The Body In The Mind

"There are books—few and far between—which carefully, delightfully, and genuinely turn your head inside out. This is one of them. It ranges over some central issues in Western philosophy and begins the long overdue job of giving us a radically new account of meaning, rationality, and objectivity."—Yaakov Garb, San Francisco Chronicle

Since the 1990s many different scientific disciplines have intensified their interest in the so called 'mind-body-problem': psychoanalysis, philosophy, academic psychology, cognitive science and modern neuroscience. The conceptualization of how the mind works has changed completely, and this has profound implications for clinical psychoanalytical practice as well as for theorizing in contemporary psychoanalysis. The question of how unconscious fantasies and conflicts, as well as traumatic experiences, can be understood and worked through is, and has been, one of the central topics of psychoanalysis. Interdisciplinary studies from the fields of embodied cognitive science, epigenetics, and cognitive neuroscience offer challenging explanations of the functions in the analysts mind which might allow him to create spontaneous associations through which he unconsciously 'understands' the traumatic, embodied experiences of the patient.

Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.

How the Body Shapes the Mind is an interdisciplinary work that addresses philosophical questions by appealing to evidence found in experimental psychology, neuroscience, studies of pathologies, and developmental psychology. There is a growing consensus across these disciplines that the contribution of embodiment to cognition is inescapable. Because this insight has been developed across a variety of disciplines, however, there is still a need to develop a common vocabulary that is capable of integrating discussions of brain mechanisms in neuroscience, behavioural expressions in psychology, design concerns in artificial intelligence and robotics, and debates about embodied experience in the phenomenology and philosophy of mind. Shaun Gallagher's book aims to contribute to the formulation of that common vocabulary and to develop a conceptual framework that will avoid both the overly reductionistic approaches that explain everything in terms of bottom-up neuronal mechanisms, and inflationistic approaches that explain everything in terms of Cartesian, top-down cognitive states. Gallagher pursues two basic sets of questions. The first set consists of questions about the phenomenal aspects of the structure of experience, and specifically the relatively regular and constant features that we find in the content of our experience. If throughout conscious experience there is a constant reference to one's own body, even if this is a recessive or marginal awareness, then that reference constitutes a structural feature of the phenomenal field of consciousness, part of a framework that is likely to determine or influence all other aspects of experience. The second set of questions concerns aspects of the structure of experience that are more hidden, those that may be more difficult to get at because they happen before we know it. They do not normally enter into the content of experience in an explicit way, and are often inaccessible to reflective consciousness. To what extent, and in what ways, are consciousness and cognitive processes, which include experiences related to perception, memory, imagination, belief, judgement, and so forth, shaped or structured by the fact that they are embodied in this way?

“An accessible, concise, systematic, and comprehensive primer on wellness and healing.”—Dr. Gabor Maté, MD, author of When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress Do you regularly experience chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, gut issues, or other symptoms of chronic stress? The Mind-Body Cure will teach you how to manage your stress hormones and eliminate chronic stress in 7 simple steps. In The Mind-Body Cure, Bal Pawa, MD shares her own story of chronic pain following a tragic car accident. Only when she recognized how stress hormones were disrupting every system in her body, from digestion to immunity to sleep, was she able to reclaim her health. Having healed herself—and many patients since—Dr. Pawa now shares the secrets to long-lasting health and wellness in The Mind-Body Cure. Most people today are familiar with chronic stress—whether it’s family or work pressures, the anxiety we experience each day never seems to end. It may even feel like we’re always in fight-or-flight mode. As Dr. Pawa explains, the continuous and excessive release of stress hormones in our bodies are behind 75 percent of visits to a doctor's office. What if we could manage our stress and its harmful side effects with easy and affordable tools? The Mind-Body Cure teaches you to do just that. Dr. Pawa’s original REFRAME Toolkit offers 7 simple ways to reduce chronic stress, including making specific changes to your diet, sleep, exercise habits, and more tools including meditation and mindfulness techniques. Interweaving evidence-based science with practical advice to calm your mind, The Mind-Body Cure helps you move from primitive fight-or-flight mode to send healing hormones into your body instead. Praise for The Mind-Body Cure “What a wonderful combination of medical smarts with heartfelt practical wisdom! Comprehensive, full of examples, and always so useful, The Mind-Body Cure is an excellent book.” —Rick Hanson, Ph.D., New York Times-bestselling author of Budda's Brain, NeuroDharma, Just One Thing “Dr. Pawa moves mind-body medicine from the margins to the mainstream. Written with compassion, dedication, and rigorous science, this book is the definitive guide to holistic health—both for those who know the mind’s power to help heal the body and for those who have yet to discover it.” —Shimi Kang, MD, psychiatrist, and bestselling author of The Dolphin Parent and The Tech Solution “Dr. Bal Pawa is a compassionate physician who successfully integrates recommendations for the mind and body. She helps us realize that our thoughts can be our reality, especially when it comes to our health. And she explains how hormones affect our sleep, immune system, and emotions and how we can support them for optimal health.” —Lorna R. Vanderhaeghe, author of A Smart Woman’s Guide to Hormones

This book offers a radical externalist or environmentalist model of cognitive processes.

"How the Body Knows Its Mind takes you inside the amazing science of how the body affects the mind, and shows how to use that wisdom to live smarter and maximize what your body teaches your mind"--

Until recently, the effortless "Zone" of peak performance was only within the reach of serious athletes. Now, with Body, Mind, and Sport, anyone can reach the Zone, regardless of fitness level. Designed to accommodate a variety of individual fitness needs, the Body, Mind, and Sport program is split into two levels. Level 1 is for non-athletes who want to improve overall fitness; Level 2 is for those who want to train for competitive or recreational purposes. Your own unique mind-body type is taken into account to guide you in achieving your personal best without stress or strain. In this revised and updated edition of Body, Mind, and Sport, fitness expert and trainer John Douillard outlines a program in which your individual seasonal constitution-Winter, Spring, or Summer-determines what exercises or sports are best suited to your mind-body type and what foods you should eat for optimum results. Using the Body, Mind, and Sport approach you can decrease heart and breath rates while improving both fitness and performance. Dozens of world-class athletes, including Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, have used John Douillard's expert breathing techniques, dietary recommendations, and seasonally balanced workouts. Now you can, too!