My wife Beth and I conducted a pilot research project for our MA in Conscious Evolution with The Graduate Institute.

Download the paper (4mb PDF)

Title

INVESTIGATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BODY AND MIND DURING BODY-BASED TRANSFORMATIVE PRACTICES TO THE PROCESS OF NON-PHYSICAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.

Abstract

This study explores how physical work performed in conjunction with the human body was expressed in the mind, and specifically, how opening the body’s physical structures manifested in an opening of a practitioner’s values, perspectives, and beliefs with and without additional philosophical guidance. The study asked: (1) Does opening the body’s physical/energetic structures affect/go-with opening of structures of consciousness? (2) Are transformative openings the result of working with the body, with the mind, or both? (3) Does one’s belief system/worldview predict or affect the changes in consciousness realized from a body-based transformative practice? (4) Does fragmented body-based practice affect consciousness differently than whole-body body-based practice? (5) Does “what comes up” during a body-based practice mentally and/or emotionally relate with the theorized qualities (i.e., anger, love) based on body regions, according to Eastern or Western thought?

Sixteen participants across the U.S.A. participated in a study to determine how the above questions may be answered. These sixteen participants ranged in age, gender, and life experience were split into two groups of eight. The first group was named Practice and received physical instructions only. The second group was named Study and received physical instructions as well as philosophical/awareness guidance, ideas, and instructions. This mixed-design process consisted of five parts: (1) demographics and Belief-as-Preparation for Transformative Practice, (2) pre-program survey to measure consciousness in terms of Ayurvedic, chakra/elemental view, Chinese Medicine elemental view, Jean Gebser’s five mutations of consciousness, and Spiral Dynamics’ eight levels of value-meme development and to develop three predictive scores to test against final results; (3) 12-day series of guided systematic body-openings; (4) post-body session questions to assess the physical, emotional, and mental phenomena experienced by each participant; and (5) post-program questions identical to the pre-program survey to measure possible changes in consciousness.

Findings include:

· Mind opening, or expansion of values, beliefs and worldviews, seems to go along with body openings as a result of body-based opening practice, independent of additional guidance. Additional guidance appears to increase the results of opening in the mind. Transformative openings seem to result from working with body alone in addition to working with mind and body together. One implication of the two points above is that physical practice alone, even without specific knowledge or guidance, has the potential to be personally meaningful and life changing in addition to being a ‘healthy thing to do.’

· Prior beliefs and current values and worldview do not seem to predict or strongly influence results from engaging in transformative practices. Rather, in-the-moment guidance plays the critical role. One implication is that what we pay attention to during practice, or what we hear during practice, may matter most of all if the desired outcome is a fully mind-body, meaningful, or even spiritual aim.

· Fragmented or isolated body work does not appear to result in significantly different results than working with the whole body, when it comes to examining results in the mind. Further, the abstract idea of ‘fragmentation’ when it comes to transformative practices may be an illusion or otherwise meaningless distinction.

The final conclusion, relevant to teachers, movers, practitioners, healers and all body-workers is this:

If all your work is focused on the body, you will likely facilitate and support some growth in consciousness over time, i.e., you will become a better person for it. To take conscious control of your life and set yourself up for greater personal growth in the direction of your choice as well as in unexpected and unpredictable ways, this study suggests that both body and mind practices are necessary to integrate in one’s practice.