Embodied Lives

Examining a wide range of archaeological data, and using it to explore issues such as the sexual body, mind/body dualism, body modification, and magical practices, Lynn Meskell and Rosemary Joyce offer a new approach to the Ancient Egyptian and Mayan understanding of embodiment. Drawing on insights from feminist theory, art history, phenomenology, anthropology and psychoanalysis, the book takes bodily materiality as a crucial starting point to the understanding and formation of self in any society, and sheds new light on Ancient Egyptian and Maya cultures. The book shows how a comparative project can open up new lines of inquiry by raising questions about accepted assumptions as the authors draw attention to the long-term histories and specificities of embodiment, and make the case for the importance of ancient materials for contemporary theorization of the body. For students new to the subject, and scholars already familiar with it, this will offer fresh and exciting insights into these ancient cultures.

30 movement performers, therapists, artists, teachers and colleagues from around the world describe the impact of Prapto's Amerta Movement on their lives and work.

Since the mid-80s, Prapto's moving/dancing has delighted and inspired thousands of people in the West (as well as many more in his native Java) who have witnessed, worked with or been otherwise influenced by his Amerta Movement practice. But what is this non-stylised Amerta Movement practice? And what is it about Prapto's work that so touches the lives of therapists, artists, musicians, dancers, teachers, performers, monastics and laypeople from all walks of life? To answer these questions, this new book collects the experiences of 30 movement practitioners from Indonesia, Europe, North and South America and Australasia. All of them have trained and studied extensively with him and most are recognised by Prapto as movement teachers. Some themes and areas covered: Moving with babies Amerta Movement and Buddhism Using movement to work with autistic children Movement as a way to loosen the habit of critique and criticism Movement and film...and the law...and archaeology...and music Movement mantra Somatic costumes and movement performance Different chapters look at contemplative, vocational, daily life, therapeutic, dance and performative applications of Amerta Movement. Readership: As well as all those familiar with Prapto's work, the book will also be an inspiration and resource for: dance, movement and performance artists, teachers and trainers therapists of all sorts, especially those working with somatics, embodiment, dance and movement anyone wanting to learn more about the nature and application of Prapto's movement practice anyone interested in the value of an embodied approach to life and work - current thinking about the brain and body point to the crucial importance of nonverbal, embodied perception and communication, and Amerta Movement offers an important path toward growth in this area.

We rarely give thought to our bodies until faced with a physical challenge or crisis. We have somehow internalized the unbiblical idea that the immaterial aspect of our being (our soul or spirit) is inherently good while the material aspect (our body) is at worst inherently evil and at best neutral--just a vehicle for our souls to get around. So we end up neglecting or disparaging our bodies, seeing them as holding us back from spiritual growth and longing for the day we will be free of them. But the thing is, we don't have bodies; we are our bodies. And God created us that way for a reason. With Scripture as his guide, theologian Gregg Allison presents a holistic theology of the human body from conception through eternity to equip us to address pressing contemporary issues related to our bodies, including how we express our sexuality, whether gender is inherent or constructed, the meaning of suffering, body image, end of life questions, and how to live as whole people in a fractured world.

In The Wisdom of Your Body, clinical psychologist and award-winning researcher Hillary McBride explored the ways many of us inherit a broken understanding of the body and offered a more compassionate, healthy, and holistic perspective on embodied life. In this follow-up book, McBride takes the principles of The Wisdom of Your Body and puts them into action in practical, tangible ways. Practices for Embodied Living offers an experiential guide--centered on prompts, activities, and opportunities for reflection--to support readers who want to practice embodiment. This approachable, visually stimulating book helps individuals and groups resist cultural myths about ideal bodies, get in touch with the goodness of their bodies, and more fully inhabit themselves. Topics include disembodiment, stress and trauma, sexuality, body image, pain and illness, oppression, and more. Each topic includes various exercises to help readers restore the mind-body connection.

Many of us have a complicated relationship with our body. Maybe you've been made to feel ashamed of your body or like it isn't good enough. Maybe your body is riddled with stress, pain, or the effects of trauma. Maybe you think of your body as an accessory to what you believe you really are--your mind. Maybe your experiences with racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, ageism, or sizeism have made you believe your body isn't the right kind of body. Whatever the reason, many of us don't feel at home in our bodies. But being disconnected from ourselves as bodies means being disconnected from truly living and from the interconnection that weaves us all together. Psychologist and award-winning researcher Hillary McBride explores the broken and unhealthy ideas we have inherited about our body. Embodiment is the way we are in the world, and our embodiment is heavily influenced by who we have been allowed to be. McBride shows that many of us feel disembodied due to colonization, racism, sexism, and patriarchy--destructive systems that rank certain bodies as less valuable, beautiful, or human than others. Embracing our embodiment can liberate us from these systems. As we come to understand the world around us and the stories we've been told, we see that our perspective of reality often limits how we see and experience ourselves, each other, and what we believe is Sacred. Instead of the body being a problem to overcome, our bodies can be the very place where we feel most alive, the seat of our spirituality and our wisdom. The Wisdom of Your Body offers a compassionate, healthy, and holistic perspective on embodied living. Weaving together illuminating research, stories from her work as a therapist, and deeply personal narratives of healing from a life-threatening eating disorder, a near-fatal car accident, and chronic pain, McBride invites us to reclaim the wisdom of the body and to experience the wholeness that has been there all along. End-of-chapter questions and practices are included.

Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to the transgender conversation. Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation. With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores: What it means to be transgender, nonbinary, and gender-queer, and how these identities relate to being male or female Why most stereotypes about what it means to be a man and woman come from the culture and not the Bible What the Bible says about humans created in God’s image as male and female, and how this relates to transgender experiences Moral questions surrounding medical interventions such as sex reassignment surgery Which pronouns to use and how to navigate the bathroom debate Why more and more teens are questioning their gender

The Lived Body takes a fresh look at the notion of human embodiment and provides an ideal textbook for undergraduates on the growing number of courses on the sociology of the body. The authors propose a new approach - an 'Embodied Sociology' - one which makes embodiment central rather than peripheral. They critically examine the dualist legacies of the past, assessing the ideas of a range of key thinkers, from Marx to Freud, Foucault to Giddens, Deleuze to Guattari and Irigary to Grosz, in terms of the bodily themes and issues they address. They also explore new areas of research, including the 'fate' of embodiment in late modernity, sex, gender, medical technology and the body, the sociology of emotions, pain, sleep and artistic representations of the body. The Lived Body will provide students and researchers in medical sociology, health sciences, cultural studies and philosophy with clear, accessible coverage of the major theories and debates in the sociology of the body and a challenging new way of thinking.