The failure of the intellect: a pathway to illness.
Have you ever wondered why, despite having access to more information and tools than ever before, so many people still struggle to rest well, eat properly, live with chronic stress, and regulate their nervous system?
And why, in the case of so many women, hormonal imbalances have become almost normalized?
These questions have been living with me for a long time.
In my sessions, I see it again and again: people doing everything right on the outside—following plans, routines, and recommendations—yet feeling disconnected, exhausted, and out of sync with their bodies.
So the real question becomes:
What is it that still keeps us from sleeping well, eating well, and moving our bodies in a way that truly nourishes us?
What I’ve come to understand is that the root issue is not a lack of information: it’s a loss of connection.
A way of living where we prioritize pleasing others, meeting expectations, or sustaining a character—while slowly disconnecting from the wisdom of our own bodies.
And when the body is no longer listened to, imbalance begins.
Lets break it down:
1. I’m at the office, and it’s time for lunch.
My body feels hungry, but I postpone it.
I don’t take that half hour away from work because I’m afraid of what my boss—or my colleagues—might think or say.
2. I don’t organize a family schedule that includes time for my own exercise.
I convince myself that my partner’s needs, my children’s lives, and everyone else’s responsibilities are more important than the small amount of time I could dedicate to myself—to move, to breathe, to oxygenate my body.
3. I don’t allow myself to wake up slowly, in a relaxed way.
From the very beginning of the day, I place the needs of others first.
I jump straight into my phone, emails, and demands—before even listening to my own body.
In Ayurveda, this is known as the failure of the intellect:
When we have a physiological need, and instead of honoring it, the mind takes control and decides for us instead of our bodies. It is one of the many paths toward disease.
This can look like in a simple way through this other examples:
If I’m hungry and instead of eating ➜ I keep working.
When I’m hungry ➜ I drink water,
or
when I’m thirsty ➜ I eat.
These are what in Ayurveda we call failures of the intellect.
They are subtle forms of self-deception—moments when we stop listening to the wisdom of the body.
And this need to please— to make everything perfect, to avoid conflict, to be accepted at work, in family life, in relationships—slowly pulls us away from our body.
Even when no one is watching, we keep performing a character directed by the mind, the one that tells us what to do while silencing the most basic needs of the body.
This is manipulation.
I know it sounds strong—and it is.
Not manipulation of others, but of ourselves.
We spend our lives trying to be loved, accepted, approved of or trying to control an ideal created by the mind…
that has nothing to do with the body.
And this is where conflicts around habits begin.
They may seem “small” or normal—skipping meals, ignoring rest, pushing through exhaustion, jumping out of bed with a racing heart, constipation…
But imagine how many times a day we repeat these moments of disconnection…
And now imagine carrying them for years… How does that awareness land in your body?
This is how imbalance shows up—as chronic habits, eating disorders, hormonal imbalances, nervous system dysregulation, emotional distress, and eventually physical illness.
➜ The reality is that many people come to me and say:
“I want to change my habits.”
“I want to eat better.”
“I want to exercise.”
“I want, I want, I want.”
But before moving forward, we must pause, go back and make these questions to ourselves:
Why do we do what we do?
Where did these habits come from?
Was it a comment I received when I was young? A belief? A learned system?
Because honestly—I don’t care if you eat better or exercise more.
I don’t care how perfect the lifestyle plan looks.
What matters to me is that you stop lying to yourself.
That you start living connected to your body.
That you stop living only from the mind, from inherited or invented theories that don’t actually serve you to the vision you want for yourself.
This is what Western culture teaches us:
To look for the perfect plan, the magic pill, the external solution.
To go from zero to one hundred—without ever understanding the root cause of our behaviors.
My invitation is not for you to keep wanting more.
Not to keep searching for what’s missing.
But to slow down, observe what you are already doing, and gently ask yourself:
At what point did you learn to betray your body in order to belong?
Where did you learn that your body’s needs were negotiable?and last…
Who did you need to become to survive—and what did it cost your body?
