Day 12 🌿 Your Body Knows
“Your body has been telling you the truth long before your mind caught up.”
Have you ever said yes to something you didn’t actually want to do?
We all have.
In day-to-day life, this is often part of managing work, home, and social lives. Sometimes it’s about stretching our capacity — learning how to give, how to show up, how to be in relationship with others.
And then there’s the other end of the spectrum — when saying yes becomes a quiet override of what the body is signaling.
Growing up, this can feel like a rite of passage. Adhering to peer pressure. Navigating family dynamics. Learning how to belong. In many ways, it’s how we survive socially and emotionally. And this is often where — and when — the body first becomes confused.
While the mind is remarkably skilled at holding multiple layers of conflicting information, the body is not.
The body is a truth teller.
It seeks truth as homeostasis.
Even when our words are polite, agreeable, or well-intended, the body speaks — through breath, tension, posture, energy, and sensation. It holds the score of what feels aligned and what doesn’t.
Every human has this second language of behavior.
In her breakout work as a “human lie detector,” Janine Driver explores how body language can offer powerful clues about incongruence — moments when what’s happening in the body doesn’t match what’s being said. She has worked on countless criminal cases since her 20s and brings a rare mix of insight, compassion, and clarity to this work.
In a recent interview with Mel Robbins, Janine describes what she calls ESL — Everyone’s Second Language — the universal language of behavior. She also offers compelling insight into how our own behavior can quietly contradict what we think we want.
Her work ties directly into our somatic exploration here: the body has a much harder time lying than the mind does.
Today’s invitation is not about judging past choices, or becoming rigid with boundaries. It’s about listening more closely. Feeling into your own behavior with kindness. Noticing the subtle cues your body offers when something feels true, safe, or off.
And with others, practicing curiosity rather than assumption. This isn’t about becoming a cop or a detective — it’s about becoming more attuned. Listening beyond words, so relationships can feel more honest, compassionate, and connected.
Listen
FBI Trained Expert, Janine Driver Explains How to Read Body Language
Journal
Take a few moments after your practice, or later today, and let one or two of these guide your writing:
• What signals does my body give me when something feels aligned or true?
• Where do I notice tension, holding, or hesitation — and what might it be asking for?
• When have I sensed that my body knew something before my mind did?
• How can I listen to myself with more curiosity and less judgment?
• What would it look like to bring this kind of listening into one relationship today?
Let today be about noticing.
Let the body speak.
And see what it has to share.
I love you. Keep going!
Alex