I listened to a presentation by Sondra Barrett, Ph.D last week, part of an online summit titled "The Wisdom of the Body". She talked about how our cells possess intelligence - they take in information, and solve problems; translate information into action; communicate, reproduce, recycle and rest.
Our cells listen to what we "broadcast" - receiving information from molecular messengers, hormones and also mechanical signals (movement). The cytoskeleton (a fibrous network within the cell) is the decision maker of the cell - "where our consciousness resides".
W O W!!!!
This blows my mind - and I feel like I need to learn ALL the cell biology to try and understand it. My beautiful teacher Sally Miller sweetly described this grasping for knowledge as horizontal learning. I was trained and worked for many years as a scientist - this is my default way of understanding. Read more, question, go deeper.
There is another way of learning - embodying an experience - that Sally describes as vertical learning. I find this so much harder. It's a different kind of work. It's not about finding answers, which is how I was trained as scientist. This is also how my teachers at Dig Yoga have opened my eyes to going deeper in my yoga practice - how it opens us to the deeper questions and important questions.
It's a way of learning that ends up making so much sense. Not over thinking. or grasping for the answers. We have to develop patience - it can't be rushed. I think it's another reason why I so appreciate teachers who can guide a practice that allows me to be in my body. And not be all up in my head. Why I gravitate towards simpler slower styles of movement on the mat. And the sessions of quiet when I swim ... the sound of my breath and the moving water. Why I now choose to run without being plugged into music. Maybe I'm tuning in and being guided by the intelligence of my cells, not distracted from it :)