--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot explain, with the limitations…" description: "\"“You cannot explain, with the limitations of language and inexperience, why your body can cause such a sudden, fumbling response in someone else, nor c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/marya-hornbacher-2109_body_you-cannot-explain-with-the-limitations_2588570.png" --- # You cannot explain, with the limitations of language and… ![“You cannot explain, with the limitations of language and inexperience, why your body can cause such a sudden, fumbling response in someone else, nor can you put into exact words what you feel about your body, explain the thrum it feels in proximity to another warm-skinned form. What you feel is a…” quote by Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/marya-hornbacher-2109_body_you-cannot-explain-with-the-limitations_2588570.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/marya-hornbacher-2109_body_you-cannot-explain-with-the-limitations_2588570.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/marya-hornbacher-2109_body_you-cannot-explain-with-the-limitations_2588570.png) > ““You cannot explain, with the limitations of language and inexperience, why your body can cause such a sudden, fumbling response in someone else, nor can you put into exact words what you feel about your body, explain the thrum it feels in proximity to another warm-skinned form. What you feel is a tangle of contradictions: power, pleasure, fear, shame, exultation, some strange wish to make noise. You cannot say how those things knit themselves together somewhere in the lower abdomen and pulse.”” [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the complex, contradictory physical and emotional reactions we experience in intimate proximity to another, which are hard to articulate with language. **In simple terms:** Body reactions in intimacy are messy and hard to describe. Key Takeaway Accept the messiness and explore feelings without needing perfect words. Themes intimacy emotion body language contradiction Mood conflicted reflective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - romantic relationships - therapy sessions - self‑exploration - artistic expression Key Concepts psychology embodiment sexuality Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate feelings that feel impossible to name? - What role does language play in understanding intimacy? A Different Perspective Language may never fully capture the depth of embodied experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-explain-1840250/) [Feel Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-body/) [Feel Tangle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-tangle-1840249/) [Marya-hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marya-hornbacher-118443/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Thrum Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrum-feels-1840248/) [Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch/) [Wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasted/) [Words Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-feel/) ## Related quotes > [I have a remarkable ability to delete all better judgement from my brain when I get my head set on something. I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-have-a-remarkable-ability-to-delete-all-better-judgement-from-my/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“If you really love someone, you don’t have to tell. Cause your shivery hands, pale face and sweating body explain everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-really-love-someone-you-don-t-have-to-tell-cause-your-shivery/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [I really feel that my body craves to be in the mountains or by the ocean or in the countryside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/i-really-feel-that-my-body-craves-to-be-in-the-mountains-or-by-the/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [“I couldn’t resist the chance to move closer to her than I could ever get as coworkers or friends; to feel her body pressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-colburn/i-couldn-t-resist-the-chance-to-move-closer-to-her-than-i-could-ever/) [Kat Colburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-colburn/) > [I rarely draw what I see. I draw what I feel in my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hepworth/i-rarely-draw-what-i-see-i-draw-what-i-feel-in-my-body/) [Barbara Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hepworth/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [You can feel it in your body sometimes, after 15-hour workdays, that you need to unravel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-d-arcy/you-can-feel-it-in-your-body-sometimes-after-15-hour-workdays-that/) [Emma D'Arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-d-arcy/) > [If you feel you are the body type, then running can be very beautiful for you: a four, five mile run every day. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/if-you-feel-you-are-the-body-type-then-running-can-be-very-beautiful/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“I could feel his whole body trying to claim me, want me, own me in lust, and it made me feel so valuable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-thrust/i-could-feel-his-whole-body-trying-to-claim-me-want-me-own-me-in-lust/) [Fiona Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-thrust/) > [I don't feel body confident at all! Anything but, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-nurding/i-don-t-feel-body-confident-at-all-anything-but-actually/) [Louise Nurding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-nurding/) > [I feel better when I'm fit, but I don't like to work out. I used to say, "I'm young; I don't need to." But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-bynes/i-feel-better-when-i-m-fit-but-i-don-t-like-to-work-out-i-used-to-say/) [Amanda Bynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-bynes/) > [“I feel your body, your sick and scared body. And I feel how it must be different from how it was, and how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-montross/i-feel-your-body-your-sick-and-scared-body-and-i-feel-how-it-must-be/) [Christine Montross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-montross/) > [I used to be able to eat and drink whatever I wanted. But now, when I'm in a suit and tie all the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-schock/i-used-to-be-able-to-eat-and-drink-whatever-i-wanted-but-now-when-i-m/) [Aaron Schock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-schock/) > [I mopped the floor with my hairThe reason I’m so interested in taking my body to those extreme places is that that’s a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-antoni/i-mopped-the-floor-with-my-hairthe-reason-i-m-so-interested-in-taking/) [Janine Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-antoni/) > [You cannot just scream and yell unless you feel it in your whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-gupta/you-cannot-just-scream-and-yell-unless-you-feel-it-in-your-whole-body/) [Esha Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-gupta/) ## More by Marya Hornbacher > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [Because I'm not, in fact, depressed, Prozac makes me manic and numb - one of the reasons I slice my arm in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/because-i-m-not-in-fact-depressed-prozac-makes-me-manic-and-numb-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“perhaps our purpose is, for the time being, to be human, to live on this earth and in this human community, to receive something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/perhaps-our-purpose-is-for-the-time-being-to-be-human-to-live-on-this/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [I have never been normal about my body. It has always seemed to me a strange and foreign entity. I don't know that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-have-never-been-normal-about-my-body-it-has-always-seemed-to-me-a/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [The joy is an absurd yellow tulip, popping up in my life, contradicting all the evidence that shows it should not be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/the-joy-is-an-absurd-yellow-tulip-popping-up-in-my-life-contradicting/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“At a certain point, an eating disorder ceases to be "about" any one thing. It stops being about your family, or your culture. Very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/at-a-certain-point-an-eating-disorder-ceases-to-be-about-any-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [You can't teach an ear, you can't teach talent, but you can teach people who have those things not to just fly by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/you-can-t-teach-an-ear-you-can-t-teach-talent-but-you-can-teach/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [It's really interesting to me how all of us can experience the exact same event, and yet come away with wildly disparate interpretations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/it-s-really-interesting-to-me-how-all-of-us-can-experience-the-exact/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Being here, living now, recognizing our smallness, is a spiritual practice. It allows us to be at peace with our humanity. It humbles us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/being-here-living-now-recognizing-our-smallness-is-a-spiritual/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [We think of bulimia and anorexia as either a bizarre psychosis, or as a quirky little habit, a phase, or as a thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/we-think-of-bulimia-and-anorexia-as-either-a-bizarre-psychosis-or-as/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [The anoretic operates under the astounding illusion that she can escape the flesh, and, by association, the realm of emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/the-anoretic-operates-under-the-astounding-illusion-that-she-can/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [If I had been a different sort of person, maybe less impressionable, less intense, less fearful, less utterly dependent upon the perceptions of others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/if-i-had-been-a-different-sort-of-person-maybe-less-impressionable/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Every morning I watched the sun rise and read a highly religious little meditation book and tried having a conversation with God. I waited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/every-morning-i-watched-the-sun-rise-and-read-a-highly-religious/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [My bones are brittle, my heart weak and erratic, my esophagus and stomach riddled with ulcers, my reproductive system shot, my immune system useless...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/my-bones-are-brittle-my-heart-weak-and-erratic-my-esophagus-and/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [One really ought to be afraid of self-torture. But it tempted me. It begged. The dark place that my mind was fast becoming blends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/one-really-ought-to-be-afraid-of-self-torture-but-it-tempted-me-it/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) [Explore all 185 Marya Hornbacher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You cannot explain, with the limitations of language and inexperience, why your body can cause such a sudden, fumbling response in someone else, nor can you put into exact words what you feel about your body, explain the thrum it feels in proximity to another warm-skinned form. 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