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Alignment Matters: A revised edition of The First Five Years of Katy Says
TROUBLESHOOT YOUR HUMAN MACHINE AND RESOLVE THE DEEPER ALIGNMENT ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR HEALTH.
Bowman's Move Your DNA (2014), which explores the difference between exercise and movement, caused a mini-revolution in health and wellness circles. Since mainstream media caught wind, Bowman's furniture-free home, movement-based lifestyle, and scientific explanations of why we need to move have become staples in national health publications and online media around the world. But before Bowman became well known, she wrote down her ideas on movement and alignment in a blog called Katy Says.
Alignment Matters contains the first five years of her posts, organized to function as a primer to alignment and better movement, and also to Bowman’s more complex books. Starting with the feet and working all the way up to the head, her clear, engaging text lays out a “user’s manual” for the human body, including stretches, habit modifications, spiritual insights, and enough belly laughs to soften even the tightest psoas.
Couch potatoes, professional athletes, and everyone in between all have something to learn about movement. WithAlignment Matters, readers will gain a better understanding of the incredible, complex, and always fascinating human body.
Bowman's Move Your DNA (2014), which explores the difference between exercise and movement, caused a mini-revolution in health and wellness circles. Since mainstream media caught wind, Bowman's furniture-free home, movement-based lifestyle, and scientific explanations of why we need to move have become staples in national health publications and online media around the world. But before Bowman became well known, she wrote down her ideas on movement and alignment in a blog called Katy Says.
Alignment Matters contains the first five years of her posts, organized to function as a primer to alignment and better movement, and also to Bowman’s more complex books. Starting with the feet and working all the way up to the head, her clear, engaging text lays out a “user’s manual” for the human body, including stretches, habit modifications, spiritual insights, and enough belly laughs to soften even the tightest psoas.
Couch potatoes, professional athletes, and everyone in between all have something to learn about movement. WithAlignment Matters, readers will gain a better understanding of the incredible, complex, and always fascinating human body.
663 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
112 people are currently reading
791 people want to read
About the author
Katy Bowman
26 books393 followersBestselling author, speaker, and a leader of the Movement movement, biomechanist Katy Bowman, M.S. is changing the way we move and think about our need for movement. Her ten books, including the groundbreaking Move Your DNA, have been translated into more than 16 languages worldwide.
Bowman is the creator and host of the "Move Your DNA" podcast, teaches movement globally, and speaks about sedentarism and movement ecology to academic and scientific audiences such as the Ancestral Health Summit and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Her work has been featured in such diverse media as the Today Show, CBC Radio One, the Seattle Times, NPR, the Joe Rogan Experience, and Good Housekeeping.
One of Maria Shriver’s “Architects of Change” and an America Walks “Woman of the Walking Movement,” Bowman consults on educational and living space design to encourage movement-rich habitats. She has worked with companies like Patagonia, Nike, and Google as well as a wide range of non-profits and other communities to create greater access to her “move more, move more body parts, move more for what you need” message.
Her movement education company, Nutritious Movement, is based in Washington State, where she lives with her family.
Bowman is the creator and host of the "Move Your DNA" podcast, teaches movement globally, and speaks about sedentarism and movement ecology to academic and scientific audiences such as the Ancestral Health Summit and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Her work has been featured in such diverse media as the Today Show, CBC Radio One, the Seattle Times, NPR, the Joe Rogan Experience, and Good Housekeeping.
One of Maria Shriver’s “Architects of Change” and an America Walks “Woman of the Walking Movement,” Bowman consults on educational and living space design to encourage movement-rich habitats. She has worked with companies like Patagonia, Nike, and Google as well as a wide range of non-profits and other communities to create greater access to her “move more, move more body parts, move more for what you need” message.
