Susan Aposhyan

SUSAN APOSHYAN, an accomplished meditator and psychotherapist, is among the leading figures in the field of somatic psychology. From her roots as a professional dancer in New York in the 1970s, she encountered the practice of Body-Mind Centering and became a dedicated student of Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen. In the 1980s, she joined the faculty of Naropa University and founded and directed the Body Psychotherapy graduate program. Aposhyan went on to create a unique approach known as Body-Mind Psychotherapy, which has been described as the most body-based in its field because of its focus on human anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, evolutionary science, animal ethology, and development. She is the author of Natural Intelligence: Body-Mind Integration and Human Development and Body-Mind Psychotherapy: Principles, Techniques, and Practical Applications. Based in Boulder, she teaches programs and retreats internationally and has been invited to speak and keynote at a variety of conferences.

"In Heart Open, Body Awake, Susan Aposhyan personally guides us along a path she knows well—a path that can awaken us to our own essential nature. The four steps of embodied spirituality that she shares are quite simple and easy to understand. The questions for the reader are also simple. Do you want to wake up to who you truly are? Do you want to recognize and support the essential nature of others? Do you want to engage in a practice that will help you feel the wonder, pain, and joy of living and the peace and release of dying? If this is your desire and your path of inquiry, reach out and take hold of this book. Susan is offering a valuable guide to embodiment practice." —Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Developer of the Body-Mind Centering® Approach to Movement and Consciousness

"With authenticity and grace, vulnerability and kindness, Susan Aposhyan weaves science, body, relationships, and so much more into an especially friendly volume that takes the reader on a journey of personal discovery and expansion. Simple practices peppered throughout the book allow us to pause and experience the wonder of her essential concepts in our own bodies. Reading Heart Open, Body Awake feels like being held, as if the book were wrapping its arms about the reader to gently coax into bloom our natural impulse for deep, connected spiritual embodiment. This treasure is Susan’s wise and unique gift to the world—it will change you if you let it." —Pat Ogden, Founder of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institutes

"This gorgeously written guidebook is filled with fascinating insights and enriching meditations from a perspective that integrates science, psychology, and spirituality. Shimmering with clarity, Heart Open, Body Awake deepens our sense of connection and wonder with the world around us and within us." —Ralph De La Rosa, author of The Monkey Is the Messenger and Don’t Tell Me to Relax