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Embodiment - Moving beyond mindfulness
WELCOME HOME TO THE BODY
In our frenzied world, it’s easy to lose touch with our bodies. Often rushing, feeling tense and off-balance, brutalised by overwork, lacking community, and hooked on technology; many of us find ourselves disconnected. But something can be done about the numbing of modern life. This is where embodiment comes in.
Beyond just being mindful, you can make friends with your body and feel at home again in your own skin. Your body can be an anchor of sanity in turbulent times, and give you Jedi-freakin powers beyond merely coping. This book offers you a no-nonsense toolkit, clearly explaining what the hell embodiment is, and providing practical tips to help you to reconnect. Illustrated with evocative poems and the author's own story of war, love and loss; this book is a deeply personal overview of the emerging field. It shows how yoga, meditation, dance and other embodied practices link together, and offers a clear map to cut the hippie c**p, and make sense of the complexity. Feeling human again is catching on. A gentle revolution of returning home to the body is happening. The movement movement has begun and every BODY is welcome.
Mark Walsh is the founder of The Embodied Facilitator Course, Embodied Yoga Principles, The Embodiment Podcast and The Embodiment Conference. With an honours degree in psychology, 20+ years of yoga experience and an aikido black belt, he has dedicated his life to embodied learning. He has taught everyone from street kids to the rich and famous, in over 50 countries. His hobbies include offending pirates with his swearing, impressing cats with his stroking, and embarrassing drunks with his dancing.
“A brilliant book, distilling decades of embodied exploration with a unique blend of wisdom, wit, irreverence, and humour.” - Joel & Michelle Levey, founders Wisdom at Work, authors of “Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mind Fitness”
“Fun, accessible, fresh, while still grounded and full of profound insight, Embodiment is a must-read for all humans." - Jessica Graham, Author of “Good Getting Off without Checking Out”
In our frenzied world, it’s easy to lose touch with our bodies. Often rushing, feeling tense and off-balance, brutalised by overwork, lacking community, and hooked on technology; many of us find ourselves disconnected. But something can be done about the numbing of modern life. This is where embodiment comes in.
Beyond just being mindful, you can make friends with your body and feel at home again in your own skin. Your body can be an anchor of sanity in turbulent times, and give you Jedi-freakin powers beyond merely coping. This book offers you a no-nonsense toolkit, clearly explaining what the hell embodiment is, and providing practical tips to help you to reconnect. Illustrated with evocative poems and the author's own story of war, love and loss; this book is a deeply personal overview of the emerging field. It shows how yoga, meditation, dance and other embodied practices link together, and offers a clear map to cut the hippie c**p, and make sense of the complexity. Feeling human again is catching on. A gentle revolution of returning home to the body is happening. The movement movement has begun and every BODY is welcome.
Mark Walsh is the founder of The Embodied Facilitator Course, Embodied Yoga Principles, The Embodiment Podcast and The Embodiment Conference. With an honours degree in psychology, 20+ years of yoga experience and an aikido black belt, he has dedicated his life to embodied learning. He has taught everyone from street kids to the rich and famous, in over 50 countries. His hobbies include offending pirates with his swearing, impressing cats with his stroking, and embarrassing drunks with his dancing.
“A brilliant book, distilling decades of embodied exploration with a unique blend of wisdom, wit, irreverence, and humour.” - Joel & Michelle Levey, founders Wisdom at Work, authors of “Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mind Fitness”
“Fun, accessible, fresh, while still grounded and full of profound insight, Embodiment is a must-read for all humans." - Jessica Graham, Author of “Good Getting Off without Checking Out”
192 pages, Paperback
Published November 24, 2019
109 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 6, 2020
Embodiment is fantastically difficult for me.
Thus, I ‘fixed’ myself up in all the ways that didn’t involve the body, for as long as I could.
I went skiing, broke my skull, played volleyball, ended up with upward of 80 sprains on my hand, martial arts, developed tendinitis and the crowning glory, yoga makes me want to kill myself. Literally.
But of course, I take myself kicking and screaming to embodiment, for this is where I shoved all the backlog of bad stuff, hating every minute of it.
