from cover

'For Wendy Palmer, the martial arts mat is a laboratory of the human spirit, a place less for demonstrating perfect, invulnerable technique than for exploring the mysteries of imperfection, the uses of vulnerability.

'Now this scientist of the spirit has distilled her learning to date in a strikingly original book.

'The Intuitive Body is by no means just for marital artists, but rather for all those who want ot rediscover, in her words, a part of ourselves that is wise, kind, and capable of clear and powerful embodied action.'--from the Introduction by George Leonard

The Intuitive Body draws on the priniciples of the Japanese martial art aikido to present a unique method for cultivating awareness and attention. Wendy Palmer shows us through aikido exercises with a partner how we can become more aware of the body and trust its wisdom.

Using exercises from her Conscious Embodiment and Intuition Training program, Palmer connects ordinary movement, meditation, and breathing. Grounding attention in our physical movement can release fear, giving us choices in difficult situations.

Wendy Palmer is a 4th degree black belt in aikido. She co-founded and teaches at the Tamalpais Aikido Dojo in Mill Valley, California and currently directs the Prison Integrated Health Project, a women's program at Santa Rita Correctional Facility.

Contents

Acknowledgments, Foreword by George Leonard
Introduction--Embodying a Dream; Looking at the Foundations of My Perceptions; The Influences of Aikido Traditions in My Life; How the Videotape Supplements Work; How This Book Works
PartI. The Body-Establishing Our Ground
Chapter 1. Coming to the Path--A Reference Point and a Technique; Into the Present; Coming Into Sensation; Knowing the River
Chapter 2. The Elements of Basic Practice--A Centering Triad: Three Parts of Attentional Concentration; Utilizing Our Breath; Balancing Our Energy Field; Feeling Gravity; Practicing the Technique; Personalizing Basic Practice; Practicing and Accepting the Mystery
Chapter 3. Adding a Quality--Why a Quality; Identifying a Quality; Using the Body as the Teacher; A Centerpiece for Pracitce
Chapter 4. Energy and Stability--Energy Follows Attention; Embellishing Our Center Practice; A Spiral-Breath Meditation; Take Your Time
Chapter 5. Learning--Approaches to Learning; Interest versus Fear; The Grinch and the 'Yes...And,...' Technique; Pracitce and Training; Mistsakes; Filling in a Hole
Part II. The Mind-Shaping Our Concepts
Chapter 6. The Spirit of Inquiry--The Habit of Interest; The Fine Art of Questioning; A Buoyant State of Curiosity; The Don't-Know Mind
Chapter 7. Not-Knowing--A Journey into Emptiness; Timing; Mystery; Strength of Spirit
Chapter 8. Intuition--Working from a Stable Base; Not-Knowing: The Doorway; Creating Manageable pieces for the Process; Interpreing; Nonverbal Communication
Part III. Wisdom Arising-Ways Our Soma is Organized
Chapter 9. The Energetic Field--Shaping Our Field: Triangle, Square, and Circle; Practicing being Both Postive and receptive
Chapter 10. Attentional States--Dropped Attention; Open Attention; Ellipted Attention; Blended Attention; Training Attentional States
Chapter 11. Splits--Basic Splits in the Body; Disembodiment; The Observer; Three Centers: Head, Heart and Hara; Techniques Toward Unification: Healing the Split; Override; How Do I Know When I Am Unified?
Part IV. Embodied Action
Chapter 12. lrimi--The Spirit of Irimi; facing our Fear; Evolvoing by Manageable Percentages; Counterphobia; The Irimi of Questioning
Chapter 13. Different Approaches--The Masculine-Motivating Force; The Feminine and Non-Action; Balance: Integrating Masculine and Feminine; The Magical Turnaround; Disocvering Aspects of Our Being
Chapter 14. The Path Never Ends--The Dance of Clarity and Obscurity; Our Human Prerogative
Part V. Practice Guides
Utiizing Your Breath; Balancing Your Energy Field; Feeling Gravity; Evoking and Choosing a Quality; Basic Practice; Spiral-Breath Meditation; 'Yes...And,...' Technique; Positive/Receptive; Dropped Attention; Open Attention; Metta Meditation

Wendy Palmer applies aikido principles to mindfulness meditation. The aikido aspect is actually a fairly small part of the book, though you could argue that to the extent that it informs her practice, aikido is central to the book. The book works on a nice, secular primer on meditation. I especially liked her emphasis on making the body a part of mindfulness practice and on the idea of creating a space of openess and curiousity. I suspect I will be coming back to this book from time to time for inspiration. ( )