My book club first started meeting in January of 2013. We’re an informal group who meet approximately every other month on Zoom to discuss a book about self-development, productivity, well-being and other inspirational themes. We have delved into vulnerability, presence, the body-mind connection, the Alexander Technique, and how to create and change a habit.

We have enjoyed reading books such as Thrive by Arianna Huffington, Quiet by Susan Cain, Rising Strong by Brené Brown, Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin, and many more (see full list at the bottom of this page).

Our current book is In Touch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself  by John J. Prendergast.

From the blurb:

Your body has a natural sense of truth. We can feel authenticity in ourselves and in others. However, this innate wisdom is obscured by our conditioning―the core limiting beliefs, reactive feelings, and somatic contractions that fuel our sense of struggle and veil who we really are.

In Touch is a groundbreaking, experiential guide to the felt-sense of our “inner knowing”―the deep intelligence available through our bodies. Each chapter presents moving stories, helpful insights from spirituality, psychology, and science, and simple yet potent experiments for integrating the gifts of inner knowing into every aspect of daily life. Join pioneering psychotherapist and teacher Dr. John J. Prendergast to explore:

• The phenomenon of “attunement”―how we accurately sense and resonate with ourselves and others―including an introduction to attachment theory, mirror neurons, and interoception (the ability to sense into the interior of your body)

• Felt-sensing and the subtle body―our ability to have a whole-body sense of reality and how the seven major energy centers relate to common psychospiritual issues

• “Shadows as portals”―how our dark and painful feelings and sensations can point us toward an essential radiance within

• The art of identifying and undoing our core limiting beliefs

• The four somatic qualities of inner knowing―relaxed groundedness, inner alignment, open-heartedness, and spaciousness―and how these subtle signals, once recognized, can guide our choices and help us to navigate life’s challenges

• The fruits of inner knowing―the realization of who we are in our depths and the great intimacy with life we can all enjoy

“As we tune into our deepest nature, our body relaxes, grounds, lines up, opens up, and lights up,” writes Prendergast. “So far this extraordinarily useful subtle feedback has been largely overlooked; almost nothing has been written about it. We need to both sense and decode these signals if we are to benefit from them. These bodily markers are here to be seen and used as guides to enable us to more gracefully navigate life and to awaken. They are part of our birthright, available to anyone.”

In Touch is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and most other bookstores. If you order through bookshop.org it will connect to your local independent bookstore.

The BodyIntelligence Book Club is free to join, and we currently meet on Zoom. We are a small, informal group and the discussions are free-flowing! The only cost involved is the price of the book/s. If you’re interested in joining, or simply want to find out more, please get in touch. Guests are welcome.

The Book Club also has a virtual presence within my Facebook group, the BodyIntelligence Community, where I post about the books we read. It also allows for discussion between meetings, and for people anywhere in the world to join in. The group’s main focus is self-care and personal development, which ties right in with the subject matter of the books we read.
Please click here, if you’d like to join the BodyIntelligence Community Facebook group.

Next Meeting:

Thursday, August 24, 2023
7:00 – 8:30 PM US Eastern Time
Zoom

Past books we have enjoyed: 

Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner
Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Bodyfulness: Somatic Practices for Presence, Empowerment, and Waking Up in This Life by Christine Caldwell
Fierce Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
Talking to Strangers  by Malcolm Gladwell
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease by Lisa Mosconi
Happy: Why More or Less Everything Is Fine by Derren Brown
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World by Jamil Zaki
Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
Emotional Agility by Susan David
Presence by Amy Cuddy
How the Body Knows Its Mind by Sian Beilock
Thrive by Arianna Huffington
Quiet by Susan Cain
Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Body, Breath and Being by Carolyn Nicholls
Befiddled by Pedro de Alcantara
Change Your Posture, Change Your Life by Richard Brennan
Master the Art of Working Out by Malcolm Balk and Andrew Shields
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Principles of the Alexander Technique by Jeremy Chance
Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living by Kathleen Porter
How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live by Missy Vineyard
Indirect Procedures: A Musician’s Guide to the Alexander Technique by Pedro de Alcantara
Body Learning by Michael Gelb
Be In Balance by Angela Bradshaw
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb
F. Matthias Alexander: The Man and his Work by Lulie Westfeldt
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
The Open Focus Brain by Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins
The Happiness Track by Emma Seppälä
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Get Some Headspace: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day by Andy Puddicombe
Non-Violent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg
The Power of Kindness by Piero Ferrucci
The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Grove at Home and Work by Christine Carter
Back in Balance: Use the Alexander Technique to Combat Neck, Shoulder and Back Pain by Richard Brennan
First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You by Ann Demarais and Valerie White
Option B, Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff
Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson
Bliss: One Hero’s Journey by Gary Ramsey
Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain by Due Quach
The 7 Laws of Enough: Cultivating a Life of Sustainable Abundance by Gina LaRoche and Jennifer Cohen
Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain by David Eagleman
Happiness Becomes You by Tina Turner
What We Say Matters by Judith Hanson Laster and Ike K. Laster