Mind-Body Connection
- Kimberlee Bow, Ph.D.
- Apr 28
- 5 min read
There is a fundamental concept in Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT), the mind-body connection. The mind-body connection refers to the intricate, bi-directional relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and physical health and the body. The main emphasis here is on the linkage between our mental and physical states, as they interconnect and influence each other.
Explore the Mind-Body Connection with an Experiential
Let’s explore this with an experiential. You're more than welcome to opt out of the experiential part and just read the blog post if that feels right for you. There is no expectation. Take a moment and orient yourself in space in a position that represents confidence. There is no one way this position needs to look. For some, it might be holding their head high, with their chest open, shoulders down, and a strong lower body. For others, it may look completely different. The critical piece is that whatever the position is for you, it is one that you understand as a confident position. Once you're in that position, take a moment to notice how you feel. Do you think that feeling of confidence? Did your internal state shift? Just notice with no judgment. Now, release whatever position you came up with and shake it out.
Now for the next part. Think of a time when you felt joy in your life. Make it a memory that resonates with you. Take a few moments to remember that moment or those moments, if that feels more appropriate. Then begin to notice how your body feels. Are there any sensations? Did your body move in any way? Just notice with no judgment.
There is no right or wrong with the above exercise. What often happens is that people notice, even subtly, how the mind responds to the body and vice versa. If you didn’t see anything, that's okay too. The bonus of this exercise is that, hopefully, you also have the opportunity to practice observing with no judgment. Observing with no judgment is a skill. One that we may talk about in another blog post, so as to give it the proper time and space and stay focused on the current topic.
Mind-Body Research
There is plenty of scientific data that highlights the connection between the mind and body. The American Heart Association offered the following statement that included this data (Levine et al., 2021):
There is a clear connection between psychological health (PH) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk.
Mounting evidence that PH may be causally connected to biological processes and behaviors that influence and cause CVD
Data show that when interventions are directed at improving PH, there is a beneficial impact on cardiovascular health.
Coming back to DMT, Berrol (1992) wrote that the paradigm of the brain is grounded in an understanding that there is a neural interplay between our emotions and movement. Much of the work that has illuminated the mind-body connection comes from the field of psychoneuroimmunology (Littrell, 2008). Thanks to psychoneuroimmunology, we can now examine the biological underpinnings of how the mind and body are linked. This has even allowed us to explore racism through the lens of the mind-body connection as racism impacts the brain and the human body’s physiology (Muscatell et al., 2022).
Interoception
There is another concept important to understand in the context of the mind-body connection: interoception. Interoception is the sense of your body's internal state, providing awareness of things like your heartbeat, bodily sensations, or hunger. Additionally, our ability to perceive our visceral signals plays an essential role in many theories of emotion introduced in the scientific literature (Pollatos et al., 2025). In the context of the mind-body connection, interoception is our ability to sense what is happening within our own body. Some cultures have honored that wisdom for centuries. In contrast, others have not, instead encouraging a focus on the mind, leaving many in a state of disconnection and lacking the bodily wisdom that helps us navigate the world. We can further see the disconnect through the lens of trauma and how the body may no longer be a safe space to explore, so one aspect of the work becomes finding healing and connection with the body.
In future blog posts, we will revisit these two concepts. Today was about laying a foundation.
What’s Next?
This week’s blog post was one of action. You were asked if you wanted to participate in an experiential that allowed you to explore the mind-body connection. Take some time to reflect on that experience. We are not often given the time and space to just be with our experiences and notice.
Then, when you're ready, take some time to reflect or engage in further learning about the mind-body connection. In some spaces, the term is thrown around a lot, but it is not discussed in the context of genuinely engaging with the connection and understanding how it may be of service in a culturally centered trauma-informed approach. That is the next step: how might the mind-body connection play a role in a culture-centered trauma-informed approach? Explore that idea in writing, drawing, or movement!
Until next time!
Practical Tips and Suggestions
Take a few minutes to slow down during the day, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Tune into your body and see what sensations are arising, or simply take a moment just to breathe. Exploring the mind-body connection is a journey and a practice. It is not something that we “arrive” at. Find opportunities when you are calm, upset, stressed, or at any other time, so that you have the chance to experience your mind and body in different states.
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