When you hear the term Body Intelligence (or BQ for short), you might think it’s about knowing your way around a yoga class or picking the perfect smoothie ingredients. But BQ goes much deeper than that. It’s a game-changing concept that connects your physical body with your decision-making, relationships, and even your ability to manage stress.
Intrigued yet? Let’s dive in.
The Big Three: IQ, EQ, and Now BQ
You’re probably familiar with IQ (Intelligence Quotient), which measures cognitive abilities, and EQ (Emotional Intelligence), which reflects your capacity to understand and manage emotions. BQ is the often-overlooked and suppressed sibling of these two—it’s your ability to tune into and interpret the messages that your body constantly sends you.
While IQ and EQ primarily live in your head and heart, BQ brings the whole system—mind, heart, and body—online. And when all 3 get to work together, rather than against each other, this creates one powerfully cohesive trifecta, enabling you to move through life with greater alignment and awareness.
So, What Is BQ Exactly?
BQ is your body’s intelligence—an innate wisdom that helps you:
Recognize how stress, joy, or nervousness show up in your body.
Understand physical signals like tension, exhaustion, or butterflies as valuable cues.
Identify and connect physical sensations to the triggering circumstance.
Think of it as learning a secret language—one that’s always been there but often gets drowned out by the noise of daily life: to-do lists, phone notifications, and back-to-back meetings.
In fact, it is THE survival skill biologically programmed within us since the time of hunter-gatherers, helping us to tune into our senses so we could either kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. Without the ability to hear the trees rustle, the smells change or the earth rumble, animals of prey or natural disasters would've wiped us out! Yet today, innovations like GPS systems, Walmarts & fridges have erased our need to practice and hone this intuitive body intelligence.
However, this sensory awareness is really just the first step. The real power of BQ comes from what happens next: consciously choosing how to respond instead of running on autopilot. This is what gives you the power of conscious choice—the ability to shift, adapt, and act in alignment with your values.
Once you’ve developed your internal awareness, you can start making meaningful changes in your external world:
Discern when to push forward and when to step back.
Navigate tough decisions by sensing what feels truly right.
Stay present in conversations, deeply listening instead of reacting.
Prepare yourself—physically and mentally—before difficult situations so you can respond with integrity (no guilt, no second-guessing).
Shift your embodiment to better complement different people or situations.
Sense the embodied states of those around you and pivot accordingly.
Experiment with new postures and movement patterns to break old, conditioned tendencies.
So, Why Does BQ Matter?
Imagine driving a car with broken dashboard lights. You wouldn’t have the luxury of being told when your gas tank was empty, your engine was overheating, or your tires were running low. That’s what life without BQ is like—ignoring the body’s internal signals, pushing through and driving anyways. When we don't tend to the needs of the car, we inevitably blow a transmission, a gasket or some other expensive part. When we don't listen to what our body is telling us, we end up with headaches, gut issues, blown relationships and poor decisions.
But back to the car analogy, when those dashboard lights come back on, suddenly, you can see the indicators that help you maintain and fuel your vehicle (aka your body). Whether your system runs like a high-speed race car, a sturdy Jeep, or a luxurious limo, having BQ means you can navigate life’s highways with confidence—through both the storms and the clear skies.
Ready to Develop Your BQ?
So how do you actually build Body Intelligence? That’s where the magic truly begins—and I promise it’s much simpler than you might think.
In my next post, I’ll share practical techniques to strengthen your BQ and unlock its full potential. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!
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