This is a book unabashedly for women only. The author writes in the Introduction: “How did we go from being born as fully embodied, deeply connected, sensing and feeling individuals to feeling disconnected from our bodies or even at war with them? How did we come to feel shame, hatred, disgust, fear, disappointment, and betrayal toward our bodies? What caused the disruption and severance?”
Biasetti wants to help women find a way back into relationship with their bodies — if it is broken in one of those ways — with the help of “intimacy, kindness, gentleness, balance, intuition, and connection.” The sources for Biasetti’s teaching are many, including mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh, yoga therapeutics, eating disorder recovery literature, reminders of the prevalence of patriarchy and its effects, and wisdom regarding the sensory, the sensuous, loving oneself, and self-compassion.
Embodied practices also fill the pages. For example, in Chapter 9, “Embracing Body Equanimity,” there are five in-depth ones, each full of careful detail. They include “Allowing Your Body to Decide” and “Somatically Releasing Tough Moments” (see the excerpt accompanying this review), designed to help allow a difficult moment to pass by while you reconnect with your body’s experience and regain a sense of yourself.
