Body Sense: The Science and Practice of Embodied Self-Awareness

by Alan Fogel

The science and practice of feeling our movements, sensations, and emotions.

When we are first born, before we can speak or use language to express ourselves, we use our physical sensations, our “body sense,” to guide us toward what makes us feel safe and fulfilled and away from what makes us feel bad. As we develop into adults, it becomes easy to lose touch with these crucial mind-body communication channels, but they are essential to our ability to navigate social interactions and deal with psychological stress, physical injury, and trauma. Combining a ground-up explanation of the anatomical and neurological sources of embodied self-awareness with practical exercises in touch and movement, Body Sense provides therapists and their clients with the tools to attain mind-body equilibrium and cultivate healthy body sense throughout their lives.

Genres: Psychology, Mental Health, Nonfiction

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2013

Reviews

[Clove]

Sacrifices neither complexity nor rigour, and still remains entirely readable. Other books on related topics have left me saying "Yes, sure, ok, but WHY?", and Fogel has answered here for all of them. Dense and deeply satisfying. Will no doubt return to this often.

[Natalie]

Further reading from The Body Keeps the Score

[Alexander Van Leadam]

This is a book I read with eagerness and belief in its message. In this respect, it didn't disappoint. It gave ample explanation to many personal experiences and support to intuitive solutions. However, the reader can have a hard time connecting all the different pieces of evidence, as a large portion of the book seems to be a search for justification. Maybe it's just too many words for an embodied subject.

[Adele]

Really interesting. Some of the science Eg polyvagal theory has been debunked though

[Justin]

not practical enough