BODY WISDOM


Mirka Knaster (1996). Discovering the Body's Wisdom: 

                                    Comprehensive Guide to More than Fifty                                            Mind-Body Practices that can Relieve Pain,                                        Reduce Stress, and Foster Health, Spiritual                                       Growth, and Inner Peace.


At the time of the writing of the book, Knaster was a massage therapist and writer for health magazines. While the guide is comprehensive for 1996, with ample resources and references (she admits that the guide doesn't cover all the currently known methods...many are left out like shamanism), now in 2024, 28 years later, it needs to be updated...there are probably many more new methods...Knaster went on to pursue artwork (https://www.mirkaart.com/) and did not update the book. Wondering why i haven't been able to find a comprehensive database of these healing methods. 

Knaster calls the methods of working with the body BODYWAYS (this term doesn't seem to have caught on) and divides the book into self-awareness, considerations when looking for a practitioner, and details of western (massage, structural change, functional, and movement approaches) and eastern (Chinese, Japanese, and Indian, energy systems, movement, and convergence systems) bodyways. There is LOTS of fascinating information, plentiful book and video recommendations, and instruction with illustrations of some practices that one can engage in as samples of bodyways.


One of my favorite discoveries is Paul Linden's Being in Movement (https://www.being-in-movement.com/...free downloads, books, and videos on the website). One of the practices involves having a partner throw tissues at you, noticing your reaction, then learning how to soften the belly through belly breathing and visualization, repeating the tissue throwing, and noticing the difference...the relaxed openness, the ability to directly deal with what's happening without tensing up, a more peaceful way to deal with conflict that has implications for everyday conflicts.





 

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