Books
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ince this book review is directed more towards Alexander teachers and students, I feel I should point out that, although the author is an experienced and wellknown Alexander teacher, this book is neither about Alexander principles nor procedures. However there are quite a lot of references to Alexander’s work throughout the book. So if you are interested in healing, chakras or emotional work then you may well find this book of great interest. On a personal note, I must admit that after spending many years living in Glastonbury and Totnes in the 70s and 80s, where there was an abundance of chakra healers, I have since then been somewhat sceptical of chakra work. However after reading Glen’s book I have come to realise that there is much more to this work than I realised. I was also taken by the fact that - as an Alexander teacher myself - I so often unknowingly place my hands directly over some of the main chakras especially the throat, heart and solar plexus chakras, and this has often brought about an emotional release. In her new book Chakra Healing Therapy, Glen informs us that the chakras were first mentioned in ancient Hindu teachings, and the word means “a spinning disk or wheel”. There are seven ‘main’ chakras all located along the spine and in the head, and there are minor chakras in the hands and feet. The health of one’s chakras is directly connected to our general health so a strong chakra system helps to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance. Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving. Glen explains how each chakra represents a different developmental stage from infancy through adulthood. She examines the chakras individually on the physical, psychological, psychic, and spiritual level and offers practical exercises to nourish and support each chakra as well as practices for daily chakra care. It seems that a central reason for writing the book was to offer the
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Richard Brennan
Eastern promise Chakra Healing Therapy: Awaken Spiritual Energies and Heal By Glen Park, Destiny Books (Dec 2020), paper-back, 312 pages. Price £14.99.
it might suggest that the person has an issue with self-respect or is involved in some kind of ego conflict (third chakra). A person who is not having enough pleasure and close relationship in their lives often feels rather numb and dead in the abdominal area (second chakra). This information can give us clues as to how we can approach our work and help our pupils more. The exercises in each chapter give suggestions for simple ways of nourishing the individual chakras. While this cannot replace psychotherapy for deeper intractable problems, it can be very helpful to many people. reader an example of the mind-body relationship that is not based on the common “mind as brain, body as machine” culture that still dominates the western world today. The theory of the chakras suggests that consciousness in all its richness and complexity includes the entire self. It offers us a map of the psyche based in the body and this can be really helpful to many types of somatic practitioners as well as to Alexander teachers who wish to explore a more spiritual or emotional approach to the Work. This book can add another layer to our understanding of the self, or - perhaps it could be said - to our understanding of our many selves. The case studies in each chapter give examples of her work with pupils who had problems with individual chakras. So, for example, when a pupil holds a lot of tension in the solar plexus area
Intertwined disciplines I found it interesting that in Glen’s own personal story and in her case histories there were many references to the Alexander Technique. For Glen it appears that the two disciplines are very much intertwined. Chakra Healing Therapy also brings together the deep self-reflection and intuitive wisdom of the Hindu tradition with discoveries based on observable evidence from Western neuroscience and psychology. This approach seems similar to the way Alexander teachers work because we work inwardly to refine our self-awareness and make our sensory appreciation more reliable, and we inform that work with the Alexander principles of movement and also scientific knowledge of anatomy, physiology and embryology. So along with the intuitively based knowledge of the chakras, there’s lots of scientific information in the book. This should be
