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The Wisdom of the Body: A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
The distorted view of the perfect female body created by popular culture, television, movies, and the media often causes women to become uncomfortable with their own bodies. Christine Valters Paintner, popular author of nine books and abbess of the online retreat center Abbey of the Arts, draws from Celtic, desert, and Benedictine traditions to help women connect with their bodies through writing, visual art, and movement.
In The Wisdom of the Body , Christine Valters Paintner focuses on the true meaning of the Incarnation—God became flesh—and points to the spiritual importance of appreciating the bodies God gave us.
Each of the book’s ten chapters is a mini-workshop designed to lead us to new ways of being in relationship with our bodies. Starting with the senses and shifting toward emotions and desires, Paintner explores their role as thresholds to discovering the body’s wisdom. She draws from Christian tradition to offer principles and practices such as stability, hospitality, and gratitude to lead us on a journey that ends with a sense of deep peace and self-acceptance.
Through expressive arts and creative movement, Paintner demonstrates a new a language and way of integrating and sharing our discoveries. By exploring the lives of women in the Bible and in the Christian tradition—including Eve, Mary, Hildegaard of Bingen, and Amma Syncletica—Paintner introduces us to companions that accompany us on our journey.
In The Wisdom of the Body , Christine Valters Paintner focuses on the true meaning of the Incarnation—God became flesh—and points to the spiritual importance of appreciating the bodies God gave us.
Each of the book’s ten chapters is a mini-workshop designed to lead us to new ways of being in relationship with our bodies. Starting with the senses and shifting toward emotions and desires, Paintner explores their role as thresholds to discovering the body’s wisdom. She draws from Christian tradition to offer principles and practices such as stability, hospitality, and gratitude to lead us on a journey that ends with a sense of deep peace and self-acceptance.
Through expressive arts and creative movement, Paintner demonstrates a new a language and way of integrating and sharing our discoveries. By exploring the lives of women in the Bible and in the Christian tradition—including Eve, Mary, Hildegaard of Bingen, and Amma Syncletica—Paintner introduces us to companions that accompany us on our journey.
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2017
42 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Christine Valters Paintner
31 books143 followersChristine Valters Paintner, PhD is the online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community. She is the author of over 20 books on contemplative practice and creative expression including three collections of poetry. She lives in Galway, Ireland where she leads online retreats with her husband John. Christine is a Benedictine oblate, living out her commitment as a monk in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 22, 2023
At a friend's (and the book's) recommendation, I read this slowly - only a chapter a week, trying each of the exercises and trying to really chew and digest the message. It stands in sharp contrast to a lot of the "just trust Jesus more" messages of a lot of other Christian self-help books I've read. Conversely, it has a lot of solid theology that sets it apart from secular books. The lessons contained will take me a lifetime to truly absorb, but I'm grateful for phrases like FIERCE GENTLENESS and INNER HOSPITALITY introduced through this book. Gratefully, they are part of a new lexicon for me.
December 25, 2022
I loved this one and savored it slowly. It is exactly what I’ve been looking for, so different from your typical self help “love your body” jibberish or even the cliche, “be happy because you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.” It helped me to see how we have been created with intention and purpose, and our bodies are part of that. It’s a celebration of how we’ve been created and how to embrace all of who we are in order to live our purpose. Some of the spiritual aspects may seem too edgy for evangelical Christians, but I enjoyed it!
April 22, 2023
Paintner offers a compassionate guide to re-member your body with the sacred. Each chapters she provides an embodied practice along with other creative reflections to rewrite your story of your body. I will be returning to this book and using it with clients.
September 3, 2023
A helpful book for any woman interested in a deeper connection to her body. I appreciated the variety of art, gentle movement, and contemplative activities suggested by the author and especially loved her supportive and reassuring tone. Contains ten descriptions and illustrations of Yin Yoga practices if that appeals to you, as it does to me.
April 18, 2017
The Wisdom of the Body has been a welcome addition to my morning practice. There are passages to read, questions on which to reflect, visual art practices, movement suggestions including yin yoga poses, and poetry to inspire. The variety of practices are drawn primarily from desert, Celtic, and Benedictine monastic traditions with body-based practices from conscious dance and yin yoga. (Conscious dance is a practice of meditation and awareness without prescribed steps. It's a dance that is "inner directed and improvisational.") Artist Karen Newe created lovely drawings to help clarify the yoga poses.
Some of the poetry is from women who have followed Christine Valters Paintner's live and online versions of the material. They really help to create a community of other women getting in touch with the wisdom of our bodies. Each of the ten chapters ends with a "BodyPsalm" written by Celeste Snowber who is a professor of arts education in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"This book is rooted in the conviction that our bodies offer us the deepest wisdom—wisdom that can guide us through the river of life," Paintner says in the introduction to the book. She writes from her own lived experience so that readers know they are not alone when it comes to the tendency to ignore the needs of our bodies as we push through a multitude of tasks. She has been trained in the practices she shares such as yin yoga and the expressive arts.
"Central to the expressive arts is an emphasis on process," Paintner points out. I appreciated that reminder as I engaged in the creative art practices such as a drawing a mandala and putting together a collage.
There are allies along the healing, contemplative journey, including Hildegard of Bingen (whose visions appeared to her in mandala form); Sophia; the Unnamed Woman from Song of Songs; Eve; St. Bridget of Kildare; and Amma Syncletica, one of the Desert Mothers who went out into the deserts of Egypt and Syria "to find a different way of life in intimacy with God."
I particularly appreciated the chapter entitled "Senses: The Threshold and Sacrament of Experience." The senses are doorways into the holy as Paintner points out. Her invitation is to create a special place at home, which could be an altar, where there are symbols for each of the five senses. Simply opening the window to the sounds of birdsong can represent sound. There are also suggestions for blessing each of the senses through eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.
In the chapter on "Feelings and Desire," Paintner writes about "Sexuality and the Erotic Impulse." She poses the question: "What if our call is to make love to life itself, whether or not we express it in a physically intimate way with another person?"
"A Prayer of Lament" is one of the suggested explorations in "Exile and Lament: The Vulnerability of the Body." Readers are invited to write a poem that "brings the gift of tears" as a way to refuse to be silenced and "against the voices that tell you your body is anything but beautiful." The lament ends with a "vow of praise" and an expression of gratitude.
As Paintner points out in the introduction, her book is "meant as more of a journey and process than a quick read." I'm glad I took her advice to work through the book slowly, engaging in the practices, reflecting on them and honoring the process. She has come to see the care of her body as her "primary vocation regardless of how that facilitates my doing." Reading this book and following its practices, women can have the opportunity to honor their bodies and reach a new state of self-acceptance. Writing a love letter to the body was one of the final practices in the book and I was glad to do it to appreciate all my body has carried me through.
by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Some of the poetry is from women who have followed Christine Valters Paintner's live and online versions of the material. They really help to create a community of other women getting in touch with the wisdom of our bodies. Each of the ten chapters ends with a "BodyPsalm" written by Celeste Snowber who is a professor of arts education in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"This book is rooted in the conviction that our bodies offer us the deepest wisdom—wisdom that can guide us through the river of life," Paintner says in the introduction to the book. She writes from her own lived experience so that readers know they are not alone when it comes to the tendency to ignore the needs of our bodies as we push through a multitude of tasks. She has been trained in the practices she shares such as yin yoga and the expressive arts.
"Central to the expressive arts is an emphasis on process," Paintner points out. I appreciated that reminder as I engaged in the creative art practices such as a drawing a mandala and putting together a collage.
There are allies along the healing, contemplative journey, including Hildegard of Bingen (whose visions appeared to her in mandala form); Sophia; the Unnamed Woman from Song of Songs; Eve; St. Bridget of Kildare; and Amma Syncletica, one of the Desert Mothers who went out into the deserts of Egypt and Syria "to find a different way of life in intimacy with God."
I particularly appreciated the chapter entitled "Senses: The Threshold and Sacrament of Experience." The senses are doorways into the holy as Paintner points out. Her invitation is to create a special place at home, which could be an altar, where there are symbols for each of the five senses. Simply opening the window to the sounds of birdsong can represent sound. There are also suggestions for blessing each of the senses through eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.
In the chapter on "Feelings and Desire," Paintner writes about "Sexuality and the Erotic Impulse." She poses the question: "What if our call is to make love to life itself, whether or not we express it in a physically intimate way with another person?"
"A Prayer of Lament" is one of the suggested explorations in "Exile and Lament: The Vulnerability of the Body." Readers are invited to write a poem that "brings the gift of tears" as a way to refuse to be silenced and "against the voices that tell you your body is anything but beautiful." The lament ends with a "vow of praise" and an expression of gratitude.
As Paintner points out in the introduction, her book is "meant as more of a journey and process than a quick read." I'm glad I took her advice to work through the book slowly, engaging in the practices, reflecting on them and honoring the process. She has come to see the care of her body as her "primary vocation regardless of how that facilitates my doing." Reading this book and following its practices, women can have the opportunity to honor their bodies and reach a new state of self-acceptance. Writing a love letter to the body was one of the final practices in the book and I was glad to do it to appreciate all my body has carried me through.
by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
June 24, 2021
"I believe deeply that caring for the body is central to my vocation and calling; the two are knit together so that I can't separate how I treat my body from how I respond to the ways God calls me into the world...
I am also beginning to see the care of my body itself as my primary vocation regardless of how that facilitates my doing...
What if beneath the many important things I am called to do in this world, the most fundamental of those is to cherish my body being, this sacred vessel that is my soul's address? I cherish my body not just so I can work harder but also because my body, just as it is, is the most profound voice of wisdom I can access and the very shape of my being in the world."
I am also beginning to see the care of my body itself as my primary vocation regardless of how that facilitates my doing...
What if beneath the many important things I am called to do in this world, the most fundamental of those is to cherish my body being, this sacred vessel that is my soul's address? I cherish my body not just so I can work harder but also because my body, just as it is, is the most profound voice of wisdom I can access and the very shape of my being in the world."
July 16, 2020
I have joined in with the "Novena for Times of Unravelling" and it prompted me to buy this book. I am so happy I did - it is really book to savour and work through.
The book is in line with my own journey at the moment, contemplatively journeying with my own self in this god-given body of mine. What a revelation.
I am not finished yet, but look forward to finish the last chapter and then start again.
The book is in line with my own journey at the moment, contemplatively journeying with my own self in this god-given body of mine. What a revelation.
I am not finished yet, but look forward to finish the last chapter and then start again.
December 29, 2023
I have been sitting with this book a long time, after it was recommended by Robynn, my spiritual director. Such a wholehearted and wholebodied book. I’m not a fan of most the poems she includes (from her students I think) since they didn’t really deepen my reading experience, though I do value writing poems as part of contemplative practice. More than anything, Christine Valters Paintner’s words honor our humanity, and her care in putting this book together is a true gift.
May 28, 2021
On my mini body image project this summer, this was an excellent addition. I loved the concepts of greening and structuring how we feel about our bodies with the Benedictine vows of stability, conversion, and obedience. If you're not into your theology with a bit of mysticism, this might be a miss for you, but I gleaned tons of helpful info for this journey.
August 23, 2021
This book helped me to see my body as the strong, holy vessel it is and to take better care of it. Through movement, walking my dog, eating healthier, getting enough rest, saying no to things that aren’t life giving, I will honor my body. This book is a reminder to love and take care of ourselves. My goal is to start putting the care of my body first rather than last.
November 27, 2017
This book was the Fall choice for the Women's Circle in which I participate. Not quite as deep as I'd hoped as we have tackled much more intense material in the past years. This might be a good start for someone new to this type of study.
May 18, 2019
I have read a number of her books but this one is foundational as I wrote and researched embodied contemplative practices. It is a great read to begin exploring an embodied spirituality for women and men.
June 26, 2021
I read this with a group of women over a 10 week period. It was very helpful to me and I want to go back from time to time to refresh myself on what I learned about my body.
August 26, 2025
I didn’t get on with this book. I had real concerns about some of the things she says. It was very obvious to me that she holds a different view to mine on Christian faith issues.
June 8, 2019
Read with a group over a semester. It sparked some good discussions.
Directed to women, it is a book largely about self-care with some religious overtones.
Directed to women, it is a book largely about self-care with some religious overtones.
February 24, 2022
Really helped me look at my body image - and to be more accepting of it - as well as provide better care for it.
Read
October 30, 2017A very good book which I plan to re-read and make notes .
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews