‘Written for discerning professionals and students in the social sciences, performing and visual arts and humanities, readers will find plenty to anchor their understanding of the field of Somatics by delving into the book from any point. The scholarship reflects decades of Eddy’s passion to bring together an octopus of a field, whose diversity appears to defy categorization. Yet, she has been able to achieve this in a captivating narrative. At the same time, her choice of title for the book, Mindful Movement, implies that dualism still requires a continuing commitment to disciplined movement practice, one that evolves beyond multi-, inter- and even trans-disciplinarity, towards the truth of the soma.’ – Glenna Batson, Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices.

“Involved in Somatic practices since the 1970s, Martha Eddy has produced a significant review of the history, participants and practices of a field which, in my perfect world, would be part of every person’s education. It is about our ability to perceive ourselves, to feel bodily movement and structure. Somatics is the softest revolution in human consciousness that can be imagined. Many of the practices are informed by ancient Chinese and Indian disciplines; in 1970 Thomas Hanna coined the word we now use to name these integrative approaches. Somatic education has been enthusiastically embraced and developed in large part by performers who love science or philosophy. In my own years of study and exploration I found it a missing link in dance practice and especially know that my solo dance practice is based on it. It is the most basic awareness of dance a dancer can have. Mindful Movement describes how somatic education has been made more visible by university performing arts and psychology departments and how it is beginning to be used in some schools for children and youth. The body is profoundly neglected in primary education, as though the child will be taught by their parents (they aren’t) or somehow discover the body’s many levels just by having one (they don’t). One thing a child has is sensations; indeed, some of my childhood sensations remain with me still. Education in this field, which can guide one through the body and even improve the structure of the body via the perception of how it feels, would be an excellent starting place. The feelings are there; it may dawn on educators and our culture that learning to perceive oneself is why these feelings exist. Eddy has related Somatics’ many facets to give movement practitioners today a sense of their elders and the profound achievements that this approach has provided. She opens doors to the importance of ‘the hidden senses’ of proprioception and kinesthesia in education, culture, and health. She also makes a case for how attention to the body through somatic practice can help ignite and sustain activism in these realms.” – Steve Paxton, developer of Contact Improvisation, founding member of Judson Dance Theatre and Grand Union.