{"title":"Books by Will Johnson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781611808001","title":"The Posture of Meditation","description":"\u003ci\u003eWhat does it mean to awaken through the living body?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In this essential guidebook, Will Johnson shows how meditation, too often misunderstood as a mental practice, can be immeasurably enriched through an embodied approach. \u003ci\u003eThe Posture of Meditation \u003c\/i\u003efeatures a range of simple practices based on the principles of alignment, relaxation, and resilience. This classic book—now with a new section detailing the transformative power of the path of somatic meditation—has helped thousands of people to begin their meditation practice, to refine it, and to experience depths they never thought possible.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303944991093,"sku":"9781611808001","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781611808001_b9a57ce0-d1ab-4c69-ada3-57067f280537.jpg?v=1786023563"},{"product_id":"9798888500484","title":"The Radical Path of Somatic Dharma","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinding the path to radiance through deeply felt, sitting meditation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShares practices to show how sitting meditation can be reconnected to lived, bodily experience and help you rediscover your natural somatic radiance\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExplores how the modern thought-focused frame of mind introduces patterns of holding and tension into our bodies\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDraws on techniques from the Buddhist, Sufi, and somatic wisdom traditions as well as insights from the author’s own teachers and collaborators, including Ida Rolf and Judith Aston\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe modern practice of seated meditation is in serious need of reformation. What began as a living, vibrant, and felt practice—the primary practice of the Buddhist path to spiritual realization—has painted itself into a corner of frozen stillness, divorced from lived, bodily experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePresenting an accessible and deeply felt guide to sitting meditation as an active exploration, Will Johnson offers a revitalized understanding of this essential spiritual practice through deeper connection with the body. Johnson argues that the thought-focused mode of consciousness of modern rigid seated meditation introduces patterns of holding and tension into our bodies and virtually guarantees that awakening will not occur. He explains how our focus on thought, rather than embodied experience, results in a numbing of our connection to our physical self and the dimming of the body’s natural somatic radiance, which in turn leads to the nagging presence of chronic pain, a general sense of malaise, and the inability to get comfortable in our own bodies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHowever, this “consciousness of separation” can be overcome. Johnson presents a wide range of practices, including 14 meditations, to support the awakening of breath and presence in the body, drawing on techniques from Buddhist, Sufi, and somatic wisdom traditions as well as methods from his studies with Ida Rolf and Judith Aston.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough the radical path of conscious sitting, Johnson shows how to transform your sitting meditation practice into a fully natural mudra of greater grace from which radiance will naturally flow. As the egoic perspective is dissolved, and chronic pain and discomfort are lessened, practitioners begin to feel a new, enlightened, bodily radiance—what Johnson calls “The Great Wide Open.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56310852354421,"sku":"9798888500484","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9798888500484_b3290263-8849-4929-afcc-d0a5e3ad4aec.jpg?v=1786032837"},{"product_id":"radiant-mindfulness","title":"Radiant Mindfulness","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplores the culminating instruction of the Buddha in the \u003ci\u003eSatipatthana Sutta\u003c\/i\u003e to breathe through the whole body\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeaches you how to alter your physiology to move beyond the static consciousness of mindfulness to a natural, spontaneous state of embodied awareness\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProvides instruction and somatic koans for practicing the core principles of radiant mindfulness—awakening the body, liberating the breath, and opening up to vision and sound\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on the Buddha’s teachings, Will Johnson provides a daily practice that moves beyond the static consciousness of mindfulness to a natural, spontaneous state of embodied awareness. Acknowledging the foundational importance and structural limitations of mindfulness practice, he explores the often overlooked culminating instruction of the Buddha in the \u003ci\u003eSatipatthana Sutta\u003c\/i\u003e to breathe through the whole body.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough reflections and meditations, or what he calls somatic koans, Johnson shows you how to alter your physiology to change consciousness. He explains how to move through levels of conscious awareness, from the passive observation of the breath and the reality of this present moment to radiant mindfulness—an awakening of the body, liberation of breath, and opening up to vision and sound. In this state, the “I” disappears but awareness becomes heightened and unfiltered, allowing a direct experience of unity with the world and within oneself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book offers ways to spontaneously achieve the enlightened state beyond the mind that the Buddha taught as the true goal of meditation. The simple yet profound practice of radiant mindfulness can transform everyday life into a path of spiritual awakening.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57495293460853,"sku":"9798888500606","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9798888500606.jpg?v=1792424383"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-will-johnson.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}