Embodied Wisdom

A thorough study of the Feldenkrais Method, a leading form of exercise therapy designed to improve your mental and physical well-being through mindful movement An educational system of neuromuscular re-education known for its gentle approach, the Feldenkrais Method has been shown to dramatically improve individual functioning by increasing self-awareness and facilitating new patterns of thinking, moving, and feeling. Intended for those who need to improve their movement repertoire for professional reasons—dancers, musicians, martial artists, gymnasts, and athletes—a well as those wishing to reduce pain or limitations in movement, Feldenkrais is based on the idea that learning to move better can improve anyone’s overall health on many levels. Using Moshe Feldenkrais’s own words, Embodied Wisdom clearly explains the basic principles underpinning his techniques, Awareness Through Movement (ATM) and Functional Integration (FI). These thoughtful articles and lively, sometimes humorous interviews explore a diverse range of subjects: the importance of bodily expression, the primacy of hearing, the mind-body connection, martial arts, sleep and consciousness, movement and its effect on the mind. Embodied Wisdom gives readers the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the scientific and spiritual principles behind the Method and offers sound strategies for incorporating it into their lives.

Embodied wisdom: Meditations on memoir and education by Alison Pryer, Ph.D. explores the interconnectedness of body, mind and spirit within diverse educational contexts. Evocative, sensual prose carries the reader on a journey through the personal and the remembered in a layered series of autobiographical essays, each one affording deeper insights into the ways in which the inner, emotional life of an educator is intertwined with everyday embodied practice. This is a provocative text, alive with the richness and complexity of pedagogical experience, one that acknowledges the presence of the body, the spirit, the passionate, the subjective, the intuitive, the chaotic, and the sacred in all the relationships that make teaching and learning possible. In speaking beyond the limitations of dualistic pedagogy, in its diverse forms and locations, Embodied wisdom enters at times into unexpected and little explored pedagogical territories, engaging with educational contexts that our dualistic culture often denigrates, dismisses, or considers taboo. This work offers readers subtle understandings of the centrality of love, desire and eros in teaching and learning; carefully examines the connections between powerful family and school pedagogies, including “domestic” violence against women and childhood sexual abuse; opens up a textual space in which to contemplate the contemporary relevance of the ancient wisdom of Zen pedagogy; and gives serious consideration to the role that the public pedagogies of popular culture play in the formation of personal and cultural identity. The work of healing our dualistic educational culture is a significant political and ethical undertaking – a matter of social justice. Embodied wisdom is a book that lights the way for those who want to engage in meaningful cultural transformation. It is, above all, a generative and hopeful text, one that makes possible new kinds of conversations. It will be of interest to curriculum theorists and teacher educators, as well as those engaged in holistic education, social ecology, women’s and gender studies, and cultural studies. This award-winning, ground breaking exploration of memoir as methodology is also an exquisitely written resource for those engaged in innovative arts-based and autobiographical research.

Embodied wisdom tells us that we have a great capacity to change brain function through proper movement. But powerful culture pressures dictate the way we move and underlies some of our personal failures, our aches and pains, and our feelings of apathy when it comes to changing our lives"--Page 3 of cover.

Living in our heads, in a world full of abstract ideas as if we are more like technology, than human, leaves us empty, stressed and unfulfilled. This book invites us to reconnect thinking and sensing to embody what it is like to be fully alive and human. Trust your Senses is a powerful call to listen to an inner body language that is latent. When we awaken to the call, our senses guide us to our well being and new found freedom. "This book is a timely gift, I believe, very relevant to the world we currently inhabit. And even more relevant to the future world I think we face." Bob Dick Professor "Deborah guides us to not only think, but to connect with our senses and our intuition to helps us grow. This book is a must read." Dr Ali Anani, Director, Phenomena "Deb brings new insights into how to tune into our physicality, like learning a new inner language that is there to guide us." Miha Pognacik, Global Leadership Speaker "By having this book in your hand, is like being coached by Deb. Be ready to have all the cells in your body and your life transformed." Vanessa Bradshaw, Speaker and Writer

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.

In our current global networked culture that puts so much emphasis on the virtual and the visual, the mind and the body have become detached and ultimately disconnected. Though physical appearance is idolised for its sexual appeal and its social identity, the role of the body in developing a full understanding of the physical world and the human condition has become neglected. The potential of the human body as a knowing entity – with all our senses as well as our entire bodily functions being structured to produce and maintain silent knowledge together – fails to be recognised. It is only through the unity of mind and body that craftsmanship and artistic work can be fully realised. Even those endeavours that are generally regarded as solely intellectual, such as writing and thinking, depend on this union of mental and manual skills. In The Thinking Hand, Juhani Pallasmaa reveals the miraculous potential of the human hand. He shows how the pencil in the hand of the artist or architect becomes the bridge between the imagining mind and the emerging image. The book surveys the multiple essences of the hand, its biological evolution and its role in the shaping of culture, highlighting how the hand–tool union and eye–hand–mind fusion are essential for dexterity and how ultimately the body and the senses play a crucial role in memory and creative work. Pallasmaa here continues the exploration begun in his classic work The Eyes of the Skin by further investigating the interplay of emotion and imagination, intelligence and making, theory and life, once again redefining the task of art and architecture through well-grounded human truths.

Landmark interdisciplinary study of religious systems through their dance performances

The Chaplain's Heart is a short book that uses stories and inspirational quotes as ministry of presence guide for both lay and ordained chaplains and chaplains in training. Written by Pastor Megan Rohrer, this book also includes diverse prayers for diverse people and recommended resources for additional reading. With an eye towards justice, this book seeks to inspire chaplains to love everyone they encounter at work, in ministry and in their personal lives.