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Embodied Knowing: An Experiential, Contextual, and Reflective

Process
Mimi Sodhi
University of Georgia

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 Embodied Knowing: An Experiential, Contextual, and Reflective Process

Mimi Sodhi
University of Georgia

Keywords: embodied knowledge, bodily knowing

Abstract: This study explored the process of embodied knowing in social workers.
Analysis of data gathered through interviews with ten participants revealed embodied
knowing to be a developmental process based on experience, context, and reflection.

Introduction and Purpose

The mind/body dualistic approach to learning has dominated the field of education since
the Enlightenment creating an unrealistic separation of the mind from the body, while also
promoting the mind over the body in the knowledge creating process (Simon, 1998). The field
of adult education has begun to acknowledge there are non-cognitive ways of knowing such as
connected and constructed knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule, 1986), tacit
knowing (Polanyi, 1969), unconscious knowing (Dirkx, 2001), and embodied knowing
(Merleau-Ponty, 1962). Embodied knowing has been defined as not only knowledge that resides
in the body, but also knowledge that is gained through the body (Nagatomo, 1992). Hanna
(1980) described embodied knowing as a constant flow of senses and actions that occur within
the experiences of each individual.
Social work is both a science and an art (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2006) in that both the
science (mind) and the art (body) must work together to engage clients. The Council on Social
Work Education (CSWE), through its accreditation standards, provides curriculum guidelines for
schools of social work on the science aspect and social work has traditionally relied on the
cognitive, scientific, and rational modalities as primary ways of knowing. However, there is
little specified in these guidelines to address the art component which Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman
(2004) described as the intuitiveness in practice. In recent years, there has been increasing
acknowledgement of other ways of knowing to include: emotional (Peile, 1998), spiritual
(Gallant, Holosko & Gallant, (2005); intuition (Myers, 2002) , and embodied knowledge (Shaw,
2004).
It is fitting to explore the concept of embodied knowing in social work practice under the
umbrella of adult education as adult education researchers provide learning theories that offer a
foundation for understanding how adults learn beyond the traditional classroom setting. Adult
education recognizes the importance of experience, context and reflection for further learning.
Social workers are adults, working in a wide variety of practice settings, learning through their
experiences. As discussed, most of the research has focused on the cognitive level, with a
plethora of research on experiential learning and situated cognition as valid avenues of where
and how adults best learn (Dewey, 1938; Fenwick 2000). As social work practitioners actively
engage in real life experiences in their interactions with clients, they are experientially learning
in a specific context. The best social work practitioners are those who practice holistically with
the ability to recognize and incorporate bodily reactions into their practice. Although the
profession has begun to explore the integration of body and mind in both social work practice
with clients and for social worker self-awareness (Peile, 1998; Shaw, 2004), there is no research
on how embodied knowing is manifested, reflected upon, and specifically integrated in social
work practice. Therefore the primary purpose of this study was to understand how social
workers developed and experienced embodied knowing.
Understanding how social workers develop and experience embodied knowing adds to
the adult education literature in several ways. First this research will add to adult learning theory
by showing how embodied knowing is linked to past experience and that context plays a
significant role in how it is manifested. Second, this study validates the body as a site of
knowing and opens the door for adult educators to provide a safe space for adult learners to
actively incorporate the role of their bodies in their knowledge base. Third, the findings from
this study also provide more insight in the areas of experiential learning and build on the
reflective practice literature. Fourth, the results of this research provide evidence that social work
practitioners actively engage their bodies in both their decision-making process, and in relating
empathically with clients. Finally, both social workers and adult educators will be encouraged to
discuss embodied knowing experiences and recognize the significance of bodily knowledge as
credible and that all ways of knowing should be equally validated.

Theoretical Framework
For the purpose of this study, embodied knowing is conceptualized within two theoretical
frameworks: experiential learning (Kolb, 1984) and situated cognition (Cafarella & Merriam,
2000). Michelson (1996) argued that experiential learning in adult education is one of the most
important areas of scholarship, focusing on personal knowledge and lived experience. However,
in the vast scholarship on experiential learning, the body has been neglected (Fenwick, 2003).
Kolb (1984), considered a pioneer in experiential learning, separated the concrete experience
from reflection, assuming that thinking and doing are separate. Kolb’s model has been applied
in much of the adult education research, but as Fenwick (2003) noted, “the aching dribbling
body, the longing passionate body, child-tied and labour-marked, rooted in history and
responsibility” (p. 125), has been absent in the research. Some proponents of embodied knowing,
especially feminist thinkers, regard the body as a site of knowledge and experience; the
experience itself being located in the body (Grosz, 1993; Michelson, 1998). Experience is not
only considered to be the foundation for embodied knowing, but experience and the subsequent
emotions are also thought to be bodily events (Matthews, 1998; Michelson, 1998).
Caffarella and Merriam (2000) described the contextual perspective to learning as one
where learning cannot be separated from the context where it takes place. If embodied knowing
is defined as a contextual experience that occurs through interactions with the environment,
theories such as situated cognition and experiential learning (Caffarella & Merriam, 2000) could
be an avenue for educators to facilitate embodied knowing as a way of learning. This type of
learning incorporates the learning activity with culture and context, where learners’ experiences
and the tools used in those experiences are a major component of the learning process (Caffarella
& Merriam, 2000). In embodied knowing, the body itself is both the site of learning and a
vehicle for learning (Matthews, 1998; Michelson, 1998); as such the body could be considered
the tool that the learner uses to facilitate the learning process.

Research Design and Methodology

This study was a general qualitative study to explore the phenomena of embodied
knowing in social work practitioners. This study was well suited for qualitative research
methods as it sought to gain an understanding of the participants’ experiences and the outcome
was highly descriptive in nature (Merriam, 2001). The purposeful sample of ten social work
practitioners had: a) a Masters of Social Work degree; b) been practicing for a minimum of five
years, c) were between 36 and 63 years old, and d) represented a variety of practice settings. The
primary means of data collection method used was semi structured interviews focused on how
social workers developed and experienced embodied knowing. Audio recorded sixty minute
interviews were later transcribed. Additionally, participants’ body language during the interview
was recorded. These data were analyzed using constant comparative techniques, and member
checks were conducted to enhance the dependability (Merriam, 2001). Additional sources of data
were photographs taken of the participants’ work environments which provided insight into how
the physical environment reflected their holistic approach to their practices.

Findings
The findings of this study revealed that embodied knowledge is a contextual, experiential,
and reflective process based on a combination of the internalized feelings created from (a) the
social workers’ past life experiences, (b) the internal reactions that are triggered within each
context of the social work interaction, and (c) the processing of those internal reactions. The
result of these three factors is embodied knowing and it is here that the social worker becomes
more aware of his/her body and develops trust in it as a source of knowledge. This embodied
knowing is holistically integrated into the social worker and as such is knowledge that is carried
into future life experiences and social work interactions.

Compilation of Life Experiences

Participants described childhood, adulthood, as well as cultural experiences that became
internalized as bodily memories which impacted their practices. In childhood, for Tee, she
recalled “feeling safe” when there was turbulence at home by hiding in the woods. Her practice
today is in a cabin in a serene, wooded setting. Mary described becoming “hypervigilant” and
related it to a “sensory radar” that she now “listens to” in her interactions with clients.
Adulthood experiences for Pete, as he faced his addiction, and Carol, as she battled depression,
pushed them to get in touch with the physical sensations in their bodies associated with deeper
emotions. Three African American participants shared how being Black in the South made them
more aware and in tune with their physical reactions, whether it be a “cold, sinking feeling in my
gut” (Melissa), a “tense, rigidity in my body” (Dee), or “the sensations in my gut” (Ken).

Internal Reactions
Participants described immediate somatic internal reactions during social work
interactions. These physical reactions included: “muscular tension, headaches, tingling, and
changes in breathing patterns.” Participants connected physical sensations with feelings. For
example, the stomach was an area of somatic manifestation for every participant but connected
to different feelings. For Dee and Nina, a reaction in the stomach was related to anger. Ken’s
stomach translated into a “sense of nervousness.” Melissa described an overwhelming sadness
that manifested in her stomach, “I could feel you know, just the tightening in my stomach
listening to some of these stories.” Universally, physical fatigue was also manifested internally
as Mary described, “I am physically more tired at the end of the session; and remain tenser for
longer; my body takes longer to relax.” Participants often found it challenging to separate their
somatic, cognitive, and affective reactions as they seemed to occur almost simultaneously: Nina
summed up this struggle: “It’s just that I think the mind is not discrete from the body; the body
isn’t discrete from the emotions. They’re all sort of interconnected and intertwined.”
Processing Internal Reactions
Participants processed these sensations by (a) becoming aware of somatic sensations and
(b) engaging in reflective practice. Mary described how she constantly worked to stay aware: “It
involves being tuned into your internal cues, and also aware of external bodily cues.” Pete also
stated that he constantly worked to stay aware, and as a result felt, “My awareness of it [his
bodily reactions], I think is improving. I’m more in tune I think, as I practice with what we’re
calling mind body knowledge.” Participants described instances of reflection occurring both
while actually in the midst of the social work interaction, and also after the interaction when they
experienced somatic sensations. For instance, some participants became aware of a somatic
change while in a session with a client. Pete noted, “I’m aware of the breathing and it’s more
rapid, it’s not obvious hyperventilating however,” which his past experiences have linked with
the feeling of anxiety. However, he continued, “ I don’t have time to sort it all out now, but note
to self, as soon as this encounter’s over go somewhere, real quick and take stock and look and
see what’s there.” Some more experienced practitioners were able to actually reflect-in-action
(Schon, 1983). For example, Carol expressed how, when in session, her body signaled her. She
described the process: “Sometimes, you know I feel funny I have to stop, well I don’t stop, I
have to kind of stop myself, and think what’s going on here, what’s going on with me why am I
feeling like this. I check in.”

Embracing Embodied Knowing

A compilation of the above three factors resulted in social workers embracing embodied
knowing by recognizing their bodies as a source of knowledge and by trusting their somatic
sensations. Participants described embodied knowing as “gut knowledge,” “intuitive
knowledge,” “practice wisdom,” “a physical knowledge,” and a “source of knowledge.” Pete’s
expanded definition encompassed the thoughts of most participants as he shared, “The word
embodied has a connotation or a meaning more involved with knowledge that is transmitted to
me by various parts of my body, what my body’s telling me…an almost, un or sub conscious,
sort of knowledge that’s innate to me, that I’m not consciously aware of having learned, or where
I got it from.” Participants were adamant in their beliefs that social workers needed to first accept
that there are different ways of knowing and then to trust the body as a valid source of
knowledge. Tee stated that trust comes with “doing it” and Mary asserted that “having the
confidence to trust, and getting it right a few times” helps build the belief in embodied knowing.
The premise that trust came with using the body was echoed by Tee, Pete, Carol and Melissa
who all said, “Trust It!” [the body].

Discussion and Implications

This study found that embodied knowing for these participants is an experiential,
contextual, reflective learning process. Participants’ early experiences become embedded in
their bodies as knowledge, which enabled them to engage with clients at a deeper, bodily level.
Participants described their pre-social work experiences, in childhood, adulthood, and also
culturally, that they were able to connect to their somatic reactions in specific social work
practice situations. Although they had learned about social work theory and practice in the
classroom, it was in their internships and early years of practice where participants felt their
embodied learning really began. In regards to embodied learning, it was being exposed to
different experiences that triggered somatic reactions, which initiated the exploration of their
bodies as sources of knowledge.
 The findings from this study, although still identifying reflection as a component, also
recognize and validate embodied knowledge, which was triggered by the participants’
experiences. In fact, participants support Michelson’s (1996) contention that experiences,
reflection, and knowledge occur simultaneously, and that it is a dynamic process. The
experience itself became embodied, and this provides empirical evidence for Fenwick’s (2000)
contention that experiential learning occurs “within action, within and among bodies” (p. 127).
Matthews (1998) recognized that embodied learning is contextual. Context was integral to the
participants’ somatic reactions which were triggered by a variety of different situations including
the type of client with whom they worked, the setting they were in, and the role they were
serving.
Brookfield (1988) discussed critical reflection as a cognitive way of meaning making and
decision making. The findings from this study deviate from this definition of critical reflection
in that when participants engaged their embodied knowing they described it as ‘sitting’ with the
feeling, bodily, not cognitively. While in session, they did not use critical reflection to process
this non-cognitive way of knowing. In fact, all the social work practitioners in this study
believed their bodies invaluable in their practices, providing feedback on which to reflect. They
shared examples of how, when they, in fact, ignored their bodies, they found they did not make
the best decisions, and even may have caused harm to the clients.
This study has significant implications for both adult education theory and practice.
First, the results of this study provide empirical evidence to theoretical discussions of embodied
knowing and impetus to recognize embodied learning a credible avenue for knowledge
production. Second, this study challenges adult education theorists and researchers to broaden
traditional learning theories such as experiential learning, reflective practice, and situated
cognition to incorporate the body.
Adult education practitioners can do much to increase awareness of embodied knowing
through their work as educators whether in continuing education, program planning, workplace
trainings etc. Embodied knowing needs to be integrated into how we practice, and we need to
continue to be aware that educational experiences can be explored through the body. The body
needs to be recognized as a viable source of knowledge and be more visible in society. As adult
educators we have the obligation to acknowledge embodied knowing and to encourage those
with whom we teach and practice to tap into their own bodies, and then share this knowledge
with others.

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