Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the ability to be aware of one’s own body and translate this ability in all the activities that are undertaken. We will understand what this form of intelligence entails.
Did You Know?
It is not necessary that a person who has a high level of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence will have a high level of other intelligences as well.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence highlights a person’s ability to use their whole body for expression and understanding. People who possess this intelligence are highly aware of their bodies and use the same for controlling their bodily motions, using it deftly in the capacity that they like.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is one of the 8 multiple intelligences that were proposed by Howard Gardner in his groundbreaking work ‘Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences’ (1983).
In this Buzzle article, we will understand what this form of intelligence involves, what are its strengths and weaknesses, and how one can go about developing the same.
Characteristics
► People with a high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are able to relate to things in their environment through their body.
► They tend to use their body to express themselves.
► They use a lot of movement to gain knowledge about their own selves, their mental and physical abilities, as well as their surroundings.
► They have a natural understanding and sense of how the body should react and act in a physically demanding situation.
► They also have a strong sense of body awareness.
► They understand things better when they are physically involved with something rather than simply reading about it or listening to it.
► They love to move and are rarely seen sitting still. They are constantly fidgeting about and moving around―even if it is only a part of their body, like their arms or legs.
► People with this form of intelligence like to get a sense of the touch of objects.
► Along with being aware of their bodies at the outer level, as far as movement is concerned, they are also aware of their internal movements. These include a high awareness of balance, position, momentum, and stationary presence.
► They possess a lot of grace, agility, suppleness, and speed.
► They are able to perform actions in an orderly manner.
► They have a great capacity for carrying forth motor activities that involve one’s fingers and a hand-eye coordination.
► They also portray a highly evolved capacity to handle objects skillfully.
► They enjoy learning by handling things physically, experimenting with them, and working on them rather than simply having a theoretical lesson of the same.
► They have a lot of physical energy that they are looking to expend.
► They enjoy creating things with their hands.
► They usually follow their gut instincts and do not like to be told what to do.
► They enjoy the outdoors and love being in nature.
► They love physical activities and therefore are keenly interested in sports, dancing, and athletics; they also enjoy activities that make use of hands, like carpentry and sculpting.
► They tend to perform better at tasks after they witness someone else doing them first or have a physical demonstration of the same.
Importance
It is extremely important to develop and enhance this form of intelligence because of the advantages that it leads to. These are listed below.
► Stronger connections between the body and the mind
► Improved functioning of all physical movements
► Enhanced understanding of what body language is, as well as how to use it maximally well to communicate better with others
► Ability of understanding how to reduce stress from different parts in the body
► Enhancing the ability to multitask and thereby carry out different forms of tasks at the same time.
Examples
There are certain people who possess a high level of this form of intelligence. These include, dancers, gymnasts, athletes, architects, actors, carpenters, choreographers, mechanics, sports coaches, directors, surgeons, circus artists, gardeners, mime artists, builders, park rangers, firefighters, martial artists, paramedics, sculptors, outdoor workers, builders, race car drivers, inventors, firefighters, farmers, jewelry makers, and physical therapists, among others.
A person with a high level of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence will succeed especially well in careers involving any of these professions mentioned above.
Ways to Improve Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
► Include a lot of role-play activities in your daily routine.
► Visit museums and go on field trips for a better learning experience.
► Create models and drawings of concepts that are being studied.
► Act out plays from literature or battles in history, and other classroom readings.
► Make video presentations of the concepts that are being learned.
► Take frequent breaks to bring about a change in your state of mind and introduce more stimuli thus.
► Add more physical and sports activities in your daily routine and curriculum.
► Take up dance lessons and learn different styles of the same.
► Listen to varied audio instruction programs while you’re on the move.
► Read different kinds of jokes, novels, and stories.
► Get your body moving and take up any and everything like climbing up and down the stairs, thumping, clapping, snapping fingers and the like.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence allows a person to use their body maximally well in all that they undertake, the advantages of which are multiple. With the varied methods and steps provided above, it will be easier to inculcate the same.
