Each intelligence has a core set of capacities which are involved in its actual functioning. These are almost like “sub-intelligences”. If you are wanting to improve, enhance, or otherwise strengthen an intelligence, you must work at the level of developing the full range of its capacities.

Study these capacities and think about how you use them in your life and you’ll gain a fuller sense and understanding of your own BodySmart.

The first task for more fully understanding and enhancing your BodySmart capacities is learning to speak the unique language of this intelligence; that is, learning to decipher its special jargon, to understand its vernacular, and being willing to immerse yourself in its various operating modalities.

The language and operating modality of BodySmart is all related to physical movement and thus involves such things as drama, mime, dance, gesture, facial expressions, role play, “body language”, posture, physical exercise, and physical games.

Once you understand the different dimensions and aspects of BodySmart it is important that you focus on using them on a fairly regular basis. As with any capacity we have developed in our life, regular, consistent practice makes perfect.

Following is a description of each capacity and a place for you to type your reflections on how each of the capacities tend to show up in your daily life, AND what you can do to exercise it or use is more.

(Just type your thoughts in the boxes provided. At the bottom is a "print button" so you can save your work.)

CONTROL OF "VOLUNTARY" BODY MOVEMENTS

Remember when you were a kid and you would rub your stomach and patting your head at the same time and then switch to rubbing your head and patting your stomach? This is sometimes called “multi-tracking”. It's the ability to perform a variety of phycial feats simultaneously.

"PRE-PROGRAMMED" BODY MOVEMENTS

Some of your body movements were at one time carefully and methodically learned and practiced, but are today second nature to us, such as walking, riding a bike or driving a car. Learning to control and improve these “Preprogrammed” movements is one of the capacities of this intelligence.

EXPANDING AWARENESS THROUGH THE BODY

This is the capacity of learning to listen to and trust the body. In many ways the body is like a complex radar station which gives you invaluable feedback about what is happening in the external world; for example, the body shivers in the cold telling us you need more clothes, or your heartbeat increases when you experience tension in situations of danger.

MIND-BODY CONNECTION

What happens in the mind can profoundly affect the body and vice versa. Think about the effect on your body of vividly imaging your favorite dessert, or imagine the sound of finger nails scraping on a blackboard and notice your physical reaction. With conscious practice you can establishing a stronger connection between you mind and your body.

MIMETIC ABILITIES (i.e. the ability to mime)

How good are you at playing charades? How aware are you of people’s “body language” and their use of physical gestures when they are talking? This capacity was perfected by such people as Marcel Marseau and Red Skelton.

IMPROVED BODY FUNCTIONING

If you direct your awareness to almost any physical activity, you can, through conscious practice, improve your performance, whether it be your serve in tennis, using your non-dominate hand, or parallel parking a car. With BodySmart, almost more than any of the other intelligences, practice makes perfect!