RamblemuseSM Annotated Bibliography for Massage
Practitioners
Touch, Embodiment, & Sensory Awareness
[
Abram1997]
Abram,
David: 1997.
The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a
More-Than-Human World (Vintage)., 1st Vintage Books ed., Vintage, ISBN: 0679776397, 352 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
For a thousand generations human beings viewed themselves a part of
the wider community of nature, and they carried on active
relationship not only with other people but with other animals,
plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds,
and weather patterns) that we have only lately come to think of as
"inanimate". How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient
reciprocity with the natural world? What will it takes for us to
recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? In "The
Spell of the Sensuous" David Abram draws on sources as diverse as
the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache
storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished
sleight-of-hand magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human
cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character
of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language
which — even at its most abstract — echoes the calls
and cries of the earth.
[
Ackerman1991]
Ackerman,
Diane: 1991.
A Natural History of the Senses (Vintage)., reprint ed., Vintage, ISBN: 0679735666, 352 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
"One of the real tests of writers," notes Ackerman in this
liveliest of nature books, "is how well they write about smells.
If they can't describe the scent of sanctity in a church, can you
trust them to describe the suburbs of the heart?" Ackerman passes
the test, writing with ease and fluency about the five senses. Did
you know that bat guano smells like stale Wheat Thins? That Bach's
music can quell anger around the world? That the leaves that
shimmer so beautifully in fall have "no adaptive purpose"?
Ackerman does, and she guides us through questions of sensation
with an eye for the amusingly arcane reference and just the right
phrase.
[
Aron1997]
Aron,
Elaine: 1997.
The Highly Sensitive Person., reprint ed., Broadway, ISBN: 0553062182, 272 pages, $15.00 USD.
Description
Are you an HSP? Are you easily overwhelmed by stimuli? Affected by
other people's moods? Easily startled? Do you need to withdraw
during busy times to a private, quiet place? Do you get nervous or
shaky if someone is observing you or competing with you? HSP,
shorthand for "highly sensitive person," describes 15 to 20
percent of the population. Being sensitive is a normal trait
— nothing defective about it. But you may not realize that,
because society rewards the outgoing personality and treats
shyness and sensitivity as something to be overcome. According to
author Elaine Aron (herself an HSP), sensitive people have the
unusual ability to sense subtleties, spot or avoid errors,
concentrate deeply, and delve deeply. This book helps HSPs to
understand themselves and their sensitive trait and its impact on
personal history, career, relationships, and inner life.
[
Bakal2001]
Bakal,
Donald A.: 2001.
Minding the Body: Clinical Uses of Somatic Awareness., 1st ed., The Guilford Press, ISBN: 1572306610, 228 pages, $27.00 USD.
Description
There is growing scientific evidence that somatic awareness
— the ability to perceive, interpret, and act upon the basis
of one's own internal bodily sensations — can be a powerful
tool in maintaining health and facilitating recovery from illness.
This book examines the nature of somatic awareness and evaluates
its clinical utility across a wide range of medical conditions,
including migraine, unexplained dizziness and shortness of breath,
and immune system illnesses such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis,
and cancer. Integrating holistic and traditional health care
considerations, chapters describe how mental health and medical
practitioners can help patients harness "the placebo effect" and
other inner resources for healing.
[
Blakeslee2007]
Blakeslee,
Sandra, Matthew Blakeslee: 2007.
The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain
Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better., 1, Random House, ISBN: 1400064694, 240 pages, $24.95 USD.
Description
Just as road maps represent interconnections across the landscape,
your many body maps represent all aspects of your bodily self,
inside and out. In concert, they create your physical and
emotional awareness and your sense of being a whole, feeling self
in a larger social world. Moreover, your body maps are profoundly
elastic. Your self doesn’t begin and end with your physical
body but extends into the space around you. This space morphs
every time you put on or take off clothes, ride a bike, or wield a
tool. When you drive a car, your personal body space grows to
envelop it. When you play a video game, your body maps
automatically track and emulate the actions of your character
onscreen. When you watch a scary movie, your body maps put dread
in your stomach and send chills down your spine. If your body maps
fall out of sync, you may have an out-of-body experience or see
auras around other people. The Body Has a Mind of Its Own
explains how you can tap into the power of body maps to do
almost anything better–whether it is playing tennis,
strumming a guitar, riding a horse, dancing a waltz, empathizing
with a friend, raising children, or coping with stress.
[
Caplan2002]
Caplan,
Mariana: 2002.
To Touch Is to Live: The Need for Genuine Affection in an
Impersonal World., 1st ed., Hohm Press, ISBN: 1890772240, 384 pages, $19.95 USD.
Description
For babies to develop normally, they must be touched. Adults, too,
thrive when touch is a normal part of their each day: a reassuring
handshake, a sympathetic hug, a healing massage. But how often do
we permit ourselves or others these simple forms of contact:
physical touch, our emotional presence, spiritual communion? We
need to get more in touch — closer to who we really are as a
species, and in ways that support our highest human potential.
Touching can be communication, friendship, kindness, service, or
love for God. Topics include: the highest human need, the roots
of violence and abuse, acquisitions as a substitute for touch,
healing through touch, a healthy model of sexuality, and touch as
a context for our lives. The foreword is by Ashley Montagu.
[
Chaitow2003a]
Chaitow,
Leon, Graeme Chambers, Viola M. Frymann: 2003.
Palpation and Assessment Skills., 2nd ed., Churchill Livingstone, ISBN: 0443072183, 400 pages, $71.95 USD.
Description
This useful guide to palpation for musculoskeletal diagnosis and
assessment describes and illustrates the skills needed to increase
sophistication of palpatory assessment skills and practice. A
companion CD-ROM supports the skills with video clips, and each
technique is reinforced with practical exercises and
self-assessment questions.
[
Davis1999]
Davis,
Phyllis: 1999.
The Power of Touch - The Basis for Survival, Health,
Intimacy, and Emotional Well-Being., new reprint ed., Hay House, ISBN: 1561705748, 240 pages, $12.95 USD.
Description
In the revised edition of her book, "The Power of Touch", Phyllis K.
Davis explores the human need to touch and be touched — and
how America's cultural taboos have made us a touch-starved nation.
Phyllis shares important insights on physical contact, not only as
a biological need, but also as a language that communicates love
more powerfully than words.
[
Field_T2000]
Field,
Tiffany: 2000.
Touch Therapy., 1st ed., Churchill Livingstone, ISBN: 0443057915, 255 pages, $44.95 USD.
Description
This book examines the research base of touch in massage therapy
while linking the implications of these results to massage
practice. It was written by the director of the world-renowned
Touch Research Institute. Each chapter gives a clear and
authoritative review of what is known about the effects of touch
in a variety of clinical conditions. It specifically addresses the
areas of stress reduction, pain reduction, growth and development,
immune functions, and auto-immune disorders.
[
Field_T2003]
Field,
Tiffany: 2003.
Touch (Bradford Books)., reprint ed., The MIT Press, ISBN: 0262561565, 193 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch
while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the
primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy, well
into childhood. Touch is critical for children's growth,
development, and health, as well as for adults' physical and
mental well-being. Yet American society, claims Tiffany Field, is
dangerously touch-deprived. Field, a leading authority on touch
and touch therapy, begins this accessible book with an overview of
the sociology and anthropology of touching and the basic
psychophysical properties of touch. She then reports recent
research results on the value of touch therapies, such as massage
therapy, for various conditions, including asthma, cancer, autism,
and eating disorders. She emphasizes the need for a change in
societal attitudes toward touching, particularly among those who
work with children.
[
Ford1999]
Ford,
Clyde W.: 1999.
Compassionate Touch: The Body's Role in Emotional Healing and Recovery., 1st ed., North Atlantic Books, ISBN: 1556433077, 280 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
Using case histories and examples from sessions and workshops,
Clyde Ford describes his approach to healing physical, sexual, or
emotional abuse. Showing the correlation between physical ailments
and emotional trauma, he includes exercises that may be done
individually or with a trusted partner.
[
Greene2003]
Greene,
Elliot, Barbara Goodrich-Dunn: 2003.
The Psychology of Body., 1st ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, ISBN: 0781737826, 365 pages, $38.95 USD.
Description
This book is designed to provide massage therapists and
bodyworkers with a greater understanding of the psychological
issues that can arise from using touch in their therapy sessions.
The book describes the connection between the body and the mind,
how touch affects this connection, the client's emotional reaction
and release, and how to respond to the client in an appropriate
manner. The purpose of the book is to clearly define the scope of
practice in this area for massage therapists, and bodyworkers.
[
Heller2003]
Heller,
Sharon: 2003.
Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to Do If
You Are Sensory Defensive in an Overstimulating World., reprint ed., Harper Paperbacks, ISBN: 0060932929, 400 pages, $13.95 USD.
Description
This prescriptive book by a developmental psychologist and
sufferer of Sensory Defensive Disorder (SD) sheds light on a
little known but common affliction in which sufferers react to
harmless stimuli as irritating, distracting or dangerous. We all
know what it feels like to be irritated by loud music, accosted by
lights that are too bright, or overwhelmed by a world that moves
too quickly. But millions of people suffer from Sensory Defensive
Disorder (SD), a common affliction in which people react to
harmless stimuli not just as a distracting hindrance, but a
potentially dangerous threat. Sharon Heller, Ph. D. is not only a
trained psychologist, she is sensory defensive herself. Bringing
both personal and professional perspectives, Dr. Heller is the
ideal person to tell the world about this problem that will only
increase as technology and processed environments take over our
lives. In addition to heightening public awareness of this
prevalent issue, Dr. Heller provides tools and therapies for
alleviating and, in some cases, even eliminating defensiveness
altogether. Until now, the treatment for sensory defensiveness has
been successfully implemented in Learning Disabled children in
whom defensiveness tends to be extreme. However, the disorder has
generally been unidentified in adults who think they are either
overstimulated, stressed, weird, or crazy. These sensory defensive
sufferers live out their lives stressed and unhappy, never knowing
why or what they can do about it. Now, with "Too Loud, Too Bright,
Too Fast, Too Tight", they have a compassionate spokesperson and a
solution-oriented book of advice.
[
Jablonski2006]
Jablonski,
Nina: 2006.
Skin: A Natural History., 1st ed., University of California Press, ISBN: 0520242815, 281 pages, $24.95 USD.
Description
We expose it, cover it, paint it, tattoo it, scar it, and pierce
it. Our intimate connection with the world, skin protects us while
advertising our health, our identity, and our individuality. This
dazzling synthetic overview, written with a poetic touch and
taking many intriguing side excursions, is a complete guidebook to
the pliable covering that makes us who we are. "Skin: A Natural
History" celebrates the evolution of three unique attributes of
human skin: its naked sweatiness, its distinctive sepia rainbow of
colors, and its remarkable range of decorations. Jablonski begins
with a look at skin's structure and functions and then tours its
three-hundred-million-year evolution, delving into such topics as
the importance of touch and how the skin reflects and affects
emotions. She examines the modern human obsession with age-related
changes in skin, especially wrinkles. She then turns to skin as a
canvas for self-expression, exploring our use of cosmetics, body
paint, tattooing, and scarification. "Skin: A Natural History"
places the rich cultural canvas of skin within its broader
biological context for the first time, and the result is a
tremendously engaging look at ourselves.
[
Johnson1995]
Johnson,
Don Hanlon: 1995.
Bone, Breath, & Gesture: Practices of Embodiment (Bone,
Breath, & Gesture)., 1st ed., North Atlantic Books, ISBN: 1556432011, 389 pages, $22.50 USD.
Description
This book is a collection of writings on principles and techniques
by the pioneers of bodywork and body awareness disciplines.
Together, they represent a historical record of the field of
somatics. Ranging from hands-on workers like Ida Rolf to
phenomenologist Elizabeth Behnke, their lives span this century. In
these lectures, writings, and interviews, editor Don Hanlon Johnson
has sought to revel the unbroken lineage, theoretical differences,
and major similarities of these originators.
[
Johnson1998]
Johnson,
Don Hanlon, Ian J. Grand: 1998.
The Body in Psychotherapy: Inquiries in Somatic Psychology (Body in Psychotherapy, Vol 3)., 1st ed., North Atlantic Books, ISBN: 1556432518, 199 pages, $18.95 USD.
Description
The Body in Psychotherapy explores the life of the body as a basis
of psychological understanding. Its chapters describe the use of
movement, awareness exercises, and bodily imagination in work with
various populations and life situations. It chronicles somatic work
with childhood trauma, political torture, and life transitions such
as aging, the loss of parents, and the emergence of a sense of
self.
[
Juhan2001]
Juhan,
Deane: 2001.
Touched by the Goddess., 1st ed., Barrytown Limited, ISBN: 1581770812, 160 pages, $16.95 USD.
Description
Touched by the Goddess takes on the difficult and critical issues
facing therapeutic touch. What happens to children when no
distinction is made between beneficial and harmful touching? Why
do we continue to fear pleasurable contact, despite the proven
necessity of touch to human survival? Could it be that learning to
touch each other in healing, positive ways is indispensable to
productive change in society as a whole? On the sociological as
well as the biological lever, this book is a primer for conscious
living by the author of the world-renowned Job's Body: A Handbook
for Bodywork.
[
Juhan2002]
Juhan,
Deane: 2002.
Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodywork (Third Edition)., 3rd ed., Station Hill Press, ISBN: 1581770995, 488 pages, $39.95 USD.
Description
Possibly the most famous and widely used resource in therapeutic
bodywork (required for national massage therapy certification),
this beautifully written, detailed, and reader-friendly picture of
how and why the body responds to touch is both scientifically
reliable and inspiring. Furthering the presentation of recent
research in biochemistry, cell biology, and energy medicine in the
second edition, this new update includes advances in
neurophysiology and physics, reconfiguring knowledge of mind and
body, from "microgenesis" to "quantum consciousness". A rare book
that fits general reader as much as professional and student.
[
Lown1999]
Lown,
Bernard: 1999.
The Lost Art of Healing: Practicing Compassion in Medicine., 1st Ballantine ed., Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345425979, 368 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
The real crisis in medicine today is not about economics,
insurance, or managed care — it's about the loss of the
fundamental human relationship between doctor and patient. In this
wise and passionate book, one of our most eminent physicians
reacquaints us with a classic notion often overlooked in modern
medicine: health care with a human face, in which the time-honored
art of healing guides doctors in their approach to patient care
and their use of medical technology. Drawing on four decades of
practice as a cardiologist and a vast knowledge of literature and
medical history, Dr. Lown probes the heart and soul of the
doctor-patient relationship. Insightful and accessible to all, The
Lost Art of Healing describes how true healers use sympathetic
listening and touch to hone their diagnostic skills, how language
affects the perception of illness, how doctors and patients can
cultivate a relationship of trust, and how patients can obtain the
most complete and beneficial care through a combination of healing
techniques and conventional practices. Lown explains, the art of
healing does not mean abandoning the spectacular advances of
modern science, but rather incorporating them into a sensitive,
humane, enlightened approach to medical care. With its urgent
message and poignant, fascinating vignettes, The Lost Art of
Healing is a book of vital, universal importance.
[
Maitland1995]
Maitland,
Jeffrey: 1995.
Spacious Body: Explorations in Somatic Ontology., 1st ed., North Atlantic Books, ISBN: 1556431880, 245 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
In Spacious Body, Jeffrey Maitland brings his knowledge and
personal experience of Buddhism, phenomenology, alchemy,
psychoanalysis, and the bodywork system of Rolfing to bear in
forging concepts adequate to an understanding of embodied
experience.
[
Merleau-Ponty2002]
Merleau-Ponty,
: 2002.
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)., 2nd ed., Routledge, ISBN: 0415278414, 672 pages, $21.95 USD.
Description
Impressive in both scope and imagination, this book uses the
example of perception to return the body to the forefront of
philosophy for the first time since Plato.
[
Mindell2003]
Mindell,
Amy: 2003.
Metaskills: The Spiritual Art of Therapy., 2nd ed., Lao Tse Press, ISBN: 1887078630, 192 pages, $13.95 USD.
Description
Why is some therapy effective and some disappointing? Amy Mindell
says it has to do with the subtle atmosphere created by
therapists' unconscious feelings and attitudes. By tapping into
their deepest beliefs about spirit, nature, and human development
(metaskills), they can become more effective healers and spiritual
teachers. Through years of researching Arnold Mindell's work with
individuals, couples, and groups, Amy Mindell has identified a
number of feeling attitudes which she amplifies here through
analogies to Eastern traditions, the teachings of Don Juan, and/or
modern physics. She approaches the question of learning
metaskills: Is it possible? How is it done? She postulates that
the therapist, not unlike the client, is on a path of spiritual
development, and she explains how the concept could revolutionize
the vast field of psychotherapy. The book has numerous verbatim
transcripts, as well as detailed theoretical and poetic
explanations.
[
Montagu1986]
Montagu,
Ashley: 1986.
Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin., 3rd ed., Harper Paperbacks, ISBN: 0060960280, 512 pages, $16.00 USD.
Description
With more than 300,000 copies sold, this landmark book is an
impressive examination of the importance of touching. "All
professionals concerned with human behavior will find something of
value.
[
Nathan1999]
Nathan,
Bevis: 1999.
Touch and Emotion in Manual Therapy., 1st ed., Churchill Livingstone, ISBN: 0443056579, 222 pages, $39.95 USD.
Description
There is much interest among those who practice manual therapy
techniques, as well as among those who question their validity, in
the therapeutic significance of touch. In "Touch and Emotion in
Manual Therapy", the author sets out to examine both the
psychological and physiological effects and influences of touch as
part of therapy.
[
Nelson1993]
Nelson,
Dawn: 1993.
Compassionate Touch: Hands-On Caregiving for the Elderly,
the Ill and the Dying., 1st ed., Station Hill Press, ISBN: 0882681494, 160 pages, $17.95 USD.
Description
Detailing the power of touch in caregiving, this book offers
readers a way of relating to the elderly and the ill through
gentle, age-appropriate massage, and sensitive physical contact.
It expands the possible applications of touch and highlights both
the importance and the efficancy of incorporating compassionte
touch into care plans for the frail elderly and the ill, providing
a much needed counterpoint to the medical model of care.
[
Nelson2001]
Nelson,
Dawn: 2001.
From the Heart Through the Hands., 1st ed., Findhorn Press, ISBN: 1899171932, 192 pages, $23.95 USD.
Description
This book is for people who feel comfortable communicating through
their hands and for those who wish to feel more ease in
transmitting care through touch. It is for people whose
responsibility or job or gift is to oversee or to help take care
of the elderly and ill members of our society. It is for sons and
daughters caring for aging parents with physical impairments that
effect a role reversal in a lifetime of relating. It is for the
courageous men and women who continue caring for spouses or
mothers or fathers with dementia related diseases such as
Alzheimer's after such a disease has robbed that loved one of the
ability to remember the relationship he or she once shared with
the caregiver. It is for companions and family members struggling
and sometimes sacrificing to provide care for their loved ones at
home. This book is for health professionals who have forgotten or
never learned that touch is medicine and for those who are wise
enough to know that a five-second hug, offered as a gesture of
shared humanity, can often do more to assuage fear and anxiety
than a five-minute lecture.
[
Nelson2001]
Nelson,
Randall J.: 2001.
The Somatosensory System: Deciphering the Brain's Own Body Image., 1st ed., CRC, ISBN: 0849323363, 424 pages, $149.95 USD.
Description
The Somatosensory System: Deciphering the Brain's Own Body Image
presents new research in the understanding of how the brain deals
with its own body image. It provides a review of pertinent
literature and offers comprehensive descriptions of
state-of-the-art technical approaches. The material includes new
frameworks for the conceptualization of the representation system,
scientific and clinical applications that stem from these
approaches based on the new concepts, and a discussion of new
directions for the study of the interface of the brain and the
body.
[
Olsen2002]
Olsen,
Andrea, John Elder: 2002.
Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide
— Middlebury Bicentennial Series in Environmental Studies., 1st ed., Middlebury College Press, ISBN: 1584650109, 272 pages, $26.00 USD.
Description
"Body is our first environment," writes Andrea Olsen. "It is the
medium through which we know the earth. " In a remarkable
integration of environmental science, biology, meditation, and
creative expression, Olsen, a dancer who teaches in the
environmental studies program at Middlebury College, offers a
guide to a holistic understanding of person and place. Part
workbook, part exploration, Body and Earth considers the question
of how we can best, most responsibly inhabit both our bodies and
our planet.
[
Putnoi2000]
Putnoi,
Johanna, Robert K. Hall: 2000.
Senses Wide Open: That Art and Practice of Living in Your Body., 1st ed., Ulysses Press, ISBN: 156975201X, 240 pages, $14.95 USD.
Description
"Senses Wide Open" shows readers how to be at ease with
themselves, feel more balanced emotionally, think more clearly,
and experience genuine pleasure in their physical connection to
others and the world. Through illuminating personal stories, deep
movement exploration, bodywork basics, and step-by-step exercises,
author Johanna Putnoi shares the knowledge she has gained from her
years of experience teaching people to develop a personal
awareness of their body's natural intelligence. Senses Wide Open
is designed to work on the spot. Several times in each chapter,
Putnoi asks the reader to put the book down for a moment and "try
this". The author's simple exercises are inspiring and accessible.
Her unique synthesis integrates a variety of practices, including
analytic psychology, body awareness, sensate awareness,
meditation, and centering.
[
Shalit2006]
Shalit,
Willa: 2006.
Becoming Myself — Reflection on Growing up Female., 1st ed., Hyperion, ISBN: 1401301398, 286 pages, $22.95 USD.
Description
An inspiring collection of essays from a wide range of notable
women, on the experience of being female. Sixty-seven original
essays from celebrities and writers, including Meryl Streep, Kate
Winslet, J. K. Rowling, Julia Stiles, Maya Angelou, Kate Spade,
Helen Hunt, Zane, Patti LaBelle, Joyce Carol Oates, Lily Tomlin,
and many more. Subjects covered include everything from how it
felt for Vanessa Williams to be stripped of her Miss America crown
to Meryl Streep's definition of real freedom. The essays are
funny, poignant, indignant, nostalgic, and powerfully female.
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