Speak Your Body: Is the Mind-Body Disconnect a Global Epidemic? by Erica Hornthal

The mind-body connection is a hot topic these days. Recently, Oprah spoke about the hardwiring of childhood trauma and we saw Carson Daly's personal interview about his struggle with anxiety attacks that seemed to come out of nowhere; both prime examples of how the mind and body are connected.

What we are facing today, and I urge you to think about, is a global epidemic – a mind-body disconnect. We are no strangers to the violence and destruction infiltrating our schools and communities. Could the rise in violence be connected to a lack of embodiment? Embodiment is the ability to connect to your feelings, senses, thoughts, sensations and existence, not just in your mind, but in your physical being as well. When we disconnect from our bodies, we lose the ability to relate, communicate and even empathize with those around us.

Just because you are physically active or participating in a mind-body exercise does not mean that you are living an embodied existence. Sometimes those practices actually create a greater disconnect because we are looking for the aesthetic or the perfection in it, not the enlightened path or awareness that is intended.

Speak your body!