Table Of ContentBioenergetics I. From Reich to Bioenergetics Reichian Therapy, 1940-1945 Work as a Reichian Therapist, 1945-1953 The Development of Bioenergetics II. The Energy Concept Charge, Discharge, Flow and Movement You Are Your Body Mind, Spirit, and Soul The Life of the Body: The Bioenergetic Exercise III. The Language of the Body The Heart of Life: The Heart of the Matter Interacting with Life Body Signs and Expressions IV. Bioenergetic Therapy A Voyage in Self-Discovery The Core of Therapy Anxiety V. Pleasure: A Primary Orientation The Pleasure Principle The Ego and the Body A Characterology The Hierarchy of Character Types and a Bill of Rights VI. Reality: A Secondary Orientation Reality and Illusion Hang-Ups Grounding VII. Falling Anxiety The Fear of Height An Exercise in Falling The Causes of Falling Anxiety Falling in Love VIII. Stress and Sex Gravity: A General View of Stress Lower-Back Pain The Sexual Release IX. Self-Expression and Survival Self-Expression and Spontaneity Sound and Personality The Eyes Are the Mirrors of the Soul Headaches X. Consciousness: Unity and Duality Expanding Consciousness Words and the Heightening of Consciousness Principles and Character Index
SynopsisBioenergetics is the revolutionary new therapy that uses the language of the body to heal the problems of the mind. This exciting body-mind approach to personality has a liberating and positive effect on emotional, physical, and psychic distress. Dr. Alexander Lowen, founder and prime mover of this fast-growing therapy, writes that increased joy and pleasure are possible in every day life through an understanding of how your body functions energetically: how it determines what you feel, think, and do. Dr. Lowen points out that lack of energy is the result of chronic muscular tensions, a condition caused by the suppression of feelings. These tensions can be dissolved through the direct body work in bioenergetic exercise, which restores the potential for living a rich, full life. Dr. Lowen analyzes common physical ailments like headaches and lower back pain and shows how they too can be overcome by releasing the muscular tenstion that create them. Generously illustrated with line drawings of bioenergetic exercises, this book is sure to bring freedom, confidence, and pleasure to thousands of men and women. "In this highly interesting and valuable attempt to restore the body to the mind, Dr. Alexander Lowen sets out in a practically useful way the principles of his new form of psychotherapy. Bioenergetics is destined to become widely influential." --Ashley Montagu