Welcome to Bodies of Knowledge, a publication that explores the intersections between science, psychology, social context, and embodiment to give you actionable tools for personal and collective well-being.
I am a thought leader, body whisperer, and urban contemplative with a burning passion for embodiment as a method for individual and collective well-being.
Our culture privileges the mind and conceptual insight, which makes the body and its wisdom less accessible. Together, we’ll engage in the counter-cultural journey into the heart of embodiment.
I began my life’s work in the 1990s as a psychologist in psychiatric hospitals on the south and west sides of Chicago, working with people who had severe serious mental illnesses. At that time, psychotherapy largely considered the body to be “forbidden territory.”
In 2000, I finished a yoga teacher training, and began to teach public and private classes. In the yoga world, mental health was not yet seen as a valid component of teaching and practice. Witnessing my students’ and clients’ transformations convinced me that the body was a missing link in well-being. I began to introduce yoga directly into psychotherapy sessions. My first book, Yoga for Emotional Balance, chronicled the insights from that journey.
Since then, I’ve come to understand that the body isn’t just a personal construct, but a social and even political one. Embodiment is subject to the social forces of our time, and affects these forces in return.
I’m passionate about writing and educating, and compelled by that which is hidden and not easily visible, like the inner life of the body.
I write through the lens of the social body and of embodiment as a means to social justice and equity.
I’m currently immersed in my second book, which focuses on the science, psychology, social context, and practice of embodiment (Penguin Random House/Tarcher, 2024). There’s so much fantastic research and scholarship with implications for health and well-being that can’t fit in its pages. In this weekly column, I’ll share those insights with you.
There’s a fast-growing body of emerging research into our inner senses, with practical implications for well-being. Yet thanks to the academic publishing industrial complex, much of it sits behind a consumer paywall. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is a multi-billion dollar industry.) My job is to find the most important content related to embodiment, synthesize it in original ways, and translate it into digestible insights.
Each week, usually on Tuesday mornings, I’ll unpack a scientific finding, explore its implications, and discuss its practical takeaways for your life.
I believe that small acts of embodiment, over time, transform into a more embodied way of life. To that end, I’ll offer specific exercises, reflections, assignments, and more to help you integrate these insights into your body and your life.
If this column makes it easier to connect with the intelligence of your body, or helps to jump-start your emotional health, I will be happy.
But my ultimate hope is that when we become more embodied together, we can dismantle the forces that counter our inner senses and create a better, more connected, and more livable world.
Welcome! Thank you for being part of this community.
~ Bo
If you choose to support the column, you’ll get:
Subscriber-only posts, plus bonus gifts such as PDFs
Access to our archive of Colleague Consults, a series of dialogues with thought leaders, scientists, artists, philosophers, body justice advocates, and others whose work inspires and nourishes their communities
Community discussion threads that address the question, “What does real-life embodiment look like?” In our vibrant subscriber community, you can share your own experiences and be inspired by how others are applying this information to their lives
The Tuesday articles, which will always be free and accessible to all
A way for people who appreciate my work to support and sustain it
We offer gifted paid subscriptions to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) or BAME. To receive a paid subscription, please email Julie to be added to the list.
About Bo Forbes:
Bo Forbes is a psychologist, embodiment guide, and innovator in mind-body medicine. Her work combines emerging research in science, psychology, and contemplative practice with decades of experience on the front lines of somatic education.
Bo received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. Her background includes training in biopsychology, sleep research, and stress management. Bo has consulted to nonprofit and commercial corporations worldwide, and has supervised psychologists, social workers, and yoga therapists.
As a speaker, Bo has presented at Harvard Medical School, the Mind and Life Institute’s bi-annual conference, the Fascia Research Congress, the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, and numerous conferences internationally. She has also presented at yoga studios, conferences, and organizations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She has also been a featured faculty member at Kripalu Center and Omega Institute, and taught for Yoga Journal conferences for ten years.
Bo is engaged in ongoing multi-disciplinary collaborations at the intersection of embodiment, emotional health, contemplative practice, and social justice. Her integrative approach is sought after by elite sports teams such as the Boston Red Sox, AC Milan, and Fulham FC, organizations and nonprofits like the U.S. military and the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, and learning centers worldwide.
Bo has written for numerous leading magazines, including Yoga Journal and the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. She is the author of Yoga for Emotional Balance (Shambhala Publications, 2011) and a forthcoming book about embodiment (2021).She has written for numerous leading magazines, including Yoga Journal and the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. She is the author of Yoga for Emotional Balance and a forthcoming book on embodiment (Tarcher/Penguin, 2024).
