Oh My Body!

“There is always a story waiting to be told in my body whenever I notice feelings sensation and 'felt senses'. My body has its own language through which it wants to talk to me.”

- Gene Gendlein, PhD

It is a common occurrence in my work to have people look at me like I have lost my rational mind when I ask what they might be feeling in their body. To compound their confusion, I ask them to describe the sensation. Does it have a color or a shape? Is it static or moving and where it is located? Most of the time I am asked what is the purpose of these questions and what do they have to do with what we are talking about.

What is "Felt Sense"?

I am looking for the “felt sense”. A felt sense is not a mental experience, it is a body awareness of a situation or person or event. An internal physical feeling that encompasses what you feel about an experience. A felt sense doesn’t come to you in the form of thoughts or words, but instead as a body sensation. (Gendlein)