Book Review: Body Cognition - The Method

I’ve had poor posture and suffered from migraines and other aches for some time. I’ve always believed that good posture is important to health and looking good. I’ve  sought exercises and ways to improve my posture and get rid of my rounded shoulders. I recently read Body Cognition— The Method by Josepha Michaeli looking for ideas to help.

Body Cognition is a combination of education and training in exercises to use our body correctly. The body is a tool, with proper use being important. Poor posture and incorrect use of our body can affect our health, causing pain and much more. This book is at attempt to explain and display its practical implementation. It is written by Josepha Michaeli, an acclaimed Israeli physiotherapist and physical education teacher. More information about the author and Body Cognition can be found on the Body Cognition's website.

The Amazon description states that the book is target towards “all those interested in their body and health and want to delve deeper into the body out of personal and intellectual inquisitiveness” and professionals dealing with all the body therapy disciplines.  All readers are supposed to be able to find what they are looking for in accordance with their level of interest and depth.

I had hoped this book would have some practical lessons and exercises one could do to improve their body’s posture and muscular support. As a layperson, found this this book seems to be intended for professionals or those involved with bodywork.  At times, I felt this verbose, jargon filled book was over my head. It reads like a textbook for practitioners or students planning to enter the field. It is packed with information about human anatomy and the body’s functioning. After the first chapter, I realized that the practical exercises, movements, and information about implementing the method that I sought probably would not be found here. The book covers lots of the whys regarding the need for body cognition, but lacks much of the hows. The book did reinforce my belief that the body does work as a machine, and if part of it is off then it doesn’t work at its optimum level. My key problem is that I work at a desk in a sedentary job, and "prolonged immobility" and continuous, monotonous actions are bad.

Body Cognition— The Method is available as an ebook on amazon.com.

In closing, I will say that I was disappointed, as this book was not what I had hoped. I received the book (through a Tomoson.com promotion) in return for providing a review, otherwise I probably would not have continued reading the book past the first chapter, and I would normally not bother with writing a review. It’s not necessarily a bad book, just not a book meant for me.