Her movement education company, Nutritious Movement, is based in Washington State, where she lives with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 3, 2014
After hearing Katy Bowman on a podcast a few months ago, I was eager to learn all about what she has to say. And then here's this book, full of her extremely informative blog posts, edited and reordered by topic. The phrase "mind-blowing" is completely overused these days, but I have to say my mind was blown, on average, every three pages. And at 435 pages, that's a lot of mind-blowing. This is the approach to movement and fitness I've been waiting for. Proper alignment and body mechanics have finally shaken me loose from the "I should be exercising" paradigm and into natural movement for total health and longevity. I'm 37 weeks pregnant with my third child and this is by far the most comfortable I've ever been while this pregnant. It's all thanks to simple fixes like keeping my feet straight (not turned out), no high heels, maintaining the proper curve of my spine, keeping my weight properly stacked over my heels, and incorporating stretches of muscles I, until recently, didn't even know I had (psoas) as well as calves, hamstrings, etc. (I knew I had calf muscles, but I did not know how much properly stretched calves contributed to overall health.) This book, this approach to health, has been a huge game-changer for me and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
January 17, 2019
Putting a bunch of blog posts in book form does not make them a book.
I was astonished when I realized that the "book" in my hands was nothing more than unedited blog posts reordered for "topic." There is little to no research being presented, and the diagrams and images are jokes, and the amount of rambling takes up far too much of the text. For a book that is seeking to be something of a reference in biomechanics, this book fails astonishingly. The information is unfindable and therefore unusable.
Why didn't she hire an editor to go through the blog posts, cut all the rambling and "here's what's happening in my life today" stuff and THEN actually work with the material to make a real and usable volume? She seems to be quite passionate about her topic, but not, it appears, passionate enough to to make a usable book. Her protestation of "I'm really busy today, so here's just the basic idea" can fly on a blog. Sure, a blog post can be surface and drafty and half-assed. But a book?
The editor (that was clearly not hired) should have highlighted each of these "not enough time today, sorry, folks!" moments and then the author should have done the work to provide real and usable information. With actual diagrams. With labels. With the names of muscles and ligaments and tendons and so forth. With demonstrable RESEARCH (for all her endless "I'm a scientist" plugs, the ethos of her book is ridiculous). From there, the information should have been laid out with proper headings and so forth so that it could be searchable and used as a reference. A real index should have been created, a proper table of contents ... you know, the things that make a book and book. Especially a reference book.
While I think she has some interesting ideas, I cannot recommend this book. Maybe go check out her blog instead. It will have a better chance of meeting genre expectations. Plus, it ought to be actually searchable (what an idea).
I am so very weary of books that promise something of value and then turn out to be a collection of drafty blog posts.
I was astonished when I realized that the "book" in my hands was nothing more than unedited blog posts reordered for "topic." There is little to no research being presented, and the diagrams and images are jokes, and the amount of rambling takes up far too much of the text. For a book that is seeking to be something of a reference in biomechanics, this book fails astonishingly. The information is unfindable and therefore unusable.
Why didn't she hire an editor to go through the blog posts, cut all the rambling and "here's what's happening in my life today" stuff and THEN actually work with the material to make a real and usable volume? She seems to be quite passionate about her topic, but not, it appears, passionate enough to to make a usable book. Her protestation of "I'm really busy today, so here's just the basic idea" can fly on a blog. Sure, a blog post can be surface and drafty and half-assed. But a book?
The editor (that was clearly not hired) should have highlighted each of these "not enough time today, sorry, folks!" moments and then the author should have done the work to provide real and usable information. With actual diagrams. With labels. With the names of muscles and ligaments and tendons and so forth. With demonstrable RESEARCH (for all her endless "I'm a scientist" plugs, the ethos of her book is ridiculous). From there, the information should have been laid out with proper headings and so forth so that it could be searchable and used as a reference. A real index should have been created, a proper table of contents ... you know, the things that make a book and book. Especially a reference book.
While I think she has some interesting ideas, I cannot recommend this book. Maybe go check out her blog instead. It will have a better chance of meeting genre expectations. Plus, it ought to be actually searchable (what an idea).
I am so very weary of books that promise something of value and then turn out to be a collection of drafty blog posts.
