The Feeling Muscle
How Felt Emotion Can Help You Sit with and Outlast Hard Feelings
by Dr. Jenn Rapkin, ND
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Pub Date 11 Nov 2025 | Archive Date 15 Mar 2026
Jenn Rapkin | A Mind-Body Practice
Description
What if you could live your life unafraid to make mistakes or take risks? What if you were undaunted by tough emotions, and as a result, could better tolerate the messiness, unpredictability, and adversity of life? In a world where many of us struggle to sit with difficult feelings and are quick to distract, avoid, or numb ourselves, The Feeling Muscle offers concrete tools to stay present with and outlast our most challenging emotions.
In her timely and compelling debut, Dr. Jenn Rapkin defines the term “felt emotion,” questions the widely held assumption that feeling is a cognitive or mental process, and asserts that feeling is, instead, the body’s job. The Feeling Muscle can help you recognize and respect your felt emotion as a tangible experience within the body and teach you how to use felt emotion to stay connected to yourself rather than choosing behaviors that numb and distract.
The Feeling Muscle is an accessible, self-paced, step-by-step guide to feeling, sitting with, and outlasting hard feelings through the development of a neutral, trusting, and attuned relationship with the body. Dr. Rapkin shares hard-won personal experiences as well as insights from her clinical practice to show how integrating mind and body is possible for everyone. Filled with simple exercises designed to be done at home at your own pace, The Feeling Muscle is a manual for choosing mindfulness over mindlessness and living a life filled with deeper feeling, more connection, and increased resilience.
Help for Frequent Feelers
While The Feeling Muscle can benefit every reader, Dr. Rapkin devotes time to understanding her fellow “Frequent Feelers” who struggle with deep and intense feelings that may exhaust and deplete them. She explains how Frequent Feelers can avoid burn out, tend to their inner needs, and turn their powerful “feeling muscle” into a strength.
Dr. Jenn Rapkin is a naturopathic physician, bodyworker, former dancer, and Frequent Feeler with more than twenty-five years of experience in mind-body and body-centered therapies. Her new book The Feeling Muscle chronicles her personal and professional transformation from physician to a shepherd of “feelings.” In her clinical practice, her bodywork table is a place to hold space for, validate, and give voice to her patients’ inner felt emotion. She has had the good fortune in her life to balance deep and meaningful inner reflection with rich and interesting life experiences – from growing up on Nantucket Island, go-go dancing in the Guggenheim Museum, and living as an expat in Barcelona to raising two amazingly soulful and spirited children in Connecticut.
Advance Praise
"The Feeling Muscle is a wise and compassionate guide for anyone seeking to reconnect with themselves in a holistic way. It offers practical steps and profound insights for anyone who longs to live with less avoidance, less numbing, and more connection to life as it really is."
-Rabbi Jodie Siff
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9798218755744 |
| PRICE | US$17.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 300 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 7 members
Featured Reviews
Dr. Rapkin’s book came to me at the perfect time. I have been working on feeling my feelings in therapy and it's something I struggle with. Having this information compiled in one organized spot was valuable. I learned why it is important to feel the emotions in order to heal. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
A grounded, practical guide to befriending your emotions. The Feeling Muscle offers a compelling and practical framework for understanding and engaging with emotions not as abstract mental concepts but as tangible, physical experiences. The central thesis is that feeling is the body's job. It's expertly weaved with personal anecdotes and clinical insights to make the abstract idea more concrete and accessible. The greatest strength is the simple approach and the exercises that provide readers with a manual for cultivating mindfulness and emotional resilience. I related to this so much and can't wait to share it with friends and family when it comes out!
I liked this book and found it practical and useful. It followed a nice pattern of author-reflection, case study, practical advice and journal prompts. They were all of a good length that allowed it to be pacey and engaging. I am sure I will dip back into it over time.
Gladys M, Reviewer
The Feeling Muscle is a compassionate, practical guide to building emotional resilience. Dr. Rapkin helps readers understand and sit with hard feelings, offering tools to grow stronger through emotional discomfort. Clear, empathetic, and empowering—a great resource for anyone navigating life’s tougher moments.
The Feeling Muscle is a refreshingly practical and compassionate guide to working with tough emotions. Dr. Jenn Rapkin’s approach—helping you feel your feelings through the body, not just the mind—stands out as simple but deeply powerful. The mix of personal stories and clear exercises made the content tangible and approachable, especially for anyone who tends to feel things deeply. While the book is easy to follow and return to, I’d love to see more about long-term results and additional resources for readers with different backgrounds or learning needs. Overall, this is a valuable toolkit for building emotional resilience and staying grounded in real life, not just theory.
A great read that offers insight into how our emotions are shaped by physical experiences. I appreciated how the book blends scientific explanations with practical takeaways, making the concepts both useful.
Reviewer 1363492
The Feeling Muscle by Dr. Jenn Rapkin, ND — ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
This one was interesting and had some thoughtful insights into emotions and self‑awareness. I appreciated the attempt to treat emotional health with the seriousness it deserves. That said I felt at times like it skimmed areas I wished it explored more deeply and some of the advice felt general. Helpful in parts but not always as impactful as I hoped.
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