Customer Reviews

The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is required reading for those who are interested in self-enquiry and the actual practices that develop increased integrity and compassion. My mind-body group that meets every week has assigned it to be read by its members - we have found the fundamental teachings to be invaluable. Be sure to get the revised 1999 edition with the blue cover.

I bought this book because the title sounded really, really exciting. Upon glancing it I lost my enthusiasm. Then I read it cover to cover and liked it even less. I put it on the shelf and after a few months I re-read it cover to cover a second time. I still cannot get the point of this book. It contains a lot of Aikido metaphysics grafted onto buddist meditation with Lao Tsu quotations as a glue. In a quest of being original the author creates a great deal of confusion and at times she shows a weak, scholastic understanding of taoist concepts. Conquering the space is Yang, vacating the space is Yin. "Holding the space" is not yin or feminine (p. 19 and again p. 123): it's simply neutral. The author asks: "How can we surrender in a way that feels life-giving. At what point do we perceive penetration as violation?" I understand that sentences out of the context can be misleading, however, the concept of "penetration as violation" conveys a plainly wrong message. In some martial arts, Aikido among them, you make "Yin/empty" a certain section of space simply because your opponent wants to make it "Yang/full", and vice-versa. In so doing you win because you don't contest for space. There's no judgment as words like "penetration" and "violation" imply. There is only Mu-Shin, No-Mind.
The chapter "Irimi" contains an extensive quotation from Saotome's book "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature". That quotation is a true master piece and the Author kind of embarasses herself by adding five pages of rather clueless comments. The attempt to link the Energetic field with the circles, triangles and squares taught by M. Ueshiba, is ... ho-hum .... what was the point once again?
Well, in conclusion, everyone interested in aikido spirituality should read Saotome's quoted book. This is not a good one, in my opinion.

I read Wendy Palmer's book several years ago after studying with a teacher who shared some of Palmer's Conscious Embodiment practices. My spiritual study circle adopted her book into our study/practice for an entire year. I share many of her principles and recommend this book in all of may trainings.

To put it mildly, it is the best book on spiritual practice I have ever read. There is not a day that goes by that I do not either engage the entire Basic Practice, Dropped or Dropped & Open attentive state, or simply open to the not-knowing.

Thank you Wendy Palmer, though we have never met, you have change not only my life, but the lives of all my students.

The Intuitive Body: Discovering the Wisdom of Conscious Embodiment and Aikido

A 2-star rating means "I don't like it" when the "third edition" of a book (see link above) includes
CHANGING THE TITLE so, in my enthusiasm for the subject,
I ordered both books only to end up paying for
14 identical chapters twice...

The third edition does include three new chapters,
i.e. 25% more content, and
looks 4-star so far...

Wendy Palmer brings Aikido practices into layperson terms and the reader walks away with practices and knowledge that help with overall growth and development, without having to take up the practice of Aikido itself. Very insightful.

I recently read through Wendy Palmer's book the Intuitive Body and also attended one of her workshops. Being an executive coach looking for insights and practices on how to help clients stay centered and balanced in the corporate world, I was fundamentally floored when I came across Wendy's work. Being in a fast paced business environment, constantly on the go, I myself have found her concepts to be extremely applicable and have used them in my executive coaching. I highly recommend Wendy's work for people interested in deepening their understanding of what to actually do to become more present, aware and more effective dealing with life challenges whether they be in the corporate or personal setting.

Movement is both spiritual and physical. Many people are restricted by how they have learned to interact with others. Wendy has found how to break free of those conditioned restrictions in order to enter the never ending process of self discovery and continue on that path. It isn't easy, but she is clear about the importance of practice and provides excellent examples for readers who are already engaged in the process of becoming, as well as for those who have yet to find the courage to begin.