Embodied Intelligence. A Paradoxical Discovery about How the Body Determines Our Emotions, Behavior, and Temperament

George Orwell said that the main thing is not to stay alive, but to remain human.

For the last centuries, Western medicine has stubbornly taught us to perceive the body fragmentarily. Even doctors primarily focused on just one organ. In this case, dominance in the body was unconditionally given to the brain, while everything else was merely elements controlled by it. In this sense, Eastern medicine stood apart (and was not recognized as official) — as it perceived the body as a unity: body and mind here were and still are two sides of the same coin, and postures and movements of the body influence a person's psychology.
However, everything has changed — now we are on the cusp of a revolution: the body has finally reconciled with the brain. This book serves as a roadmap for this reconciliation.
- You will embark on a journey through the brain and learn about the functioning of neurons.
- You will read about the most prominent areas of the brain that have special significance in relation to the body.
- You will discover how the skin, gestures, and body postures shape emotions and attitudes toward reality.
- You will uncover an ocean of microorganisms residing in our intestines that shape psychological factors for the growth of neurons, without which the process of their study would not exist.
- You will see how breathing affects neuronal activity and impacts attention, memory, as well as the expression of emotions and how it helps make neurons plastic.
- You will understand how heartbeat influences neuronal activity in areas of the brain that are most involved in the subjective perception of the real world.
And, of course, you will learn how to apply this knowledge in real life in everyday situations: to calm down, concentrate, relax, or feel a surge of energy.