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When Things Stick: Untangling Your Body from Old Patterns
Who This Book Is For
This book is for people who have tried multiple mind-body paths already and still feel frustrated that they can't see the changes they seek. It's not a beginner's book! It assumes you have practice paying attention to subtle signals from your body. It also assumes a baseline of physical capacity--that you can move in and out of a chair without assistance and that you can walk for 30 minutes outside without getting out of breath.
If the exercise in the excerpt below speaks to you, you’ll benefit from this practical guide.
What’s Your Body Saying to You?
The entire organization of the body broadcasts messages internally that you can’t ignore, whether you’re conscious of them or not. Physical sensations feed how you think and feel. You know this already—you’re not a beginner. You do yoga, meditation, tai chi—you know how much returning to your body calms your mind. Or, maybe you’ve heard this is true but just don’t know how to get there.
Once you understand the signals, you’ll discover that your body is as powerful as your brain when it comes to solving problems. When you understand the signals you
● feel more physical comfort
● find more emotional calm
● get more clarity for action
In this book you’ll learn how to make sense of body messages so you can feel whole and empowered and to be connected within yourself so you can connect with others and move forward in your life with clear intention. This approach uses a deep dive into your posture and walking to make that happen.
Self-Control vs. Self-Regulation
When you learn how to find your sensing posture, you learn to distinguish between self-control and self-regulation. Self-control is suppression to stop or prevent the body from doing what it’s doing. It’s a hierarchical approach that “top controls bottom.”
Self-regulation is giving the body what it needs so it can do things better. It’s a relational approach that “bottom informs top, and the conversation goes both ways.” You learn self-regulation by understanding and responding to the body’s needs. And you communicate with your own body through your sensing posture.
Before you read any further, let’s try an example of how this might work in your body…
Stand with your feet 2-3 inches apart. Now, do the move internally and imagine you are doing it so no one can notice it. Position your pelvis as if you are about to take a seat and send your shins forward at the same time. Remember, it’s an internal shift, imperceptible to observers. Take at least 30 seconds to notice what happens. Take longer if you wish.
What changed for you? How did you feel in the whole of your body?
If you feel more grounded and settled, more spacious and open in the chest, or more relaxed in your shoulders, that’s a good sign. If not, try it with your eyes closed. It’s such a minor change to stand this way, yet the change in your whole body experience can be significant.
Now position your head to listen to the sounds around you and keep doing what you did above. Imagine you are waiting in line somewhere. Imagine people around you are impatient and stressed about waiting in line.
How do you feel? What has changed now?
Our perception of our environment and the people in it can disturb our inner sense of calm.
This book is for people who have tried multiple mind-body paths already and still feel frustrated that they can't see the changes they seek. It's not a beginner's book! It assumes you have practice paying attention to subtle signals from your body. It also assumes a baseline of physical capacity--that you can move in and out of a chair without assistance and that you can walk for 30 minutes outside without getting out of breath.
If the exercise in the excerpt below speaks to you, you’ll benefit from this practical guide.
What’s Your Body Saying to You?
The entire organization of the body broadcasts messages internally that you can’t ignore, whether you’re conscious of them or not. Physical sensations feed how you think and feel. You know this already—you’re not a beginner. You do yoga, meditation, tai chi—you know how much returning to your body calms your mind. Or, maybe you’ve heard this is true but just don’t know how to get there.
Once you understand the signals, you’ll discover that your body is as powerful as your brain when it comes to solving problems. When you understand the signals you
● feel more physical comfort
● find more emotional calm
● get more clarity for action
In this book you’ll learn how to make sense of body messages so you can feel whole and empowered and to be connected within yourself so you can connect with others and move forward in your life with clear intention. This approach uses a deep dive into your posture and walking to make that happen.
Self-Control vs. Self-Regulation
When you learn how to find your sensing posture, you learn to distinguish between self-control and self-regulation. Self-control is suppression to stop or prevent the body from doing what it’s doing. It’s a hierarchical approach that “top controls bottom.”
