Body Mandala

An experiential guide to using your body as the focus of contemplative practice. Our physical structure, often known simply as “posture,” is shaped by the balance of tension between our bones and soft tissues—fasciae, tendons, muscles, and ligaments—as well as by the mental, emotional, and physical stresses we experience. This tensional integrity, or “tensegrity,” along with our sensory experiences, movements, and physical expressions all offer access points for developing fully embodied presence—that is, for engaging the body’s capacity for perception, expanded awareness, and even spiritual presence. Exploring the profound connections between tensegrity and inner perceptions and awareness, Mary Bond teaches you to unlock your body’s inner guidance—its somatic wisdom—through a journey of embodiment that will improve your posture in the process. Integrating movement theory, philosophy, neuroscience, fascia research, polyvagal theory, and personal story, Bond reveals how the human body organizes and expresses movement through perception. She looks in depth at the role of the fascial system in transmitting bodily perception, showing how fascia functions as the preeminent organ of embodiment and mind-body connection. She explains the process of internal perception, or “interoception,” the body-mind’s ability to identify, access, understand, and respond appropriately to its internal signals. Offering an experiential understanding of the structural foundation of the human body in motion and in stillness, Bond presents more than 50 self-explorations that allow you to transform your sensory experience, expand your awareness, and make embodiment—your own complex body—the focus of contemplative practice. The author also includes streaming audio and video links for each practice. Inviting you to awaken to the grace and wisdom of your body as a personal mandala that is always available for meditative focus, the author shows how conscious embodiment can help us become more perceptive and more humane beings.

Mary Bond has a Master’s degree in dance from UCLA and trained with Dr. Ida P. Rolf as a Structural Integration practitioner. She is a movement instructor at the Rolf Institute and teaches movement workshops nationally. The author of Balancing Your Body and The New Rules of Posture, she has also published articles in numerous health and fitness magazines. She lives in California.

Foreword by Thomas Myers Preface Introduction: What Is a Body Mandala? PART 1 Orienting 1 Fascia: Organ of Embodiment 2 Grounding Your Experience 3 Sensing Space 4 Moving in Space PART 2 Deepening 5 Exercises for Interoception 6 Healthy Breathing 7 Embodying Structure 8 Sentient Foundations 9 Your Spine Is Not a Column 10 Tensegrity Tower 11 The Lid on Your Spine PART 3 Practicing 12 Embodying Tensegrity in Motion 13 Embodying Tensegrity in Stillness 14 Everyday Embodiment Epilogue Acknowledgments Glossary Notes Bibliography Index About the Author