Humanist intellectuals generally take the body for granted because we are so passionately interested in the life of the mind and the creative arts that express our human spirit. But the body is not only an essential dimension of our humanity, it is also the basic instrument of all human performance, our tool of tools, a necessity for all our perception, action, and even thought. Just as skilled builders need expert knowledge of their tools, so we need better somatic knowledge to improve our performance in the arts and human sciences and to advance our mastery in the highest art of all – that of perfecting our humanity and living better lives. We need to think more carefully through the body in order to cultivate ourselves and edify our students, because true humanity is not a mere genetic given but an educational achievement in which body, mind, and culture must be thoroughly integrated. This article demonstrates somaesthetics' resources for pursuing this project while also explaining the resistance to somatic cultivation as part of humanities education. Paradoxically, the body is resisted precisely because it expresses the ambiguous fullness of our humanity and constitutes an indispensable instrumentality for all of our cherished ends.