The mindfulness of the body is one of the four foundations of mindfulness; the others are the mindfulness of feelings, the mindfulness of mind and the mindfulness of dharmas (in the sense of all that can be known.) In this book, Dr Russell uses the mindfulness of the body as a basis from which to explore the mindfulness of feelings, and to some extent the mindfulness of mind. She takes the premise that a lack of awareness of one’s body causes more problems than just stiff necks, and awareness of the sensations happening in our body can help not only with dealing with physical issues before they become chronic, but also with handling emotions and learning how to act, rather than react to situations in our lives. The book gives many detailed exercises that help the reader to become mindful of their body and the feelings that manifest in it, and it also goes into loving kindness practice and the personal benefits of cultivating compassion.
Dr Russell backs up her theories with scientific research, but the system she has created is also firmly rooted in Buddhist and Tai Chi practice. Why the emphasis on physical movement? Because as Westerners we tend to live a sedentary life-style and are often completely out of touch with our body. As an ex-dancer and experienced meditator, I have a highly developed awareness of my body, but if you haven’t spent years training for athletics, sport or martial arts, then you need this kind of training to get in touch with your body and your feelings. Exercises such as dropping into our body at times of stress will be of great value to many people.
I found the practice of focusing ones awareness on the intention that drives a movement, in the moment before the actual movement takes place a great way to help the mind hone in on the present moment. This aspect of her ‘system’ has the potential to naturally lead the practitioner deeper into the mindfulness of mind, and I hope that she eventually expands her teaching to take it this step further to help people develop the other two mindfulnesses, that of the mind and of all that can be known.
I got this book from Netgalley for free in return for a review, and I read it on an electronic ARC for Kindle which didn’t show the diagrams the text referred to, and sometimes the formatting was so messed up that sentences were jumbled and paragraphs finished pages from where they started with something else in between. I got the impression that the paperback would be laid out with diagrams and boxes of highlighted text, but something like that requires careful formatting for electronic devices, so I hope the publisher took the time to format the Kindle version properly – I see that it’s available now. In general, though, assuming that the electronic formatting has been properly done, this is a valuable book for everyone who would like to connect more fully with their body, their emotions and their life—and isn’t that all of us?
