EXUBERANT ANIMAL: THE POWER OF HEALTH, PLAY AND JOYFUL MOVEMENT (Paperback)

by FRANK FORENCICH (Author)
Key Phrases: exuberant animal, slow fitness, desert sports, Robert Sapolsky, United States, Are the Desert People Winning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Move to live, live to move! Health and fitness is a bushy, multi-disciplinary practice that includes body, mind, spirit and the creative imagination. Exuberant Animal explores the totality of human health and promotes a truly integrated approach that spans culture, biology, psychology and animal behavior. You’ll discover powerful new ideas for movement and living that will stimulate your vitality, creativity and enthusiasm. “Frank is a superb writer. His voice is clear, accurate and accessible.”Robert Sapolsky "No joy, no gain!–that might well be Frank Forencich's exercise motto. A nation filled with fit, playful hominids fully in touch with their evolutionary heritage is a true pleasure to contemplate."Bill McKibben “I really appreciate Frank’s innovative approach. His method is sophisticated, playful and holistic.”Debbie Armstrong1984 Olympic Gold Medalist

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425956637
• ISBN-13: 978-1425956639
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,769 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy Being, December 13, 2006

By	Mary Tolena (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As someone with decades of being "rewarded" for sitting still in thought-work - by parents, teachers, bosses, and the hypnotizing eyes of the TV and computer screens - Exuberant Animal helps wake me up from insidious trance of "my mind is separate from and more important than my body." Frank's essays are playfully sculpted snowballs thrown at my subconscious limiting beliefs. In each, Frank lobs a first bracing splat of fresh perspective, then circles us with the latest thoughts from movement physiology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and universal notions of spiritual quest. Like one of his conditioning play games, I delight in catching more snowballs from all sides until I have to take a deep breath, laughing at how crazy-upside-down I've been living my life. I'm left with inspiring insights about small and easy things I can do throughout the day that add up to a big difference. I don't need to overhaul my lifestyle with the "discipline to achieve" fitness. I simply need to have FUN tuning into the playful, moving, sentient animal I am meant to be.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring essays, now in a book, September 21, 2006

By	Jeanne M. Shepard "Occupational Therapist" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been reading Frank's Go Animal essays for years now, and hoping he'd collect them into another book. I've downloaded most of them and put them up in the martial arts dojo, sent them to friends and shared them with my rehab colleagues. Everyone I've sent them to is now a loyal fan as well. Frank has a way of finding out the most fascinating and relevant scientific information relating to our bodies and putting it into witty essays that make me want to go out and put the information to imediate use. My personal favorites are the ones on slow and sustainable fitness, but I'm hard pressed to say that any one essay is better than another.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy life!, October 26, 2006

By	Lynda McDaniel (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Frank Forencich is a gifted writer who brings a fresh voice to the contemporary discourse on health and fitness. In his latest book, Exuberant Animal: The Power of Health, Play and Joyful Movement, he takes us beyond the commercial hype and obsessive behaviors so prevalent today and offers intelligent ways we can achieve--and enjoy--a livelier lifestyle. Frank has the storyteller's gift of being able to criticize the status quo without alienating his audience. Exuberant Animal is brimming with good humor, refreshing ideas and friendly encouragement to help us achieve a more enlightened evolution.