Self-regulation is giving the body what it needs so it can do things better. It’s a relational approach that “bottom informs top, and the conversation goes both ways.” You learn self-regulation by understanding and responding to the body’s needs. And you communicate with your own body through your sensing posture.
Before you read any further, let’s try an example of how this might work in your body…
Stand with your feet 2-3 inches apart. Now, do the move internally and imagine you are doing it so no one can notice it. Position your pelvis as if you are about to take a seat and send your shins forward at the same time. Remember, it’s an internal shift, imperceptible to observers. Take at least 30 seconds to notice what happens. Take longer if you wish.
What changed for you? How did you feel in the whole of your body?
If you feel more grounded and settled, more spacious and open in the chest, or more relaxed in your shoulders, that’s a good sign. If not, try it with your eyes closed. It’s such a minor change to stand this way, yet the change in your whole body experience can be significant.
Now position your head to listen to the sounds around you and keep doing what you did above. Imagine you are waiting in line somewhere. Imagine people around you are impatient and stressed about waiting in line.
How do you feel? What has changed now?
Our perception of our environment and the people in it can disturb our inner sense of calm.
- GenresHealthNonfiction
137 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 9, 2025
frustrating
Calling the hip movement a “Nautilus” doesn’t add to the explanation, it’s a distraction. The idea that my head will find its natural balance if I just listen more to my surroundings doesn’t give me much to work with, especially since she assumes my head is pointing down by default and not up. The author has magnanimous intent, but her book needs to be edited for impact. It’s overly redundant in self-praise of benefits, and scarce in explaining the techniques in more than one way.
Calling the hip movement a “Nautilus” doesn’t add to the explanation, it’s a distraction. The idea that my head will find its natural balance if I just listen more to my surroundings doesn’t give me much to work with, especially since she assumes my head is pointing down by default and not up. The author has magnanimous intent, but her book needs to be edited for impact. It’s overly redundant in self-praise of benefits, and scarce in explaining the techniques in more than one way.
February 23, 2025
I trust that author knows what she is talking about however the instructions were difficult to follow. I have read and watched the videos and I tried doing it. I also asked my friend to help me understand. He couldn’t understand it either.
I don’t know how to do what she wants me to do. When I try the sensing posture I feel it’s hard to keep the balance. If I imagine “dinosaur tail”, I get lower back pain. I have scoliosis, autism and hyper mobility - none of which are mentioned in the chapter that talks about who is this book is NOT for. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong, it takes time for the body to adjust or is it unsuitable for me.
Bottom line instructions were really hard to follow, the entire time I didn’t know what I was doing. In contrast, I had a much better experience with other books about somatic experiencing / vagus nerve exercises.
I don’t know how to do what she wants me to do. When I try the sensing posture I feel it’s hard to keep the balance. If I imagine “dinosaur tail”, I get lower back pain. I have scoliosis, autism and hyper mobility - none of which are mentioned in the chapter that talks about who is this book is NOT for. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong, it takes time for the body to adjust or is it unsuitable for me.
Bottom line instructions were really hard to follow, the entire time I didn’t know what I was doing. In contrast, I had a much better experience with other books about somatic experiencing / vagus nerve exercises.
May 31, 2024
Not my normal read, as these concepts are very new to me as well as very thought provoking... and I'll be working with them for awhile.
The book is about how we hold our body, along with movement nuances that revel our 'stuck' places. I've done the exercises and found them fascinating and can see the possibilities of making small adjustments- often just awareness- to help give release and resolution to embedded trauma etc.
Also, for optimal health and pain free movement- which I have none but as an avid walker, I would like to keep it that way. :).
The book is about how we hold our body, along with movement nuances that revel our 'stuck' places. I've done the exercises and found them fascinating and can see the possibilities of making small adjustments- often just awareness- to help give release and resolution to embedded trauma etc.
Also, for optimal health and pain free movement- which I have none but as an avid walker, I would like to keep it that way. :).
September 5, 2025
Useless to me as I detest trying to use stupid QR codes to get to the videos and there are no other ways/links to do so. So I put it aside after a few pages. I'll try to find other info online as Im sure her methods are worth researching just not via this book for me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews