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The Interaction of the Mind and the Body · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  The body has its own consciousness, and much of its
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  operation takes place without active mental intervention.
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  However, there is also a serious interaction that takes place so
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  that the mental power can influence, guide, train, direct,
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  and otherwise gain at least some control over certain aspects of
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  the body consciousness. Physical training, whether in
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  sports, military training or playing a musical instrument,
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  typing, singing, dancing, art or sculpture, or development of
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  other motor skills, represents one such area of mental
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  intervention. The mind can implement a course
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  of development for the body such that it learns how to perceive
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  more accurately and respond to circumstances.
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  With certain trained responses, the level of skill that can be
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  developed is actually quite remarkable.
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  When we observe, for instance, the precision, grace and skill
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  of certain Olympic athletes, we can see a remarkable difference
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  compared to the untrained physical body trying to carry
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  out the same set of routines. 1 Interesting point is that the
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  training is not after implementation.
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  Totally reliant on direct mental control after the initial
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  training routine is put in place, we saw in a recent
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  Olympic Games the phenomenon of one of the top world class
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  gymnasts having to pull out of certain competitions because she
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  recognized that her mind was interfering with the automatic
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  trained responses of the body and thereby putting her at
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  severe risk of injury. In the normal course, we do
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  indeed exercise some amount of mental will.
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  For many ordinarily bodily actions, the body does not
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  decide to walk on its own, but requires an impulse from the
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  mind that tells it to get up and start moving.
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  The actual motions of walking are part of the trained
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  response, but the impulse to move right now.
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  Is a conscious impulse of the moment.
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  It must be remembered that the interaction is not exclusive,
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  nor is it a one way St. The body and its condition can
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  impact the mental functioning and the vital can impact both
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  the body and the mind. It is the mutual interaction of
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  all three of these major components that make up the
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  actual state of awareness and action.
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  We see in our bodily existence there are further elements in
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  the interaction, such as the psychic, the spiritual, planes,
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  etcetera, but they are not directly at issue for most
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  people who live primarily in the external life of the mind, life,
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  body complex, Sriorbindo observes, Quote The body obeys
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  the mind automatically and those things in which it is formed or
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  trained to obey it. But the relation of the body to
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  the mind is not in all things that of an automatic perfect
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  instrument. The body also has a
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  consciousness of its own, and though it is a submental
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  instrument or servant consciousness, it can disobey or
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  fail to obey as well in many things, in matters of health and
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  illness, for instance in all automatic functionings.
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  The body acts on its own and is not a servant of the mind.
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  If it is fatigued, it can offer a passive resistance to the
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  mind's will. It can cloud the mind with
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  Thomas inertia, dullness, fumes of the subconscious, so that the
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  mind cannot act. The arm lifts no doubt when it
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  gets the suggestion, but at first the legs do not obey when
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  they are asked to walk. They have to learn how to leave
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  the crawling attitude and movement and take up the erect
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  and ambulatory habit. When you first ask the hand to
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  draw a straight line or to play music, it can't do it and won't
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  do it. It has to be schooled, trained,
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  taught and afterwards it does automatically what is required
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  of it. All this proves that there is a
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  body consciousness which can do things at the mind's order, but
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  has to be awakened, trained, made a good and conscious
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  instrument. It can even be so trained that a
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  mental will or suggestion can cure the illness of the body.
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  End Quote reference Shriorobindo and the Mother Our Many Selves,
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  Practical Yogic Psychology, Chapter 2.
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  Planes and Parts of the Being, pages 21 to 22.