UNBLOCK YOUR BODY by Deanna Hansen shares hard-won knowledge and perspective on how the human body works, heals, and thrives. Hansen's focus on the fascia layer between skin and muscle is aligned with the work of others such as Miranda Esmonde-White and like theirs, is self-empowering, gentle, and incredibly powerful. While sections felt like advertisements for her products and trainers, the overall tone was informative, accessible, and fascinating. I received an early copy of the book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This book seemed more like an infomercial for services. It was testimonies about how these things have helped people, but there wasn't any real instruction for the reader to implement the strategies at home. Some pictures/ diagrams and a step-by-step to actually DO the block therapy and isometrics would make this book much better.

I had never heard of Block Therapy prior to this book, but I was drawn to exploring it by the provocative promotional blurb. Based on my reading, I’m convinced enough to try it out for myself.

This is not a self-help book in the traditional sense. It does not contain exercises to perform to achieve a greater sense of well-being. Rather it is an inspirational guide, which simply and eloquently describes the anatomy and physiology underlying a transformational, holistic approach to self-care leading to improved physical, emotional and mental health.

The author is a Certified Athletic Therapist who discovered this process through working with her own body with significant results. Over the years she developed a system of working with clients (called Fluid Isometrics) that evolved into Block Therapy, a practice of self-care.

The focus of this work is the fascia system – releasing emotions, tension and trauma held in the connective tissue to restore the natural space and flow within the body. Often chronic pain, frequently associated with disease and aging, is the result of constriction associated with the fascia and incorrect breathing. This results in decreased blood flow, which contributes to the degeneration of cells and organs secondary to poor oxygenation, compromised nutritional support, and sluggish waste removal. By “unblocking” the body and releasing its innate wisdom to heal and self-regulate, life can be experienced with more vitality.
The Resources section of the book provides information on the author’s website to pursue the techniques of Block Therapy as well as You Tube video links to illustrate the techniques and provide case studies. . My only criticism is that there is a fair amount of repetition woven into the chapters, but perhaps this is necessary for emphasis.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads and Amazon accounts.