Enter Mark Walsh. He is brash and real. He doesn’t pull rank on you AND he asks you to own your sh*t. He is vulnerable AND strong. He is knowledgeable AND open. He has tons of experience AND refuses to be a guru. He has passion AND discipline. He values strength AND does not bypass trauma. He is loud AND subtle. He studied Eastern forms AND laughs at Sanskrit/Pali-spewing.
All these things were hard won and he doesn’t get glib about them. I live in a town of hippies, which is lovely in many ways, and maddening in many others. He is the teacher I would go to if it were geographically possible - although I know I would have to commit to showing up fully. No more hiding, no more excuses. Support, heart and fairness, though. He’s refreshing in this stultifying world.
Yep. I recommend this book
Thus, I ‘fixed’ myself up in all the ways that didn’t involve the body, for as long as I could.
I went skiing, broke my skull, played volleyball, ended up with upward of 80 sprains on my hand, martial arts, developed tendinitis and the crowning glory, yoga makes me want to kill myself. Literally.
But of course, I take myself kicking and screaming to embodiment, for this is where I shoved all the backlog of bad stuff, hating every minute of it.
Enter Mark Walsh. He is brash and real. He doesn’t pull rank on you AND he asks you to own your sh*t. He is vulnerable AND strong. He is knowledgeable AND open. He has tons of experience AND refuses to be a guru. He has passion AND discipline. He values strength AND does not bypass trauma. He is loud AND subtle. He studied Eastern forms AND laughs at Sanskrit/Pali-spewing.
All these things were hard won and he doesn’t get glib about them. I live in a town of hippies, which is lovely in many ways, and maddening in many others. He is the teacher I would go to if it were geographically possible - although I know I would have to commit to showing up fully. No more hiding, no more excuses. Support, heart and fairness, though. He’s refreshing in this stultifying world.
Yep. I recommend this book
April 23, 2022
Embodiment is something new for me.
I first really heard of embodiment and Mark Walsh in late 2020 when I saw Gabor Mate was going to be part of The Embodiment Conference. I took part in the conference and have been delving into embodiment and Walsh's work since.
Walsh speaks my language. I appreciate his rawness and authenticity -yes, sometimes he swears- but in his courses or writing you feel like he's talking to you like he would with a friend at the pub.
I also appreciate his background in psychology and his concern for people and our planet. However he does it in a way doesn't play into current politics where labels, sides, groups are so important. As a yoga teacher I appreciate how he isn't all new age, but also isn't fitness only (no pain, no gain) either. Instead, he strikes a balance in body, mind, spirit that resonates with me.
One of the most valuable parts of the book was tips for teenage boys/young men he offers, and the tips for teenage girls/young women his female colleague shares. Some of these tips are great for people of all ages. I can see that they can be particularly valuable for young people in our current culture.
As someone new to embodiment who plans to explore it more I expect I will return to this book again in a year or two and it will reach me on new layers.
I first really heard of embodiment and Mark Walsh in late 2020 when I saw Gabor Mate was going to be part of The Embodiment Conference. I took part in the conference and have been delving into embodiment and Walsh's work since.
Walsh speaks my language. I appreciate his rawness and authenticity -yes, sometimes he swears- but in his courses or writing you feel like he's talking to you like he would with a friend at the pub.
I also appreciate his background in psychology and his concern for people and our planet. However he does it in a way doesn't play into current politics where labels, sides, groups are so important. As a yoga teacher I appreciate how he isn't all new age, but also isn't fitness only (no pain, no gain) either. Instead, he strikes a balance in body, mind, spirit that resonates with me.
One of the most valuable parts of the book was tips for teenage boys/young men he offers, and the tips for teenage girls/young women his female colleague shares. Some of these tips are great for people of all ages. I can see that they can be particularly valuable for young people in our current culture.
As someone new to embodiment who plans to explore it more I expect I will return to this book again in a year or two and it will reach me on new layers.
October 10, 2020
We live in a badly self-regulated, disconnected time. Basically, we’re lonely toddlers in Tantrum Land. Yes, me included on many days. People buy crap that they don’t need, and do shit that hurts to fill a void that can only be filled by meaning and community. We are cut off from ourselves, others and the planet; as a result, we hurt all three.
