Accumulations of life stresses—physical injuries, emotional and psychological stresses, birth traumas, and toxicity—can become imprinted in the tissues, acting like a videotape that is replayed whenever stimulated. Biodynamic craniosacral therapy aims to resolve the trapped forces that underlie and drive these trauma-based patterns of disease and suffering in body and mind. Wisdom in the Body teaches practitioners to develop the finely tuned skills of hands-on palpation and perception to sense the body’s subtle rhythms and patterns of inertia or congestion, with the goal of ending trauma and facilitating the expression of the breath of life. A comprehensive introduction to this practice, the book draws on the insights of pioneers like Drs. W. G. Sutherland and Franklyn Sills to explain the key principles about the body’s natural intention to heal and how this capability can be encouraged. A valuable resource for students, practitioners, and the lay reader, the book also includes a foreword by Dr. Franklyn Sills.

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.

An informative guide to the principles, theories, and practices of Eastern and Western body therapies explains how to get the most out of some seventy-five different treatment approaches--from massage and yoga to Rolfing and reflexology. Original.

This comprehensive guide introduces Body-Mind Centering, the internationally recognized field pioneered by dancer and occupational therapist Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Devoting thirty-five years to a systematic investigation of the relations between bodily experience and the anatomical maps of science, Bainbridge Cohen independently discovered many of the principles that underlie Feldenkrais work, cranial osteopathy, Rolfing, dance therapy, and Zero Balancing. Experienced BMC practitioner Linda Hartley demonstrates the basic philosophy and key elements of Body-Mind Centering. Drawing on animal and infant movements, she takes readers through the wondrous realms of Bainbridge Cohen’s pantheon—from the 'minds' of the skeletal and muscular systems to the quite different inner lives of digestive, lymphatic, urinary, respiratory, vocal, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive organs. Her choreography ultimately brings us into the states of consciousness of skins, cells, blood, fat, cerebrospinal fluid, nervous system, and brain. Hartley’s explorations of the images, feelings, sensations, and intuitions of the diverse organs and cells lead to exercises that gently guide students in ways of discovering and integrating their bodies’ multidimensional aspects.

Sharon Giammatteo teaches readers a self-healing method that can return life to areas deadened by shock or trauma. The technique is based on the Neurofascial Process, a calculated laying on of hands and subsequent release of emotional and physical pain. The author widens her scope to include any pain, strain, or fracture, and extensive illustrations make the process simple and rewarding.

A chakra in our breasts that emits spiritual nourishment into life… a secret substance in our bodies to heal the earth… a direct connection from our wombs to the creative center of the universe… In Body of Wisdom, Hilary Hart identifies nine hidden powers alive in women’s bodies and instincts, waiting to be used in contemporary challenges such as the creation of community, healing of the earth, and the restoration of life’s spiritual nature. Based on interviews with the world’s most visionary spiritual teachers and women's dreams and experiences, Body of Wisdom ushers in a new spirituality in which the body and the shared body of the earth are known as a seat of mystical power and women take responsibility for spiritual work that only they can do. ,

Many teachers stress the importance of living in the present moment. Few give the actual practices to make it attainable. This book teaches you how to return to the incredible navigational system of the body and more fully inhabit each moment. For over twenty-five years, Suzanne Scurlock-Durana has masterfully taught her step-by-step practice of present moment awareness through her own combination of bodywork and CranioSacral therapy. The practices of Full Body Presence help you find a deeper awareness in the moment, even in the midst of chaos, family and work demands, or the pressure to perform. This deeper awareness also brings a fuller sense of trust and confidence in yourself and in the world. Full Body Presence is filled with concrete, life-friendly explorations and instruction clearly presented in both the book and the free accompanying downloadable audio files.

The distorted view of the perfect female body created by popular culture, television, movies, and the media often causes women to become uncomfortable with their own bodies. Christine Valters Paintner, popular author of nine books and abbess of the online retreat center Abbey of the Arts, draws from Celtic, desert, and Benedictine traditions to help women connect with their bodies through writing, visual art, and movement. In The Wisdom of the Body, Christine Valters Paintner focuses on the true meaning of the Incarnation--God became flesh--and points to the spiritual importance of appreciating the bodies God gave us. Each of the book's ten chapters is a mini-workshop designed to lead us to new ways of being in relationship with our bodies. Starting with the senses and shifting toward emotions and desires, Paintner explores their role as thresholds to discovering the body's wisdom. She draws from Christian tradition to offer principles and practices such as stability, hospitality, and gratitude to lead us on a journey that ends with a sense of deep peace and self-acceptance. Through expressive arts and creative movement, Paintner demonstrates a new a language and way of integrating and sharing our discoveries. By exploring the lives of women in the Bible and in the Christian tradition--including Eve, Mary, Hildegaard of Bingen, and Amma Syncletica--Paintner introduces us to companions that accompany us on our journey.

Listen to Your Body shows how you can promote health and natural well-being by modifying everyday actions to improve the flow of qi (the universal principle of energy). Breathing, eating, drinking, resting, washing, and many other small but vital actions--if carried out in the right way--can result in profound changes in body function. To give readers an understanding of the body's own natural medicine, the authors provide a clear explanation of the foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with reference to qi and its flow through the body's meridians, the balance of yin and yang, and the body's energy centers. Readers will learn how to "tune in" to the signals the body transmits to warn of impending health problems; numerous case histories illustrate how this highly developed information system of the body works. Later chapters address the art of relaxation, bringing together the TCM approach to health with recent scientific studies. Finally the authors describe in detail how to apply the natural medicine of the body to daily life. They discuss illness prevention and provide specific guidance for the management of a range of health disorders. Exercises and simple routines are given, together with the basis for their therapeutic effect.