Book Review: The Body of Money: A Self Help Guide to Creating Sustainable Wealth Through Innate Wisdom

When you think about financial wisdom, what comes to mind? 

My guess is that you don’t think financial wisdom is connected to your body.

Let this blog post be an invitation to expand your view of financial wisdom to include your body. 

Why is this so important for you as an individual and even more so as a human connected with other humans?

The simple answer is that we live in our bodies. 

There is a much larger and more complex answer that emerges from the field of somatic psychotherapy and it’s many branches of inquiry. We will set that aside for this article.

Gayle Colman is a pioneer in adapting the knowledge of bodywork to the process of financial planning. She has a large view of what it takes to create sustainable wealth. As a guest of The Healthy Love and Money Podcast  she discussed the origin of her book The Body of Money: A Self-Help Guide to Creating Sustainable Wealth Through Innate Wisdom as well as the many great insights and activities available to all of us to develop a more fulfilling and meaningful relationship with money. 

“Finance needs our body along with our brain” - Gayle Colman

3 Reasons To Love The Body of Money Book and Put It Into Practice

1. Gayle’s Writing Style Is Sincere and Genuine

As I read Gayle’s book, I found myself at times letting out a big “Hell Yes” and at other times a sigh of relief. It was like having a wise and compassionate guide right there with me as I read her words. I could feel the fullness of Gayle’s journey and conviction in her writing. She did not hide her wandering thoughts and ruminations throughout her book but never lost sight of where she was going with her primary message.  

2. Connecting Head, Heart, Belly

The increasing awareness of our bodies is an incredible resource for our financial life. Not just one part of us. As she writes, she weaves the body together so that I came away with a far greater appreciation for all the information my body conveys to me that I often miss. 

Gayle writes with compassion and invitations to explore what is happening in our bodies as we consider the many different facets of our financial life. Taking the time to pause symbolically in her writing to help the reader notice what is happening in their body. 

3. Science and Poetry

Tying together science and poetry is no small task, and yet Gayle does it seamlessly. She draws on scientific findings from giants like Stephen Porges, developer of Poly-Vagal Theory. As well as Poet John Roedel, who graciously gave her permission to share one of his poems from his book Remedy that begins

Pause. Breathe. Open.

My brain and 

Heart divorced

A decade ago

Over who was 

To Blame about

How big a mess 

I have become

Eventually,... 

Grab a copy of the book to check out the rest of the poem. 

Embracing Eachothers Body As A Couple

We are each responsible for doing our own learning, healing, and growing so that we can make the most out of our intimate relationships and money. While Gayle’s book is not specifically written for couples, it has wide-ranging implications for couples. 

As I work with couples and their money, I will often ask what is happening in their partner’s body. They will look back at me with a perplexed look on their face. I respond and invite them to take a guess, it’s okay to be wrong and curious. As the partner starts to identify the body states of their partner accurately, I watch relief and relaxation happen for both partners. This is seeing our partner deeply and leaving them feeling seen. 

Learning to connect with our bodies for those of us that are heavy in the headspace and like to think our way through problems this will be a skill to be developed over time. 

If we are more prone to lead with our hearts and emotions, we can get swept away by them at times, then learning to be connected to our bodies can be a great source of grounding and support as we navigate money with our partners. 

For some, we lead from our gut and belly, which is a center of intuition, but without connection to head and heart, we can become out of balance and lose control of our lives. Our gut is also where our survival instinct often emerges from when we are threatened. Learning to let your gut know you are safe now can take you out of survival mode.

This is an invitation as an individual and couple to become more curious about how you can use the wisdom of your body to help balance your head, heart, and belly. If you need help developing this balance, Therapy-Informed Financial Planning can be a great place to start and continue on your journey of developing financial well-being. 

Feel free to schedule a 30-Minute free consultation. 

To Your Body Wisdom,
Ed Coambs

MBA, MA, MS, CFP®, CFT-I™, LMFT