Do you think spirituality is something beyond your body? Think again.

Do you think spirituality is about transcending the physical? Something beyond the realm of the material world? That only happens when we rise above the bodies we are trapped in?

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The body plays a crucial role in all forms of genuine spiritual work, because bringing awareness back to the body anchors the quality of Presence. The reason is fairly obvious: while our minds and feelings can wander to the past or the future, our body can only exist here and now, in the present moment. This is one of the fundamental reasons why virtually all meaningful spiritual work begins with coming back to the body and becoming more grounded in it.

Moreover, the instincts of the body are the most powerful energies that we have to work with. Any real transformation must involve them, and any work that ignores them is almost certain to create problems. The body has an amazing intelligence and sensitivity, and it also has its own language and its own way of knowing. […]

The body is extremely important for Inner Work, because it is a reliable reality check in ways that our minds and emotions (the other two centers) cannot be. This is because, as we mentioned earlier, the body is always here, in the present moment. Our minds or feelings can be anyplace—imagining the future, dwelling on the past, or ruminating on a fantasy—but our body is always here and now. It cannot be anywhere else. Therefore, if we are aware of the sensations of our bodies, it is a solid piece of evidence that we are present.

The Wisdom of the Enneagram – Don Riso and Russ Hudson

The idea that spirituality begins with the body was a real aha moment to me – I was surprised to be so enlightened by something so obvious. An important way to get more grounded in our bodies is to recognize our emotions and feelings in our body. They are the bridge between the body and the mind, as emotions are distinctly physical and non-physical. For spiritual development, all three centers are equally important. But from the above it is clear that your body is your starting point.

The image at the top of this article is a detail of the painting La Magie Noire (Black Magic) by René Magritte (1946).