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Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodywork
Possibly the most famous and widely used resource in therapeutic bodywork, this beautifully written, detailed and reader-friendly picture of how and why the body responds to touch is both scientifically reliable and inspiring. Furthering the presentation of recent research in biochemistry, cell biology and energy medicine in the Second Edition, this new and greatly expanded edition includes advances in neurophysiology and physics, reconfiguring knowledge of mind and body, from microgenesis to quantum consciousness. A rare book, required reading for national massage therapy certification, that also serves the general reader.
484 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1987
83 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 20, 2013
As an author of self help books, registered nurse, and advocate for chronic pain issues, I am always looking for information to broaden my own knowledge base, but that’s not the only reason I read books like Job’s Body. I happen to be a chronic pain patient. The greatest pain generator for me is a condition we don’t hear much about, but we should, myofascial pain syndrome. I am reviewing from a professional and patient perspective.
Deane Juhan does a marvelous job explaining exactly what the skin, connective tissue, bone, muscles, nerve and myofascia are, and why we need them. He methodically and meticulously defines why it is important to know exactly what they do, how everything is connected and how neglect can lead to plasticity of the brain.
Many have written on this, but few explain how neglecting the body’s needs create plasticity affecting and rewiring the brains’ perception and response. Seldom, if ever, do physicians get training on connective tissue even though it has the greatest effect on chronic pain conditions.
Deane Juhan holds tight to same mantras I use in my own writing “self-awareness, self-control and active participation of the will to the process of growth and development are major themes to this education.” Keep the fluid moving, it is the oil for the body, and the dump truck for the toxins we accumulate when we live a stagnant life.
If you are a pain management professional, physical therapist, chiropractor, body worker, or a patient with chronic pain, you must read this book. You will have a better understanding of the myofascia, plasticity, and the feedback our brain receives from the body.
Deane Juhan does a marvelous job explaining exactly what the skin, connective tissue, bone, muscles, nerve and myofascia are, and why we need them. He methodically and meticulously defines why it is important to know exactly what they do, how everything is connected and how neglect can lead to plasticity of the brain.
Many have written on this, but few explain how neglecting the body’s needs create plasticity affecting and rewiring the brains’ perception and response. Seldom, if ever, do physicians get training on connective tissue even though it has the greatest effect on chronic pain conditions.
Deane Juhan holds tight to same mantras I use in my own writing “self-awareness, self-control and active participation of the will to the process of growth and development are major themes to this education.” Keep the fluid moving, it is the oil for the body, and the dump truck for the toxins we accumulate when we live a stagnant life.
If you are a pain management professional, physical therapist, chiropractor, body worker, or a patient with chronic pain, you must read this book. You will have a better understanding of the myofascia, plasticity, and the feedback our brain receives from the body.
Read
November 22, 2011Despite its age (first written in the 80s and while updated, there have been many advances in understanding Juhan does not include), this book remains not just vital, but vibrant. Sure there are issues I had with it. For a book that purports to use science to understand the power of touch, there are far too many conclusions that are not backed up. It is often confusing where exactly Juhan derives his information. But as a catalyst, and a poetic one, Job's Body works beautifully in 2011. I've already used one of his description passages on muscles while teaching. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about many of his assertions regarding the power of skin, the way connective tissue transmits information, the only partially understood dance between nervous tissue and muscle tissue, etc. etc. etc. A book I know I will continually refer back to if not for science, then for inspiration.
June 10, 2010
I found this book just as inspiring this time as I did the first time I read it. His explorations of the connective tissue framework are especially intriguing. I also really appreciate the reminders of just how much of our nervous system is located outside of the cranium. I think this is a great book for any bodyworker that really wants to explore the deeper aspects of human physiology.
February 26, 2010
This is an excellent book on human physiology for bodyworkers. Some of the speculative flights of fancy in the final three chapters may not be true and I have some reservations about the prevalence of citations of old science, since science is generally obsolete in 10 years, but generally it is very useful for massage therapists.
July 8, 2008
Juhan gives some amazing perspective on how the body works, especially in terms of the significance of bodywork. It's well researched and very well written, but he goes into detail, so it can get a little thick in places.
March 27, 2007
anyone interested in the wonders of the human body would find this to be a fascinating read.
July 25, 2008
a must for any bodyworker... beautifully, artfully written. it's a book to read over and over again.
Want to read
January 17, 2009This is "homework" for an equine body working course I am taking in July.
March 28, 2009
A wild and profound penetration of human anatomy and physiology written by a brillant writer and bodyworker. Deane Juhan explores the systems of the body most effected by bodywork.
April 25, 2009
i like how he looks at the body and how he discusses the 'intuition' of the healer/bodyworker
September 13, 2016
A great read for ALL massage therapists and/or anyone who works with the human form.
June 24, 2018
Excellent but tedious read with focus on somatic aspects of bodywork. Some of the information is a bit outdated but still has a lot of gems about mind and body.
January 23, 2025
This book took me about 6 months to read, it is dense and FULL of amazing insights and information. The book is an exploration of the the way the body and mind are connected. At times the science side gets very detailed and when I reread it I will continue to learn more.
Conceptually the big takeaway I get from reading this book is the immense interconnectedness of my physical sensations, my beliefs around those sensations, the feeling state created from sensations seen through the lens of my beliefs, the biological responses to feeling states created , and then where intentional interventions can allow individual choice and change in their patterns.
