![]() ![]() ![]() It’s simply a matter of yielding to what is already there, but isn’t always apparent because the workaday, petty, and prosaic dealings of life obscure it from us. In other words, the body at some level is always meditating. ![]() It is something to which we can always return, or use as a starting point, when floundering during meditation. The body is always breathing, with the autonomic nervous system providing a steady and unwavering point of focus. When we are concentrating on breathing, we needn’t find a rhythm or attempt to establish our own. It's difficult to sum up any philosophy that involves as much intuition as intellect, but one point the author makes may help illuminate the whole of her method. It is a matter of going down-to ground literally and into the body, the somatic and tangible, as much as the metaphysical. The Wakeful Body, however, takes this clever wordplay as a starting point rather than an end, to make its central point: that meditation is not a matter of elevation, ascending to some higher, rarified plane of the mind. “Waking down” sounds a little buzzword-ish, more a matter of paronomasia than something that promises wisdom. Concentration, wisdom, compassion, kindness, and joy are waiting there. By diving deep into the body, readers will find that they already have what they need. The three parts of this book explore these layers through turning attention to the physical, energetic, and mental dimensions of human experience. This way of being is not limited to practice on the cushion or on the yoga mat-somatic mindfulness is available at any moment, activated by attention to the body's wisdom and its teachings.ĭiscover the three layers of embodiment, from the earth body of flesh and blood, the subtle body of sensory experience and emotion, and the awareness body of consciousness. It is a way of being that is self-aware, self-compassionate, and embodied. Willa Blythe Baker introduces meditation practice as the cultivation of a way of being, rather than a way of doing. Tap into the wisdom of the body with down-to-earth practices like "Surrendering to the Breath" and "Befriending Feelings" that allow the body to become the source of mindfulness. A highly practical and approachable guide to somatic meditation with easy practices for accessing the body's inherent mindfulness, from an expert in somatic meditation. ![]()
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