The concept of “flow” is a magnetic force that draws us towards peak performance, creative brilliance, and unparalleled satisfaction. While there are various triggers that ignite the flow state, one of the most potent yet often overlooked is the power of deep embodiment.

Deep embodiment involves immersing yourself so profoundly in an activity that your entire being – body, mind, and even spirit – becomes fully engaged. It’s the sensation of being completely absorbed, where your consciousness merges with the action. This state of profound presence and connection is a trigger for flow, as it aligns your focus, minimizes distractions, and amplifies the intensity of the experience.

Traditionally, we’ve thought of the brain as the leader of the nervous system controlling the body.  Embodied cognition is the name given to our current understanding – our ability to think and make decisions is heavily influenced, or perhaps even determined by, our experience in the physical world.  Interactions with the environment are actually part of the computational process.

Which helps understand why deep embodiment – paying attention to multiple sensory systems at once – is a flow trigger that works by reducing cognitive load.  By connecting to our bodies, and directly accessing this information stream, we are aided in the journey out of the “thinking mind” and into the deep now.

Embodiment refers to your bodily awareness, including information coming from inside your body (interoception) as well as information your body is taking in from your surroundings (exteroception).  Sometimes this is called your “felt sense.”

How to practice?  

• Immerse yourself in the sensory intricacies of the experience – the breeze on your skin, the scents around you, the rhythm of your movements. Engaging your senses strengthens the bond between your body and the activity.
• Mindfulness.  Pay attention to different senses than you’re used to.  Focus on breathing and feeling the breath (in or out of a meditation practice!).  Tune into what you hear when sitting around in your house.  
• Bring attention to different senses than are automatic for you.  Build a practice of pulling more information in.  

We often think of the deep embodiment trigger in the context of action sports but we can access this trigger across the spectrum.  When learning, the deep embodiment trigger can be used when you learn by doing (don’t read about a pump, go tear one apart to see how it works).  

Here’s another way you can use it.  Before doing something we’re scared of (public speaking, dropping into a big line, leading a meeting, a job interview, etc), we’re often told to take a deep breath as if to calm our nervous system (spoiler alert: only marginally effective).  Using that breath offers perhaps more power as a means to connect to your senses and engage the deep embodiment trigger to increase the likelihood you drop into flow doing this scary activity.  After all, flow is what we need in those moments, so standing on the precipice is a great opportunity to check in and use that felt sense to propel you into flow.  THAT’S using the triggers, and here we start to see it come together! 

Using the deep embodiment trigger can be subtle, yet powerful.  Especially in our externally focused culture of goals and achievement, learning to tune in and calibrate with our bodies might be a superpower!

Try it, and I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

Did you miss the past descriptions?  Check them out!

What is FLOW?

FLOW TRIGGERS EXPLAINED:

Curiosity, passion, and purpose

Autonomy

Complete Concentration

Novelty

Complexity

Unpredictability

Clear Goals