Did you learn anything by reading that paragraph? It's a direct quote from the book. My guess is that either you already agreed or "knew" this already, or consider it a superficial observation which is true in many respects but not all that useful to see couched as a revelation. Personally, I prefer to think of the situation as follows: The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Yeats's poem of an earlier time is still appropriate today, is better written, and points out a particular problem which plagues this book--it's full of passionate intensity. Maybe I'm just being cranky when I complain that this book often reads like a sales pitch for its point of view, or maybe I just lack all conviction to distrust my reaction to it. If you are inspired by a "nice" sales pitch, this book is for you. I gave it two stars rather than only one because another reviewer claimed to find something useful in it and for a limited time only (irony intended), you can download the book for free at https://theembodimentconference.org/e...
Even the "Moving beyond Mindfulness" subtitle has that salesmanly vibe to it which makes it impossible for me to tolerate putting in the time to find those purportedly useful things in it. If things like that don't bother you, by all means read this book but though I will grant Mr. Walsh his premise that there's something useful about embodiment that many of us need to learn, I'll stick to reading Yeats instead.
Did you learn anything by reading that paragraph? It's a direct quote from the book. My guess is that either you already agreed or "knew" this already, or consider it a superficial observation which is true in many respects but not all that useful to see couched as a revelation. Personally, I prefer to think of the situation as follows: The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Yeats's poem of an earlier time is still appropriate today, is better written, and points out a particular problem which plagues this book--it's full of passionate intensity. Maybe I'm just being cranky when I complain that this book often reads like a sales pitch for its point of view, or maybe I just lack all conviction to distrust my reaction to it. If you are inspired by a "nice" sales pitch, this book is for you. I gave it two stars rather than only one because another reviewer claimed to find something useful in it and for a limited time only (irony intended), you can download the book for free at https://theembodimentconference.org/e...
Even the "Moving beyond Mindfulness" subtitle has that salesmanly vibe to it which makes it impossible for me to tolerate putting in the time to find those purportedly useful things in it. If things like that don't bother you, by all means read this book but though I will grant Mr. Walsh his premise that there's something useful about embodiment that many of us need to learn, I'll stick to reading Yeats instead.
March 4, 2024
Enjoyed the read, it’s more of a personal story of embodiment than a course book. I really liked the personal bits. Some statements were triggering, but it was very interesting to observe and reflect on why that would annoy me.
March 1, 2021
I appreciate it more as an inspiration for what one can do with social media posts. 'Embodiment - moving beyond mindfulness' is compiled of posts, poems, conversations. And it reads like that. This book of notes will probably be interesting for beginners. There are some useful basic practices, some good ideas introducing the idea of being more mindful (or bodyful as playfully suggested), and how it can be helpful.
And while I haven't discovered anything new there for myself I did get re-inspired a few times. I loved that Walsh includes things he heard from his teachers and colleagues, and I super appreciated that they were given credit for it.
And while I haven't discovered anything new there for myself I did get re-inspired a few times. I loved that Walsh includes things he heard from his teachers and colleagues, and I super appreciated that they were given credit for it.
July 9, 2021
I'd say it's a beautiful piece, but not smth to start with. After 2.5 months of FEC i found it really interesting, but i guess there's more of a high-level concentrated, Mark-spiced concept and it can be quite challenging.
Maybe only read it if you get at least to Embodiment Unlimited youtube channel first and try/like/get what you see.
But i personally find Mark's work extremely profound and actually changing people's life for good (and also helping to find answers to many "life" questions along the way).
Maybe only read it if you get at least to Embodiment Unlimited youtube channel first and try/like/get what you see.
But i personally find Mark's work extremely profound and actually changing people's life for good (and also helping to find answers to many "life" questions along the way).
January 24, 2021
Fantastic introduction to embodiment including real talk and an abundance of profanity. Coming home to your body. Connect with yourself, others, and the planet. Alternative arts to get the worlds heart, body, and soul back. Desperately needed and appreciated.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews