{"id":375768,"date":"2010-03-01T12:19:49","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T17:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/?p=11151"},"modified":"2010-03-01T12:19:49","modified_gmt":"2010-03-01T17:19:49","slug":"dear-mark-embodied-cognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/375768","title":{"rendered":"Dear Mark: Embodied Cognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" title=\"Brain\" src=\"http:\/\/i247.photobucket.com\/albums\/gg158\/MDA2008\/MDA2009\/brain.jpg\" alt=\"brain\" width=\"320\" height=\"310\" \/>The following reader email brought to mind a <a title=\"Abstract Thoughts? The Body Takes Them Literally \" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/02\/02\/science\/02angier.html?pagewanted=1&amp;sudsredirect=true\" >NY Times article<\/a> I read a few weeks ago. The article discusses a fairly new field of research that is uncovering the surprisingly fundamental and intricate ways our bodies influence our thinking and vice-versa. We&#8217;ve discussed the <a title=\"Relaxation Response\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/relaxation-response\/\" >mind-body connection<\/a> in the past, but embodied cognition puts the relationship in a new cast. Think motion-emotion, action-thought. It\u2019s all integrated in ways you wouldn\u2019t expect&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Hey Mark, <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>I\u2019ve been a PBer for a couple years now and feel better than I ever have. I\u2019m at this point interested in digging deeper into new areas of the PB. I\u2019m intrigued by the mental-physical connection some of your posts and book refer to. Other than the relaxation and stress influence, what kind of sway does the mind-body thing really hold? How do you suggest harnessing it? Thanks and Grok on! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-11151\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Ben for the question this week. As he mentions, most of us are aware that our thoughts have the power to set off a chain of positive (or negative) physiological responses. But the picture is much more nuanced than meditation=good, chronic stress=bad. The field of embodied cognition is probing the connection right down to the evolutionary roots, measuring not just how one can influence the other but how the mental and physical realms largely operate as a unified, integrated recipient\/responder to the outer world. <strong>Our bodies not only physically sense and move in response to external stimuli; they steer our emotional and intellectual reactions, and they subtly mirror \u2013 embody \u2013 even abstract social, cultural and intellectual concepts.<\/strong> Hmmm\u2026I see some health and wellness implications coming, but first a quick rundown of the research.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Subjects in a Yale University <a title=\"Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth\" href=\"http:\/\/www.yale.edu\/acmelab\/articles\/Science_coffee_study.pdf\" >study<\/a> (PDF) were more      likely to rate the target person as interpersonally warm if they held a      hot drink in their hand and, conversely, more likely to rate the person as      cold if they held an iced drink.<\/li>\n<li>A University of Wisconsin study showed that <a title=\"Can blocking a frown keep bad feelings at bay?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.news.wisc.edu\/17602\" > subjects took longer to process negative statements<\/a> when frowning muscles      were deactivated by Botox injections.<\/li>\n<li>A University of California, Santa Barbara <a title=\"Embodied cognition and health persuasion: Facilitating intention\u2013behavior consistency via motor manipulations\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science?_ob=ArticleURL&amp;_udi=B6WJB-4Y1VSNG-1&amp;_user=6436833&amp;_rdoc=1&amp;_fmt=&amp;_orig=search&amp;_sort=d&amp;_docanchor=&amp;view=c&amp;_acct=C000047720&amp;_version=1&amp;_urlVersion=0&amp;_userid=6436833&amp;md5=eaf77ecf9617069a1fb83cc2f9e74185\" >study<\/a> showed participants an instructional video about exercising and followed      up on their efforts in the week following the video. Although all subjects      were told to imagine performing the exercises during viewing, those that      were instructed to walk in place while watching exercised nearly 27%      longer than those who were sedentary during the video. In a follow-up      scenario, women participants who were allowed to hold dental floss during      flossing instruction reported flossing more times in a week than those      women participants who didn\u2019t hold dental floss during the instruction.<\/li>\n<li>Subjects in a University of Illinois <a title=\"Swinging into thought: Directed movement guides insight in problem solving\" href=\"http:\/\/pbr.psychonomic-journals.org\/content\/16\/4\/719.abstract\" >study<\/a> were      more successful at solving a given physics related problem when      researchers instructed them to swing their arms for a short time.<\/li>\n<li>Other<a title=\"Weight as an Embodiment of Importance\" href=\"http:\/\/www3.interscience.wiley.com\/journal\/122547351\/abstract\" > research<\/a> showed that students judged a      book as heavier when told it was key to their studies. In subsequent      scenarios, participants further confirmed the weight-importance      association, in one situation by assessing foreign currency as more      valuable if they held heavier clipboards while recording their responses.<\/li>\n<li>A <a title=\"Moving Through Time\" href=\"http:\/\/pss.sagepub.com\/content\/early\/2010\/01\/08\/0956797609359333.full\" >study<\/a> recently published in Psychological      Science demonstrated that participants shifted their bodies to reflect      spatial metaphorical concepts by consistently leaning forward when talking      about the future and reclining when recalling the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is just a sampling of the research of course. Nonetheless, it\u2019s enough I think to illustrate the breadth and depth of the power physical cues have on our thinking. (And, again, vice versa \u2013 the power of even unconscious thought over physiology.) Kinesthetic engagement has sway over everything from emotion to learning, memory to intention. In terms of intention, the research shows that <strong>passive instruction for fitness (or much else) isn\u2019t as effective as incorporating physical experience<\/strong>. In other words, to bolster people\u2019s intention to get their bodies moving, you have to \u2013 well \u2013 get them moving to begin with. It\u2019s important to use the connection of physical action with motivation and intention to our benefit. Next time you log onto MDA, pick up some kettlebells or do some lunges as you read.<\/p>\n<p>In this regard, maybe embodied cognition speaks to a larger lifestyle issue as well. There\u2019s an inclination in our culture toward passive observation. Our entertainment pastimes, our communication modes as well as work setups for those of us with desk jobs leave us stuck in the \u201cvirtual\u201d or one-dimensional experience. Like the researchers warnings about Botoxed-bounded expression, perhaps relating to the world so often through constrained means shuts off whole realms of experience and feeling. <strong>Real wellness, I believe, obliges the actualization of our physical selves. When we compartmentalize the corporeal or diminish the role of our bodies in our perception and experience, we neglect whole dimensions of fulfillment.<\/strong> As embodied cognition teaches us, we deny something fundamental in our nature when we diminish the inextricable connection between our physical and intellectual\/emotional lives.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Who is Grok?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/about-2\/who-is-grok\/\" >Grok<\/a> lived an earthy and sensual existence. He was seamlessly of the world in ways that elude us now. As the research shows us, however, the hardwiring is still there. Give the moment \u2013 whether it be a workout, a walk, a dinner with the family \u2013 not just your full attention but your full physical engagement. Apply all the senses. Be wholly physically present. Imagine what that would mean in the day to day. What would that look like? Feel like? What would you gather or gain exercising \u2013 and living \u2013 that way?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Send me your thoughts. As always, thanks for the great questions and comments, and keep \u2018em coming!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><em><em><em><em>Get <a title=\"Mark's Daily Apple Feeds\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/..\/feeds\/\" >Free Health Tips, Recipes and Workouts<\/a> Delivered to Your Inbox<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h4>\n<p>Related posts:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href='http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/healthy-body-weight\/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Dear Mark: Healthy Body Weight?'>Dear Mark: Healthy Body Weight?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/gene-expression-2\/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Dear Mark: Gene Expression'>Dear Mark: Gene Expression<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href='http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/primal-blueprint-for-both-men-and-women\/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Dear Mark: Primal Blueprint for Both Men <em>and<\/em> Women?&#8217;>Dear Mark: Primal Blueprint for Both Men <em>and<\/em> Women?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/MarksDailyApple\/~4\/BUhcgAZ0rcA\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following reader email brought to mind a NY Times article I read a few weeks ago. The article discusses a fairly new field of research that is uncovering the surprisingly fundamental and intricate ways our bodies influence our thinking and vice-versa. We&#8217;ve discussed the mind-body connection in the past, but embodied cognition puts the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}