When it comes to stress, the negative impacts aren’t only mental – they can be physical, too. Take burnout, for example. Mental Health UK notes that its symptoms include not only emotional things like feeling helpless or behavioural ones like difficulty concentrating, but physical problems such as headaches, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and lowered immunity.

The last couple of decades have seen a much greater emphasis on mental wellness, and I fully support that. But that emphasis can sometimes lead to us thinking of ourselves as just minds being carted around, and forgetting that our brains are intimately tied to the rest of our physical being.

Pay attention to it, and your body can provide important insights into how you’re doing mentally and emotionally – insights which you can use to have a more fulfilling and productive work life.

How your body reflects your mind

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, most of our personal and professional contexts were radically altered. That change prompted many of us to notice the physical signs of the mental strain we’d been feeling, from insomnia and muscle pain to digestive issues.

Perhaps that’s why psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps the Score became a #1 bestseller in 2021, seven years after its publication. It’s much more involved than a pop-psychology or self-help book – not something which would usually have wide appeal. The unexpected success of this book, which explores how the body stores trauma and how engaging with our physical selves is key to processing and moving past it, shows we’re at a cultural moment which is deeply interested in the mind-body connection.

The power of somatic coaching

The benefits of delving into that connection touch on all kinds of areas. If what you’re exploring is to do with trauma and mental health, then it’s best to do so with a licensed mental health professional like a therapist. But to uncover the workplace benefits of engaging with the mind-body connection, you could work with a somatic coach.

So, what exactly is somatic coaching? To quote from Positive Psychology:

“Somatic leadership coaching is a form of coaching that focuses on developing leadership skills and effectiveness through an integrative approach that draws on the wisdom of both the body and the mind. This coaching method recognizes that effective leadership is not solely a matter of cognitive knowledge and skills. Great leadership also depends on the ability to embody leadership qualities and to enact them in a holistic and authentic manner (Amo et al., 2023).”

Building resilience and understanding gut feelings

In my experience, somatic coaching – which makes use of techniques like transformational breathing and body scans – can be a powerful professional tool. One area where I find it particularly useful is in building resilience. We can learn to notice when our nervous system is activated – when we slide into that ‘fight, flight, fawn or freeze’ state – and develop tools for calming those automatic responses. Over time, your body can learn that, no, having to speak publicly or take on criticism is not a crisis like coming face-to-face with a saber-tooth tiger!

Another important area is in tuning into your unconscious reactions. Many leaders talk about their ‘gut feeling’ when making important decisions, a phrase which can mean a lot of things. At worst, it could be your unconscious biases nudging you into making a choice your rational mind knows isn’t right. But at best, your gut feelings could be bodily cues offering you insight beyond what you’re consciously observing. A good coach will help you learn the difference, to maximise the tools you have at your disposal.

Managing conflict and communication

Tapping into your mind-body connection can also help you with managing conflict and communication. Somatic coaching tools can teach you how best to set yourself up for difficult interactions, build your resilience for facing them, and increase your empathy and understanding towards the other party.

Imagine you’re having a meeting with someone about a sensitive subject. You could just speed through what you need to say and wrap things up – it’s certainly tempting to minimise the time you spend on a difficult topic. But doing that means missing useful information. Is the other person looking dazed, with their shoulders lifted, or breathing rapidly? They might be so anxious that they’re not fully taking in what you’re saying. Are they clenching their jaw or fidgeting? They might feel agitated or angry. In both cases, it’d be more effective and efficient to help them calm down first.

Your body has a lot to tell you about what’s happening in your mind, and treating it well can in turn help your mind stay healthy. Somatic coaching can help you learn more about that mind-body connection, and all the useful insights you can gain from others’ physicality too.