December 2, 2013
I recently bought Katy's book, "Alignment Matters." It is a collection of her blog posts and it is not only VERY educational, it is also FUN to read. She has a delightful sense of humor and I found myself chuckling and outright laughing while reading.
I had no idea how important body alignment is to our overall health and well-being. Our feet are the foundation of it all. Our footwear has been influenced by fashion and our high-heeled shoes have created pain and misalignment. I found Katy's list of shoe choices and bought two pairs of "negative" healed shoes (Earth Kalso). Walking in them has brought my body into proper alignment and made me realize I have had terrible posture and instead of walking I was "falling forward" and catching myself with a bent knee every time I walked anywhere. No wonder my knees ached and I have had cartilage problems.
I had no idea how important body alignment is to our overall health and well-being. Our feet are the foundation of it all. Our footwear has been influenced by fashion and our high-heeled shoes have created pain and misalignment. I found Katy's list of shoe choices and bought two pairs of "negative" healed shoes (Earth Kalso). Walking in them has brought my body into proper alignment and made me realize I have had terrible posture and instead of walking I was "falling forward" and catching myself with a bent knee every time I walked anywhere. No wonder my knees ached and I have had cartilage problems.
February 2, 2015
I first thought it was a silly idea to print five years of blog posts and call it a book. But this is fantastic. Part of it is that I prefer reading books to reading off a screen, but it's also helpful to have the posts arranged by topic instead of chronologically. The blog genre is where Katy Bowman really shines; her humor and candor and intelligence are at their best here, in a form that is kind of raw but accessible in bite-size chunks. The wide range of topics and insights have made me think differently about my whole life.
December 30, 2015
As the cover says, this book is the first five years of Katy's blog: Katy Says. Originally intended for current and former students of Katie's Restorative Exercise program (now called Nutritious Movement), the blog itself doesn't have any linear structure. Katie writes about a wide array of topics in varying depths. One day you could be reading about the movement and structure of the hips, the next about the proper position to sleep in, the third how many muscles are below your ankles, and then again back to the hips for the fourth. Trying to read the blog straight through would be a mess. So, though the editor's kept the individual blog posts unedited, they tried to organize them first by topic and then in a way that gives the rough feeling of a beginning, middle, and end.
The information she gives is incredibly valuable. I'm a massage therapist and have learned quite a bit about the body. She shifted my entire way of thinking about exercise, movement, and health. And yet everything she teaches made sense to me in a way where I felt like I should have known about it already. It's the logical conclusion when you step back and think about the body in the right light: not just the newest health trend but about thousands of years of human health.
Most of the the problems I have with this book stem from the fact that it was a blog that was never intended to be a book. A lot of the information is repeated over and over again, and some of it not treated with the kind of depth it deserves. Katie is well read and highly educated. She backs up some of her points with different studies. And picks apart other studies that seem to disagree with her. And yet many topics are glazed over. Either her students know stuff that the general audience doesn't, or she just decided she wasn't going to write that long of a blog post that day.
Still, the information at hand wins out. This book is certainly worth reading for what you will learn. She just released a new book called Move Your DNA. I'm hoping it will be the book (sans blog) that I was wanting to read.
The information she gives is incredibly valuable. I'm a massage therapist and have learned quite a bit about the body. She shifted my entire way of thinking about exercise, movement, and health. And yet everything she teaches made sense to me in a way where I felt like I should have known about it already. It's the logical conclusion when you step back and think about the body in the right light: not just the newest health trend but about thousands of years of human health.
Most of the the problems I have with this book stem from the fact that it was a blog that was never intended to be a book. A lot of the information is repeated over and over again, and some of it not treated with the kind of depth it deserves. Katie is well read and highly educated. She backs up some of her points with different studies. And picks apart other studies that seem to disagree with her. And yet many topics are glazed over. Either her students know stuff that the general audience doesn't, or she just decided she wasn't going to write that long of a blog post that day.