The two powerful tools of taking ownership of one's life lies within awareness of what is, and the will to participate actively in my own development. To be aware is to feel what the body is feeling without trying to change it, we need to develop the ability to recognize and witness the sensations of the body, as this is our closest experience of reality. When we observe this over time we start to recognize patterns of feelings and actions. Then we can incorporate a sense of will, to focus attention on the symptoms and areas of life that I would rather not feel. When we open ourselves up to feeling these parts of us, we also open ourselves us to seeing what's actually going on. Then we can start to intervene in habits, tendencies, beliefs that are the ingredients that bring us to the undesired feeling states.
The role of the bodyworker is twofold - it helps us remember that our body has sensation, building a collection of possible sensations and movements to parts of body that may have felt numb before. It also, if done well, increases our capacity for pleasure. Pleasurable states are best for learning, and for living. If we can remind the body that this state of feeling is possible, then it can encourage and lead the way to the individual to then make choices towards this kind of state more and more.
"until we have felt something more complete, more harmonious, we don't know how to be more complete, more harmonious."
The feeling state must come first, and then we can start to understand and make choices to brining that feeling state more often and easier.
These are conclusions that come after 400 pages of detailed work , explaining skin, connective tissue, bone, the nervous system, muscles, the sense of effort, and sensory engrams.
I wouldn't recommend this book as an introduction to someone who is curious about mind/body connection, but would rather recommend it to someone who is already on the path of exploring these topics : consciousness, mindbody, bodywork, energy work, nervous systems regulations, action potentials, how to change patterns, the power of touch, healing, awareness, self introspection, movement, balance.
Conceptually the big takeaway I get from reading this book is the immense interconnectedness of my physical sensations, my beliefs around those sensations, the feeling state created from sensations seen through the lens of my beliefs, the biological responses to feeling states created , and then where intentional interventions can allow individual choice and change in their patterns.
The two powerful tools of taking ownership of one's life lies within awareness of what is, and the will to participate actively in my own development. To be aware is to feel what the body is feeling without trying to change it, we need to develop the ability to recognize and witness the sensations of the body, as this is our closest experience of reality. When we observe this over time we start to recognize patterns of feelings and actions. Then we can incorporate a sense of will, to focus attention on the symptoms and areas of life that I would rather not feel. When we open ourselves up to feeling these parts of us, we also open ourselves us to seeing what's actually going on. Then we can start to intervene in habits, tendencies, beliefs that are the ingredients that bring us to the undesired feeling states.
The role of the bodyworker is twofold - it helps us remember that our body has sensation, building a collection of possible sensations and movements to parts of body that may have felt numb before. It also, if done well, increases our capacity for pleasure. Pleasurable states are best for learning, and for living. If we can remind the body that this state of feeling is possible, then it can encourage and lead the way to the individual to then make choices towards this kind of state more and more.
"until we have felt something more complete, more harmonious, we don't know how to be more complete, more harmonious."
The feeling state must come first, and then we can start to understand and make choices to brining that feeling state more often and easier.
These are conclusions that come after 400 pages of detailed work , explaining skin, connective tissue, bone, the nervous system, muscles, the sense of effort, and sensory engrams.
I wouldn't recommend this book as an introduction to someone who is curious about mind/body connection, but would rather recommend it to someone who is already on the path of exploring these topics : consciousness, mindbody, bodywork, energy work, nervous systems regulations, action potentials, how to change patterns, the power of touch, healing, awareness, self introspection, movement, balance.
June 1, 2023
This book is amazing. The author finds 10,000 ways to say that the body and mind are on continuous entity. He develops and explains the detailed science around how our bodyminds work, and he somehow infuses this specific science with spirit and wonder. I'm fascinated by how he so elegantly and clearly analyzes and describes such complicated and extensive science. This book does take a long time to read and really gets into the weeds of the human bodymind, but if you take it a few pages at a time, you won't miss any of the miracles described. I have so many dog-ears and highlights in this book that they are useless. The whole book is a wonder. And even in the places where it's outdated, he seemed to anticipate how it would be outdated (eg, the Human Genome Project, ongoing at the time of writing the updated part of the book, at the end).
June 18, 2024
I read the Expanded Edition during my training 2000
August 25, 2018
Job's Body is a classic for a reason. Juhan's clear, yet imaginative prose helps to make sense of some of the most complex and minute chemical reactions of the body. Though pain science has evolved past some of the arguments he makes in this book, Juhan's systemic view of connective tissue's importance in the body was ahead of its time, and remains relevant now. A must for any bodyworker's bookshelf.
February 18, 2015
A good resource for everyone, expressly for masseuses on understanding how the body responds to touch from a scientific point of view.
I found this most illuminating when I looked up why did any massage technique not produce the expected results. Tons of other useful sensory information in this great book.
I found this most illuminating when I looked up why did any massage technique not produce the expected results. Tons of other useful sensory information in this great book.
Read
May 29, 2012An Excellent book that I highly recommend to bodyworkers. I don't even know of any book that compares to this one in content and quality. Is there even another book on the same subject, really? there were a couple small sections that I just couldn't agree with.
Currently reading
February 18, 2010I don't know if I'll ever finish this; I read it sporadically depending on my current biology questions.
September 29, 2012
I admit to picking more current fiction over this. I will get back to it someday.
September 7, 2009
One of my all-time favorite books.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews