This chapter challenges the dominance of neoliberal thought in South African higher education research by proposing a fundamental shift away from Cartesian mind-body dualism. The authors critique the current research paradigm that privileges mental processes while neglecting the body’s inherent wisdom and perceptual capabilities. Instead, the authors advocate for a bodily phenomenological approach that recognises research subjects as living, experiencing beings whose consciousness is shaped by their embodied existence. This chapter acknowledges how the African body carries and expresses historical, cultural, and social forces through its lived experience that is often neglected when conducting educational research. Thus, the chapter argues that education researchers must recognise the African body’s remarkable capacity for resilience and recovery. By embracing this embodied perspective, researchers can better engage with the unique complexities of the [South] African context, ultimately enriching educational research. This reorientation enables a more authentic understanding of how historical forces/wounds manifest in contemporary educational spaces and how more accurate knowledge production in Africa might be achieved through acknowledging the body’s fullness.