Still, the information at hand wins out. This book is certainly worth reading for what you will learn. She just released a new book called Move Your DNA. I'm hoping it will be the book (sans blog) that I was wanting to read.
January 27, 2015
This was an excellent book. I'm sitting on the floor writing this review because you won't see me sitting on chairs and couches very much in the future. I've come to realize through her research that movement is key to good health. I am getting ready to start her next book and I'm taking her 52 week course on biomechanics for everybody. I have incorporated so much of this book into my life, I would definitely call it a life-changing book. If you have muscle pains, postural problems or any sort of pelvic floor disorder, I would definitely read this book.
September 18, 2017
Katy writes in an engaging and entertaining fashion. This is definitely in full force here. That being said, her other books are much denser
June 20, 2018
The content was 5 star, the disjointed blog format was really distracting. Would recommend though - this book utterly changed the way I think about my alignment.
January 1, 2017
4.5 stars
Katy Bowman makes learning about biomechanics interesting - and she's got a great sense of humor, which makes her book that much better.
This is a compilation of blog posts, ordered by topic. The posts were not edited at all for grammar/spelling, and this is my biggest beef with the book. It's understandable in a blog post, but when translating that to a book format, it should have been edited!
Also, there were a few instances when Katy described certain exercises/stretches where I wanted a little more detailed instruction, including a few extra photos.
Overall, though, I learned a lot about my body and was reminded that I need to move much more than I currently am! I would recommend this to pretty much everyone.
Katy Bowman makes learning about biomechanics interesting - and she's got a great sense of humor, which makes her book that much better.
This is a compilation of blog posts, ordered by topic. The posts were not edited at all for grammar/spelling, and this is my biggest beef with the book. It's understandable in a blog post, but when translating that to a book format, it should have been edited!
Also, there were a few instances when Katy described certain exercises/stretches where I wanted a little more detailed instruction, including a few extra photos.
Overall, though, I learned a lot about my body and was reminded that I need to move much more than I currently am! I would recommend this to pretty much everyone.
April 13, 2021
I absolutely LOVE Katy Bowman's work, but this book isn't really worth it. It needs some pretty drastic editing and an index.
For example, it's clustered by general body part/topic, but an entry/blog post will say "in my next post, I'll discuss X." Often, X is a related issue, but in another section. Since it's not in dated order, and there's no index, it's impossible to find the next post.
Only necessary for diehard fans. Otherwise, skip this.
For example, it's clustered by general body part/topic, but an entry/blog post will say "in my next post, I'll discuss X." Often, X is a related issue, but in another section. Since it's not in dated order, and there's no index, it's impossible to find the next post.
Only necessary for diehard fans. Otherwise, skip this.
November 18, 2017
Informative and funny read. I invested in Vibrams a year ago which has caused me to struggle to wear shoes for a full day. My coworkers probably think I’m gross with how much barefooting I do in the office, sorry fellas.
I’ll give it four stars for what it is, although I’m hesitant to call a compilation of blog posts a book.
I’ll give it four stars for what it is, although I’m hesitant to call a compilation of blog posts a book.
February 12, 2018
Katy is full of great info, but this collection of blog posts just isn't holding my attention enough to get through 400+ pages. I only made it to 117 before having to return it. If I had a personal copy, I'd likely keep working my way through, but the library only lets me keep theirs for so long. I may check it out again in the future, but for now, I'm moving on.
December 21, 2020
An absolute must-read. The anatomy and physiology class I never knew I needed. As much as I love reading paper books, this one might be better on a device so you can follow the links. Easily digestible format, good for reading in chunks before bed (although you'll feel the need to adjust your slouchy pillow posture!)
July 15, 2017
Most of the time a blog-turned-book seems like so much media bloat. This blog-gone-book is astonishingly extraordinary in my experience.
Taken in time-warp concert with the rest of Katy's work this is a great read.
Taken in time-warp concert with the rest of Katy's work this is a great read.
July 16, 2017
I love Katy Bowman. This book is fabulous and oh so simple to understand! She gives simple exercises for the reader to do while reading the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about natural movement.
