Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient

by JOHNSON, WILL

• ISBN13: 9781570625183
• ISBN10: 1570625182
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-07-05
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

The emphasis on the mind in meditation can be somewhat misleading: If we pay attention only to mental processes and overlook the experience of the body, we can remain stuck in our heads and not be able to break free of the involuntary thinking that we find so claustrophobic and toxic. This short, practical guide helps us embrace the fact of our embodiment-the experience of the sensations, movements, and gestures of the body-and to realize that mindfulness is the natural state of awareness of a body that has learned how to experience its feeling presence. Johnson takes us through the three primary principles of the posture of meditation: alignment, relaxation, and resilience. He devotes a large part of each chapter to specific practices to help the reader experience different aspects of physical presence. This book is of interest to meditators of all traditions-Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Jews, and others-as well as therapists, bodyworkers, and anyone interested in body-centered psychology and other natural modes of healing.

Author Biography

Will Johnson is a certified bodyworker and director of the Institute for Embodiment Training in his hometown of Cobble Hill, British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Sensations	7	(18)
Presence of Body	15	(4)
Fullness of Body, Emptiness of Mind	19	(3)
Sensations of Body, Feelings of Heart	22	(3)
Alignment	25	(26)
Standing on the Earth	32	(5)
Deepening Alignment	37	(2)
Aligning the Senses	39	(7)
Aligning the Mind	46	(5)
Relaxation	51	(14)
Relaxing into the Earth	56	(4)
Relaxing into Alignment	60	(5)
Resilience	65	(53)
Dancing on the Earth	76	(6)
Moving across the Earth	82	(12)
Swimming in the River of Sensations	94	(8)
Coordinating the Energies at the Eye Center	102	(4)
Rejoicing into the Breath	106	(12)
Integration: The Practice of Embodied Mindfulness	118	(17)
Afterword	135