This book prepares physical therapists, yoga therapists and all movement practitioners to recognize various components of discomfort including the bio, psycho, social and spiritual contributions to posture, movement patterns, and to their pain. This multi-layered approach helps readers utilize the methodology to then share and collaborate with clients to help devise their personalized approach to self awareness and bodily presence.
Sherry Brourman masterfully coalesces physical therapy, yoga therapy and pain science to create this valuable resource that ultimately utilizes intuitive movement for better health.
The book offers practical advice, real-life examples and case studies as well as deep insight into how individual bodies can move and heal within each body's 'normal'.
Twelve key yoga postures, their transitions, and energetic missions are explored in great depth as templates, giving practitioners the insight to choose and share the self-empowered process of inner investigation. This becomes the reasoning for choices including yoga therapy sequencing as response to multi-layered health conditions.
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From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement explores the incredible power of body awareness, physiological regulation and discernment for those struggling with pain and movement limitations. Brourman's exploration of interconnections and interconnectedness powerfully and naturally guides the reader to the experience that exploring all of our complexity is a path to recovery and to self-realization. -- Neil Pearson, physiotherapist, yoga therapist, co-author/editor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care. To convey the nuance of yoga therapy is no simple task, and yet in this book, Sherry Brourman succeeds. In a logical and well-researched yet heartfelt intuitive progression, Sherry masterfully guides us on a journey which begins with an objective knowledge of the body and moves towards the subjective embodiment of that knowledge. In doing so, she offers an opportunity to experience many wonderful gifts - self-awareness, self-love, compassionate self-exploration, the reduction of pain, and the ultimate gifts of authentic yoga practice - self-understanding. This is not only a book for physical therapists to better understand and utilize yoga therapy, but also a book for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be more human and how yoga therapy can support that endeavor. I highly recommend it. -- Kristine Weber, MA, c-IAYT, eRYT500, Founder of Subtle Yoga Sherry's personal experiences described in her introduction tell us how deeply she trusts her own body systems to see her through even the worst types of pain. And the agency she demonstrates to her readers can't help but inspire us all to trust the miraculous abilities of our own bodies.
From the introduction on her unique writing style highlights her creative and intentional approach to her patients, audience, and her own ongoing self-study. The book flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter, concept to concept, with perfect analogies to knit each thread neatly together. Sherry offers fresh perspectives on concepts I've woven into my practice for decades; I can now pass these onto my patients and students with deep gratitude.
I highly recommend this influential work for physical therapists and other healthcare professionals as well as those without formal medical training. As healthcare professionals we can apply our own versions of Sherry's eloquent language when building relationships with our patients. As human beings we can learn how our body systems work intricately together, and with that new awareness, develop healing self-care practices with confidence and empowerment. -- Tess O'Hearn, PT, C-IAYT, Program Director, AlcheMe Yoga Therapy Acute sciatic pain is what led me to Sherry Brourman, but an emerging sense of freedom in my body is what kept me going back to her yoga therapy class long after the scary pain had resolved. In this engaging book, Sherry combines a deep dive into scientific literature with her decades of experience as a physical and yoga therapist. The result is a treasure trove of information that will be invaluable to anyone who works with or thinks about the human body in motion. -- Linda Schack, M.D Within these pages are tools to understand mind/body messages, parsing the biopsychosocial forces that inform every aspect of our lives, including movement. With Sherry's book, I have come to understand my own negative childhood message - that I was "clumsy" and "not athletic" I have begun to heal, and my own movement has become more agile - and yes, more intuitive. In turn, I can articulate these ideas to help my yoga students. The result has been less pain and fear, with an expansion of vitality and joy. -- Robin Munson, Yoga Teacher Sherry Brourman has masterfully woven her expertise in physical therapy, yoga therapy, and pain science to reveal the profound mind-body connection. Her book offers a compassionate framework for choice and presence, empowering readers to explore their unique path to healing and well-being. It is a must-read for those seeking clarity, acceptance, and self-discovery. -- Wendy Obstler, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP Brourman has distilled more than 50 years of her formal PT training and lifelong yoga study, also informed by current advances in pain science and insights into mind-body connections, to help people feel better.
Her approach encourages the patient/client/reader to partner in their care - teaming with providers from a variety of disciplines in an integrative approach to healing.
Using examples from her own history of back and knee problems, she lays out a roadmap for wellness - including small course corrections in movement patterns and perception that can reduce or alleviate pain, improve the ability to carry out daily activities and thereby minimize invasive procedures and surgeries. This book is a key addition to your personal and professional library. -- Cynthia Wood, PT, CLT , CHt In this profound exploration of self-love and the transformative power of grace, the author invites us to reconnect with the innocence that lies within us all. The concept of neuroplasticity emerges as a comforting reminder that change is always possible, empowering us to embrace perceived alignment-not as a quest for perfection, but as an opportunity to tune into our bodies and emotions. The author skillfully highlights subtle cues, like a raised shoulder or shallow breathing, revealing how awareness can illuminate hidden tensions and foster healing. Each insight encourages us to lean into our memories of success, reminding us that even the smallest shifts in breath can uplift our spirits. This book is a beautiful guide for anyone seeking deeper self-awareness and a more compassionate relationship with themselves. -- Amity Janow A decade ago back and shoulder problems began to limit my yoga practice. I was told never again to do down-dog nor to lift my arms above my shoulders. But a wise friend introduced me to Sherry Brourman. Through what you will learn in this book, you will discover how Sherry brought me to understand my body and simultaneously gifted me a toolbox of movements to maintain and strengthen my body, even at 80 years old. Flow with Sherry as she takes you through her thought process. You will be thankful for it. -- Susan Kanowith-Klein Sherry Brourman is a lifelong friend, healer, physical therapist, yoga therapist, and my interoception guide. After undergoing hip replacement and rotator cuff surgeries, I've learned that I can thrive calmly with focus, a positive attitude, and acceptance of my physicality, recognizing that pain is transitory and manageable. Sherry's gentle, holistic approach respects individuality with a method that emphasizes movement choices to alleviate pain, enhance healthy bodily memory, within daily life. She has helped me embrace my body's imperfections while discovering my capacity for healing. -- Nancy Hittman This insightful book blends practical techniques and pain science to reduce discomfort through body awareness, centering cues, self-adjustments, breathing, and movement. It provides a clear framework for understanding pain and empowering self-care. These tools have transformed how I teach my yoga students by allowing me to effectively communicate strategies, helping them alleviate pain and improve their overall health. A must-read for anyone seeking to enhance or teach physical well-being through mindful practices. -- Amal Khoury Sherry has helped me discover that when my body hurts, I can find movement and mindful focus to shift, work with, sometimes even eliminate that hurt. I have learned that our bodies are interconnected systems; emotions, thoughts, movement patterns, breath, all affecting how we perceive sensation. I am awestruck by the connections she draws in this book, and the inner resources those connections offer us. -- Michele Brourman
Sherry Brourman is a movement educator. Starting at 12 years old, she volunteered at a school for handicapped children and continued there until leaving for Boston University; graduating as a physical therapist in 1973. At her first professional job, she was assigned the task of evaluating 60 disabled children for whether they might learn to walk with training, thus initiating her quest for understanding the potential benefits of movement education. Subsequently at Rusk Institute in NYC, Sherry developed classical skills for working with persistent pain and long term rehabilitation. In 1975, she opened the first private physical therapy office in New Mexico. There, Sherry began teaching yoga to her patients in small group classes. During this time, she was also studying individual walking as the template for her patient's other physical activities, inspiring her groundbreaking book, Walk Yourself Well, 1998. Soon after, Sherry began teaching the confluence of physical therapy, gait and yoga therapy and taught a course chiefly for professionals for their understanding of the more common (at that time) yoga injuries that their patients were experiencing as well as teaching functional anatomy for the Loyola Marymount University Yoga Therapy program. These courses and their applications for her patients became the notes for her new book, From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement, Where Physical Therapy, Yoga Therapy and Pain Science Meet, (SD 2025). Sherry continues her 50th year in practice and her study to enrich these concepts, in her words, as a lifelong exploration.
