The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice [Paperback]

Wendy Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2000

Intuitive Body draws on the principles of the Japanese martial art aikido and meditation to present a unique method of cultivating awareness, attention, and self-acceptance. Wendy Palmer shows us through basic practice and partner exercises how we can become more aware of the body and trust its wisdom. Palmer introduces exercises from her Conscious Embodiment and Intuition Training program, connecting movement, meditation, and breathing in a daily practice which can help the process of integration, of deepening and unifying ourselves, and learning to deal with our fear and aggression.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Discipline is freedom,' writes Wendy Palmer. She encourages readers to cultivate a new rapport with their bodies through stories, Eastern wisdom, and her own experiences. A useful, inspiring book for anyone exploring . . . embodied movement, energetic meditation, and intuitive knowledge."
—Yoga Journal

About the Author

Wendy Palmer is a 4th degree black belt in aikido. She co-founded and teaches at Aikido of Tamalpais in Mill Valley, in addition to her Conscious Embodiment courses. She also directs the Prison Integrated Health Program, a volunteer project which provides classes in behavioral medicine at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, and serves as a model for health promotion programs in prisons. Visit her at www.consciousembodiment.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 3 edition (March 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556433468
• ISBN-13: 978-1556433467
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Palmer is the founder of Conscious Embodiment, a sixth degree black belt in aikido, and senior instructor at Aikido of Tamalpais with 40 years of experience.

My Background:

I have been practicing martial arts since I was in college. I took to it immediately because my spirit just knew it was the right path for me. That was in the 1960s. Over the years I've practiced aikido, a Japanese non-aggressive martial art form, and have culled from this practice the techniques for Conscious Embodiment (CE) and Leadership Embodiment (LE). CE teaches people how to use body, breath, and movement to reconnect with the self. The self, being in that large way, the essence of who we are as opposed to the set of habits or beliefs we call our own.

In 1980 I founded Conscious Embodiment courses for self-development and later Leadership Embodiment coaching in somatic (embodied) intelligence. The work offers a way to synchronize the energy of the body, speech and mind with emotions and intuition, thus increasing our capacity for somatic intelligence, discriminating wisdom and unconditional love.

I have been practicing the Japanese martial art of aikido and mindfulness for 40 years. I am also attracted to and involved with Tibetan spirituality and in 2004 I went on a pilgrimage around the sacred mountain of Mt Kailash in Tibet.

Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba in Japan in the 1920s., the practice incorporates the philosophy of "extending love and compassion especially to those who seek to harm others." As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love with out power is sentimental and anemic."

Conscious Embodiment evolved out of what I was experiencing in aikido practice as a way of taking these tools "off the mat and into the world of everyday physical, emotional and psychological stresses. People need tools that cultivate the capacity to be strong enough to be loving in challenging situations.

I work with organizations, groups and individuals the US, Canada, Europe and South Africa. I believe that we can become more empowered and compassionate in order to meet the challenges that arise in our lives and our organizations with kindness, brilliance and dignity.

Learn more at: embodiment.me and you can follow Wendy on Twitter: @wendypalmer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the parts that make up a soul., October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Intuitive Body: Aikido As a Clairsentient Practice (Paperback)

If you're looking for guidance about the soul-mind,body & spirit; or internal work, This is a great book for you. Discovering what it will take to unify,concentrate and focus your energies is what this book is all about. A great book for beginners to read and get inspiration from. Filled with understanding and wisdom. Wendy Palmer is indeed intuitive.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly original book by a graceful and eloquent writer, September 3, 1998

By 

[e-mail] George Leonard (Mill Valley, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intuitive Body: Aikido As a Clairsentient Practice (Paperback)

Here¹s a truly original book, a sophisticated self-help manual by a graceful and eloquent writer. If you,re looking for a quick fix, forget this book. (The quick fix is an illusion anyway.)

If you,re looking for the Six Steps to something or the Seven Secrets of something, forget this book. If you¹re looking for practical wisdom and a glimpse into the mysteries of being, this is the book for you. Filled with gentle exercises and powerful insights, many of them from the martial art of aikido, it¹s a book to inspire, a book to be read slowly, again and again.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for aikido practictioners, January 19, 2002

By 

J. Glenn "habanaharpo" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice (Paperback)

I do yoga, not aikido, but this is one of my favorite books. I read it the first time and went back to the beginning to re-read it -- it's that good. Palmer's writing style is very direct and her messages are based upon years of practice and teaching. Only individuals with a very deep understanding of their subject can express themselves in such a concise and understandable manner. If you are interested in any sort of a mind-body discipline, this is a superb book.