September 27, 2017
Fascinating read - kind of like a practical guide to owning a human body. It is a collection of Katy Bowman's blog posts assembled into sections. She has many other books, which I just discovered. You won't believe the chapter in Alignment Matters about earwax.
April 24, 2019
This is a compilation of Katy's blog posts over the years. Encapsulates her journey of discovery into expert alignment therapist. If you want to know more about structure of your own body, read Katy.
September 21, 2019
It's a book that is a reorganize blog. That makes it a little confusing to jump in without a lot of background knowledge. However it's a good way to learn about a variety of these alignment and movement topics. Moving on to Move your DNA next.
October 27, 2021
Normally I would gripe about a book that is a collection of blog posts, but 1) this is Katy Bowman and 2) the posts are organized by topic -- not chronologically.
Katy Bowman could axe murder someone, and I would look the other way.
Katy Bowman could axe murder someone, and I would look the other way.
February 5, 2021
Sooooooo good. Got me actively changing my life and stance by reading this. Her writing. Just awesome. Her context even better.
June 6, 2021
I didn’t quite read every single word, but it’s a great reference book and I’ve read many of her books in their entirety. Great science that needs more attention!
August 3, 2023
Awesome book about how you walk, stand and move affects your entire body. Katy gives great, easy to implement exercised to improve your health.
Read
November 29, 2020Collection of Katy Says blog posts organized by topic, probably the reason why I thought we could get away with no chairs in our apt. Tldr: stop sitting so much. Walk more. Not like that! Untuck your pelvis, stop wearing heeled shoes, stretch more. Only with more humour, images, and citations.
June 9, 2014
I recommend this book to every single person. Katy Bowman is a biomechanist who has devoted her career to curating scientific research (she reads roughly 1500 journal articles, across multiple disciplines a year!) and educating the masses in an entertaining way. Her main message is: if you spend the majority of your time with your body in proper alignment (and what you think is proper alignment, probably isn’t), and get consistent movement, then you will minimize your risk in contracting a whole host of modern diseases including: foot, knee, back, hip or neck pain, osteoporosis, heart disease, fertility, pelvic floor disorder, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia.
I have bought a few of her videos, and in doing the exercises and paying attention throughout the day to how I stand and sit, I have significantly improved many issues. I will not go into details because it is a bit TMI that I don’t want to share with the entire internet, but suffice it to say that primarily calf and hamstring stretches relieved symptoms that seemingly had nothing to do with the calf and hamstrings. Starting from the feet and lengthening the proper muscles, allows for proper alignment that fixes problems higher up. The stretches she recommends are just slightly different than anything I have been exposed to (and I have a fairly wide breadth of knowledge and experience in regards to various fitness paradigms, etc). Those differences provide amazingly significant results.
This book is a collection of five years of blog posts that have been grouped into related topics. I wasn't sure if it was necessary to buy the book and spent a few weeks reading her blog (www.katysays.com) first. The book is more organized than the blog which makes reading related ideas easier and ensures that you don’t miss some stuff. Also there IS some content in the book that is not available on the current blog.
Get this book, and her other book, read the newer entries on her blog, follow her on Facebook, watch her YouTube channel, listen to her interviews, buy some of her videos. All of it is immensely fascinating, often humorous, and most likely will make your quality of life significantly better now and in the long run.
I have bought a few of her videos, and in doing the exercises and paying attention throughout the day to how I stand and sit, I have significantly improved many issues. I will not go into details because it is a bit TMI that I don’t want to share with the entire internet, but suffice it to say that primarily calf and hamstring stretches relieved symptoms that seemingly had nothing to do with the calf and hamstrings. Starting from the feet and lengthening the proper muscles, allows for proper alignment that fixes problems higher up. The stretches she recommends are just slightly different than anything I have been exposed to (and I have a fairly wide breadth of knowledge and experience in regards to various fitness paradigms, etc). Those differences provide amazingly significant results.
This book is a collection of five years of blog posts that have been grouped into related topics. I wasn't sure if it was necessary to buy the book and spent a few weeks reading her blog (www.katysays.com) first. The book is more organized than the blog which makes reading related ideas easier and ensures that you don’t miss some stuff. Also there IS some content in the book that is not available on the current blog.
Get this book, and her other book, read the newer entries on her blog, follow her on Facebook, watch her YouTube channel, listen to her interviews, buy some of her videos. All of it is immensely fascinating, often humorous, and most likely will make your quality of life significantly better now and in the long run.
June 16, 2015
Fantastic book that will get you thinking about your body and health in a whole new way. Just the act of changing your mindset from *must go to the gym for one hour everyday, dreading that hour the other twenty-three* to incorporating natural movement and stretching throughout the day, which will increase blood flow to and nourish your muscles and tissues, which will speed your metabolism, which will get rid of the extra pounds, which will help you move even more, etc etc etc. (obviously the part about holding in your middle to hide your extra *stuff* being counterproductive to actually doing any good stuck with me!). I'm especially interested in how different movements and stretches help lymph move throughout the body and what effect that has on infectious disease and general well being.
Very much recommended!
Very much recommended!
September 3, 2016
The premise of this book is good, it contains useful information about the importance of body alignment and what contributes to good alignment. However, it is a collection of blog posts that would have benefitted from judicious editing to make it more book-like and therefore easier to read and follow. We don't really need to know about Katy's plane trip, for example.
Hopefully her next book will be better edited to contain information by topic in chapters and not just a dumptruck of her blogs.
Having said this, I have certainly changed my attitude to shoes and sitting on the floor since reading the book, so it definitely is beneficial and an interesting read.
Hopefully her next book will be better edited to contain information by topic in chapters and not just a dumptruck of her blogs.
Having said this, I have certainly changed my attitude to shoes and sitting on the floor since reading the book, so it definitely is beneficial and an interesting read.
April 29, 2015
The organization was a bit off, even though everything was listed under categories. As others have mentioned, would have been easier to follow in the "posts" were re-organized for a book. Some of the "posts" seemed unnecessary to the subject, as well--easy to skip past those, though. But otherwise, so much good information and much easier to find things versus searching through the blog. I loved the stretches and other reminders and definitely plan to implement on the path to whole body and mind health. Who knew body alignment plays such a large role in the functioning of other body systems? Highly recommend for that advice.
December 19, 2018
It was my first book on biomechamics and body movement. I found it brilliant of simplicity and eye opening to me on most wrong beliefs I had on how to hold good posture. The advices are easy to put in practise, with quick result. On top of my list of books which had profound and positive impact on my life. Eager to read her next books.
Despite other comments, I've appreciated how the blog posts were bundled by body part. It tackles the organisation and clarity I missed on most blogs I've read. Easier also to skim some chapter, although keep in mind that body health is a global matter. I also prefer reading on paper rather than on my laptop/mobile screen.
Despite other comments, I've appreciated how the blog posts were bundled by body part. It tackles the organisation and clarity I missed on most blogs I've read. Easier also to skim some chapter, although keep in mind that body health is a global matter. I also prefer reading on paper rather than on my laptop/mobile screen.
June 21, 2014
Really fascinating content, but because it is a collection of blog posts, unfortunately the organization is sort of scattershot, which I found frustrating.
I'll have to check out her other, proper book ("Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief"), because the ideas in "Alignment Matters" are really interesting & compelling, and I've never come across this kind of perspective on wellness before.
I'll have to check out her other, proper book ("Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief"), because the ideas in "Alignment Matters" are really interesting & compelling, and I've never come across this kind of perspective on wellness before.
September 6, 2015
I realize this book is a compilation of earlier blog posts, but tons of great ideas and advice get buried under lots of filler and rambling. Could have used a good edit before publishing. One takeaway: during allergy season booby-trap your nose by adding a layer of lip balm or other tacky substance so particles will get stuck on there and not make their way into your sinuses.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews