating change<\/li>\n<li><strong>Resilience<\/strong>: Bouncing back from adversity and conflict; remaining optimistic; adopting a learning mindset; and developing a well-functioning immune system with emotional, mental and physical fitness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Endurance<\/strong>: Staying power, determination, maintaining sustained effort over the long term, finding intrinsic motivation, persevering and planning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Eight Chemicals<\/h4>\n<p>While there are many chemical interactions that we can\u2019t and wouldn\u2019t want to influence, these eight chemicals work in combination to make or break our success. Each has a clear signature announcing its arrival or departure. When the chemical balance is right, we call it the \u2018Winning Cocktail\u2019.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Acetylcholine<\/strong> \u2013 Helps us rebalance, renew and recover from pressure. Signature feeling: balance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adrenalin<\/strong> \u2013 Releases a burst of energy when we need it, but can also make our nerves kick in, making it difficult to communicate effectively.\u00a0Signature feelings: fear or excitement<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cortisol<\/strong> \u2013 Critical to our ability to take on challenges, but in today\u2019s fast-paced world if we have too much, it can send us into overdrive, triggering heightened anxiety. Signature feeling: anxiety<\/li>\n<li><strong>DHEA<\/strong> \u2013 THE high performance chemical, supporting vitality and cognitive function; drops post-30, is accelerated by stress and if too low leads to premature ageing. Signature feeling: vitality<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dopamine<\/strong> \u2013 Motivates us, giving us feelings of pleasure and need; when we feel disappointed it\u2019s due to a lack of dopamine.\nSignature feelings: pleasure and need<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oxytocin<\/strong> \u2013 Our social bonding and trust chemical that makes us feel safe and included; too little and we feel isolated, too much and we feel overly dependent on relationships. Signature feeling: belonging<\/li>\n<li><strong>Serotonin<\/strong> \u2013 Influences our levels of happiness, satisfaction and well-being; high cortisol can drain our serotonin levels until depression sets in. Signature feeling: happiness<\/li>\n<li><strong>Testosterone<\/strong> \u2013 Drives our desire to achieve and compete; too little can make us risk-adverse, too much can make us arrogant and underprepared. Signature feelings: power and control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are a few techniques to get you started.<\/p>\n<h3>Start Building Your Physical Intelligence\u2026<\/h3>\n<h4>Build Strength:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Pay attention to Posture and Breathing. Stand\/sit up straight, feet flat on the floor, spine long, shoulders wide and relaxed, and practice paced breathing for at least 10 minutes daily \u2013 breathing in and out at a steady pace comfortable for you; in and out counts don\u2019t have to match (increasing DHEA, releasing acetylcholine and reducing cortisol).<\/li>\n<li>To reduce nerves and increase confidence (balancing cortisol and adrenalin), stand in a winner (starfish) pose (really reach long through the ends of your fingers) for two minutes before key events.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Build Flexibility:<\/h4>\n<p>To reduce cortisol and boost oxytocin, dopamine, DHEA and serotonin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scan your body head to toe to identify \u2018hot spots\u2019 where you hold tension and work on stretches to release them.<\/li>\n<li>Twist at the waist twice a day to release toxins and boost serotonin.<\/li>\n<li>Spark creativity by taking a walk or looking at beautiful objects in art or nature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Build Resilience:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintain optimal cortisol levels by scheduling time each week for REST: Retreat (step away from all technology\/media), Eat (healthfully), Sleep (7-9 hours\/day) and Treat (replace unhealthy treats with restorative activities \u2013 bike ride, bath, reading, music, etc.).<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re dwelling on something, talk to someone you trust about it, then commit to letting it go.<\/li>\n<li>Smile at yourself in the mirror every morning to boost serotonin.<\/li>\n<li>Literally jump for joy \u2013 it increases optimism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Build Endurance:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Show appreciation for someone (boosting dopamine in both of you).<\/li>\n<li>Shower in cold water for the last 30 seconds to improve energy.<\/li>\n<li>If your willpower weakens or you\u2019re resisting doing something necessary, flex your muscles (e.g., clench your fists) and say out loud, \u201cCome on, you can do this!\u201d to boost dopamine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Physical intelligence underpins and strengthens our cognitive and emotional intelligence, enabling us to get in the driver\u2019s seat of our brain and body, thinking more clearly and acting more thoughtfully and intentionally so that we can be our best self, armed with the secret to feeling happier, calmer, more confident and fulfilled. Start mixing your \u201cWinning Cocktail!\u201d<\/p>\n<h5>Claire Dale and Patricia Peyton are the authors of the personal development book <a href=\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/fall-2020\/fall-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Physical Intelligence<\/em> <\/a>(Simon &amp; Schuster), available in Ebook and hardback.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tricks for a happier, calmer, confident you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,131],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2020","category-fall-2020-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10356"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10695,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10356\/revisions\/10695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}