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"Practices for Embodied Living" by Hillary L. McBride, PhD, is a transformative guide to reconnecting with the wisdom of our bodies and experiencing life in a more holistic and compassionate way. Building on the principles introduced in "The Wisdom of Your Body," McBride offers practical and accessible exercises to help readers cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of their embodied selves.

From the moment I delved into this book, I was struck by its profound insights and engaging approach to embodiment. McBride skillfully combines research-based knowledge with experiential practices, creating a comprehensive and effective toolkit for anyone seeking to embark on a journey of self-discovery and healing.

What I particularly appreciated about this book is its focus on dismantling cultural myths and societal pressures surrounding body image, sexuality, and wellness. McBride encourages readers to resist harmful narratives and embrace the inherent goodness of their bodies, regardless of external standards or expectations.

The exercises and activities included in each chapter are both insightful and empowering, providing readers with practical tools to cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and compassion. Whether exploring topics such as stress and trauma, sexuality, or oppression, McBride offers guidance that is both sensitive and empowering.

As I engaged with the prompts and reflections offered in "Practices for Embodied Living," I found myself gaining a deeper understanding of my own body and experiencing a profound sense of connection and wholeness. The book kept me up at night, not out of restlessness, but out of a genuine excitement to explore the richness of embodied living.

In conclusion, "Practices for Embodied Living" is a must-read for anyone seeking to cultivate a more compassionate and holistic relationship with their body and themselves. McBride's wisdom, empathy, and practical guidance shine through every page, making this book an invaluable resource for personal growth and transformation. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone on a journey of self-discovery and healing.

The exercises were helpful, but I wish I would've read the first book first to better connect with it. But, I can see how this would be beneficial for folks dealing with a variety of somatic issues, or those with things like fibromyalgia, CFS, etc.

Visually, I found the font used throughout hard to read, at least in an e-book form.

This book was good in that it really addressed the melding of the mind and body experience. It seemed like it was more of a guide into practicing the principles from her previous book, which I haven't read yet. I can see how this book would be a helpful one for those wishing to live a life in tune with their body and practice life with a view of embodiment.

This is exactly what the title suggests - a series of practices for embodied living. This is an incredible, accessible resource that anyone could pick up and connect with.
I love how simple the language is while also conveying a huge amount.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book

I really loved Practices for Embodied Living. I think this workbook would be great for anyone working to bring their mind and body back into alignment. It would be helpful for PTSD, trauma survivors, and those in recovery from an eating disorder, amongst others.

Thank you for the ARC. This was a great “self help” book that actually felt actually attainable, particularly when it comes to being in tune with your body and truly embodying it. There were many great suggestions and I look forward to reading the author’s previous book!

If you've ever experienced an environment or been taught that your body is bad and your spirit is good, this book may be the healing connection to help you discover re-integration. Combatting the false, dualistic, and Gnostic thinking of so many evangelical and reformed churches, McBride offers gracious, compassionate, practical, and professional exercises to rediscover the wisdom of our bodies. Our bodies are good, and we can only live our lives in and through them.

For those who may have experienced trauma and have heard too often that "the body keeps the score," (thanks, Dr. van der Kolk), this short workbook offers simple practices to tune in to our body and address its needs.

This book (and its playful illustrations) will help anyone wanting or needing a healthier understanding of and connection to their own body.

This book will make you smile, probably cry, and most likely grow as a person.

Take your time reading this book as you reflect and apply its exercises.

It is a book that will guide you in realigning your body and mind, for any adult in almost any place in their lives.

I liked that there are ideas on how to use these exercises in a group and what to take into consideration.

Interoception for grownups and a beautiful way to find your way home to embodiment 🥰 @hillaryliannamcbride @brazospress #embodied #embodiedhealing #practicesforembodiedliving #interoception

“None of the work we do to heal occurs in isolation. The work of healing is held in a web of wisdom, the product of wholeness, integration, and interconnection.”

No one has taught me more about embodiment and listening to my body than Dr. Hillary McBride. In this companion to her excellent book, The Wisdom of Your Body, McBride provides practices and exercises for healing trauma and stress; body image; emotions; sexuality; and bridging the spirit and body divide. I have already recommended this book and its exercises to my clients and will continue to use them myself as I work to enhance my own embodiment practice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brazos Press for an early review copy of this book.

Our experiences do not define us. Our real selves do. Our bodies are not simply what we have but they are who we are. We are more than mere subjective people. We are valued for who we are and not what we do. All that we encounter in this life, the highs and the lows, can all be experienced in the very bodies we have. Unfortunately, many people still have not learned how to appreciate their bodies. In doing so, they fall victim to lies and myths that throw negativity to their physique or biological selves. Lies such as the need to subdue our bodies because they are inherently evil; that some bodies are better than others, or fat bodies are unhealthy, etc. As our bodies get devalued, we become disembodied beings. Disembodiment separates our physical selves from the rest of our mental and emotional faculties. Embodiment brings all of them together. More importantly, we are called not to learn or relearn what our bodies are or represent. We simply need to remember that. These and many more underline the premise of this book, which is to bring back a healthy appreciation of the bodies we have so that we can live well. This also means we need to see personhood in a holistic manner: Emotionally, Mentally, Physically, Socially, and even Spiritually. Besides helping us address lies we tell ourselves, this book also looks at the violence on our bodies, such as stress and trauma; illnesses, injuries, and pain; oppressive forces; self-esteem; etc.

As a book on how to remember our whole selves, author Hillary McBride provides us many different practices that we can use. On stress, we learn about the implications of stress, both positive as well as negative parts. What is important is to learn to see the beauty of our created selves, and not let uninformed world opinion shape us into what we are not meant to be. This book thus counters such disembodied philosophies in the hope that we can stop them from tearing us further apart. McBride does this by:

- Guiding us toward healthy narratives about ourselves;
- Helping us to feel at home inside ourselves;
- Feeling positive about ourselves as we navigate the spectrum of emotions;
- Processing our pains constructively;
- Learning to deal with the five circles of sexuality (sensuality, sexual identity, intimacy, sexual health & reproduction; power & sexualization);
- Resisting guilt when embracing pleasure;
- Embodying prayers;
- ...

Gradually, she leads us toward seeing and experiencing our bodies holistically, reconciling both body and spirit together as one.

My Thoughts
This is a unique book about bringing back a semblance of self-respect and appreciation for who we are, what we have, and how we should treat ourselves. McBride addresses some of the underlying issues of flawed self-perceptions. This is made worse by societal expectations that often rub us the wrong way. The list of lies that the author highlights are not the only ones that damage our self-perceptions. With technology use on the rise, it is so easy to spread falsehood and misinformation about people. Just look at how Deep Fake technology is wreaking havoc on star personalities. All it takes is a little tweak or a sinister photoshop and the end result is a dramatic devaluation of a person's body and worth. Like it or not, technology through social media is a potent force for disembodiment. Tempted to look good to others in public, we become sensitized to nasty public comments. One thing is for sure. We can never be able to stop the torrent of public opinion. We need a healthy understanding of self-worth and personal value so that we do not sway or unwittingly accept unhealthy criticisms.

One of the questions I ask is this: In an already hyper-individualistic world we live in, do we still need a book to feel good about ourselves or our bodies? My answer would tilt toward a marginal yes. Why yes? That's because God has created us good. For a sinful world, God has sent Jesus to this world to redeem us from our sins. Our world has been badly corrupted with falsehood and deceptions. The way forward is to redeem what is good while rejecting what is evil. Plus, the world we live in today is seriously broken. Like the saying "hurt people tend to hurt other people," a broken person will tend to break another person. This book brings a good dose of healing for those who have been deceived by lies, hurt by false accusations, discouraged by ugly comments, or simply disillusioned by the dizzy world of changing expectations. The exercises mentioned justify the title of the book. Why "marginal?" That's because the individualism in society still looms large. Just as there is low self-esteem that plagues many people, there are also unhealthy levels of pride and self-deception. What is needed is Truth. The tilt toward a "yes" is because this book works like a reset button to help us see ourselves afresh.

Hillary L. McBride (PhD, University of British Columbia) is a registered psychologist, an award-winning researcher, and the host of the Other People's Problems podcast. She has a private practice in Victoria, British Columbia, and is a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who specializes in embodiment. McBride's work has been recognized by the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association. She is the author of The Wisdom of Your Body and Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image, and coeditor of Embodiment and Eating Disorders. Learn more at www.hillarylmcbride.com.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Brazos Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

It's a handy self-care guide, especially for those less familiar with or wanting a reminder of the concept of embodiment.

The tone is gently encouraging and supportive, not judgmental or directive.

The book is a balanced mix of simple, do-able exercises, affirmations, and conceptual explanations that are simple and full. The book also highlights basic and simple fundamental principles, like "my body is me" and "It is never too late to learn how to come back home to myself."

Topics include some basics of embodiment, emotions, trauma and stress, pain and illness, oppression/power, pleasure and enjoyment, and spirit.

The Appendix, a Leader's Guide to using these ideas and exercises with groups, is quite obviously practical. I’ve facilitated many groups and can easily see using these ideas.

I was not familiar with McBride's previous book, but after reading this I will definitely be looking for it. This book may seem small, but it's packed with lots of practices, prompts and questions that dig deep. I highly recommend it if you're looking for ways to build a mind and body connection. I think it'd be a great basis for a group workshop or to work through alone.

This one was a mixed bag for me, but I think it would appeal to a very specific reader.

First, the concept of "embodied" was new to me. The idea is that we often disassociate our "selves" from our physical bodies, and instead consider our true selves to be more tied to our intellectual or spiritual selves. And this occurs in different ways - maybe trauma, but maybe just societal/media ideas about bodies.

So, these are specific exercises to reconnect to one's body. She mentions that she wrote another book about embodied living, and maybe that would be a better starting point if, like me, this is a new idea for you. Because this book is literally mostly exercises to try.

Many of them involve movement, although some may involve touch, affirmations, and other things. Some are as simple as walking outside barefoot, really... but I think part of it is to see what feelings these exercises bring up.

If you know that reconnecting with your physical body is something you need to do, this might be perfect for you! If you are a regular practitioner of yoga, mindfulness, meditation, or the like... you may feel you connect with your body regularly enough with those (or other physical) practices. And if you're new to the concept, you may just want to read about it a bit more before diving straight into the exercises.

This book could be a blog post - it's the editing that makes "Practices for Embodied Living" look like a full-sized publication but in reality there's very little to actually read, and the content only scratches the surface of the subject of embodiment anyway.

Did you love The Wisdom of your Body? This book is almost a companion piece.

Discussing everything from stress and trauma, body image and sexuality, McBride does such a wonderful job of reconnecting our brains with our body.

This is an active book. Read, yes, but there are lots of calls-to-action to help you self-reflect.

I don’t know if I agree with everything she states (can I disagree with a doctor?). For instance, while a lot of what we consider problems and faults with our body come directly from capitalism, and society’s misogyny, sometimes our body DOES malfunction, and I wish there had been more attention paid to those with chronic conditions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Brazos Press for this helpful ARC.

This is a very thoughtful approach to being mindful and aware of your own body. This title is better suited for an individual to own rather than using a library book.

McBride writes that we learn to experience ourselves as a body through three pathways:

MENTAL: the stories we think and perpetuate about bodies
SOCIAL: the social landscape around us
PHYSICAL: the physical experiences we have

In Practices for Embodied Living, McBride gives us activities to try with our bodies, stories to open us up to embodiment, ways to help our bodies and minds become better friends.

They are simple things, such us:

"Imagine that your nondominant hand is your thinking self and that your dominant hand is your sensing, bodily self. Try holding them side by side, noticing how the distance feels. When you’re ready, experiment with bringing them closer together, clasping your hands and interweaving your fingers. What do your thoughts long to hear from your sensing body? What does your bodily self long to hear from your thinking self?"

But they are important things.

"Complete the following sentences:
'It makes me feel loved when a friend . . .' (try doing that for yourself)
'I long to hear from those I love that I . . .' (try saying this to yourself)"

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for practices to become more embodied. You'll find lots of exercises to try that are easy for any body to do.

My thanks to Netgalley and Baker Academic & Brazos Press.

Not exactly my type of book, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good book. However, I did agree with some points. We are more than just our thoughts. Our bodies are just as much “us” as our brain. Society has done a number on how we view and treat our bodies. We should be more accepting of ourselves and how we look. 100% on board with all of this.

I do think the exercises could be beneficial to someone who is into that kind of thing and who struggles to accept their appearance. There was just way too much touching and rolling around and dancing for me.

Hillary McBride’s work is a must-read for anyone doing embodiment work, and this companion to Wisdom of Your Body is a great book for people looking for practical steps to take. Highly recommend.