The Body of Life: Creating New Pathways for Sensory Awareness and Fluid Movement [Paperback]

Thomas Hanna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1993

This classic work on bodywork education builds on Feldenkrais' theories of Functional Integration to fine-tune the nervous system and improve coordination and range of movement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a landmark book with principles useful for all approaches to somatic education."
(Somatics )

From the Back Cover

BODYWORK / EDUCATION

The Body of Life

Creating new Pathways for Sensory Awareness and Fluid Movement

In this classic book on bodywork education, Thomas Hanna builds on the theoories of Functional Integration, a method that applies gentle physical manipulation to fine-tune the nervous system and eliminate involuntary responses to tension, anxiety, and emotional pain. Through case histories, the author describes methods for improving bodily coordination, balance, and range of movement. With enhanced awareness, we gain a greater understanding of our internal states and our ability to affect them. He also surveys the pioneering work of Moshe Feldenkrais, who devised the system of Functional Integration, and many other somatic educators. Hanna’s engaging account offers a profound understanding of the precise relationship between mind and body that can be applied in our day-to-day living.

Author of the groundbreaking book, Somatics: Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility, and Health, THOMAS HANNA (1928-1990) was the director of the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training in San Francisco and the founder and editor of Somatics: Magazine-Journal of the Bodily Arts and Sciences.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Healing Arts Press (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892814810
• ISBN-13: 978-0892814817
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview, January 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Body of Life: Creating New Pathways for Sensory Awareness and Fluid Movement (Paperback)

This is a clear, easy-to-read introduction to the body-mind theory behind Hanna's "Somatics" system, and how the system works in practice. The anecdotes he tells are engaging, and I especially liked his insistence that the process is a collaboration: the practitioner isn't a "healer" so much as a teacher, and healing takes place because the sufferer re-learns how to use the forgotten parts of his/her body. I also found his explanation of the "soma" concept very enlightening: too many thinkers (even those of the "New Age" persuasion) promote the view that we are spirits trapped in bodies and that we should hence adopt a "mind over matter" philosophy. Hanna, by contrast, insists that the two are interdependent and that what happens to one affects the other -- in both directions. He points out that this idea is reflected in Zen Buddhism, yoga, and other Eastern philosophies. (Western thinkers have tended to misunderstand it, possibly because of the mind-vs-body dichotomy in Christian thought, but Hanna clarifies the matter nicely.) I also found his explanation of the Feldenkrais system and its relationship to other methods of bodywork (such as Alexander) very useful. Although some of the research he cites is a little outdated now, nothing he says is (to my knowledge) contradicted by recent studies. Despite its age, this is still a very useful book for anyone interested in the mind-body relationship.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING explanation of the Feldenkrais/somatic method, January 17, 2011

By 

Dennis Chang (Seal Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Body of Life: Creating New Pathways for Sensory Awareness and Fluid Movement (Paperback)

A friend turned me on to Feldenkrais and somatics a while ago, after I'd discovered the basic understandings on my own through trial and error and self-development. Immediately, I began buying books on the subject, filling out the missing pieces that I hadn't yet found on my own. Nearly all of the books I've read on the subject have been difficult to understand, though they were certainly accurate and useful. Hanna's "The Body of Life" is the first book on somatics I've found that is very easily readable, and it accomplishes this without turning the "meat" to "fluff," as many other "pop" books do.