Suzanne Scurlock-Durana has spent 30 years studying the gifts of the body and teaching people how to reclaim it. Of course, negative thinking and self-abnegation throw major roadblocks in the way of those who seek to heal from trauma and awaken to the wisdom of their bodies. At the outset, Scurlock-Durana lays out five pernicious myths of the body: it's too painful; it's mysterious and dangerous; it's seductive and leads you astray; it's out of control and must be dominated; and it knows far less than the brain.
Included in the process of re-connecting with the body are working with interpersonal relationships, coping with any internal resistance to life, and nourishing and replenishing the core of your container. The goal is to harness the wisdom of the flesh — the heart, gut, pelvis, legs and feet, bones and brain. It is very comforting to learn that our bodies speak to us via the inspiration of the heart, the gut's sense of knowing, the power of the pelvis, and the steadiness of the bones.
Perhaps the most fascinating chapter deals with the pelvis as "the black sheep" of the body. Often it is injured, compressed, or compartmentalized due to trauma or cultural/religious issues, and that can lead to negative effects. Instead of being the energy center that it is, this area of the body for many is depleted and numb. Scurlock-Drana suggests that "the pelvis needs the heart as a guiding force to channel its energy in ways that are good for the whole system and for others."
The ultimate goal in reclaiming the body is to experience the rapture of being alive. For the author that means healing from trauma and awakening to "all the cells of your body with more frequency and more depth." These spiritual attainments are only possible when we make full use of "curiosity, awareness, and trust."
