Pelvic Power: Mind/Body Exercises for Strength, Flexibility, Posture, and Balance for Men and Women

I highly recommend this book to whoever wants to understand the mechanics of the pelvis, and identify pelvic imbalances and increase awareness of the pelvis to the rest of the body, especially for physical therapists, structural bodyworkers, and movement re-educators. The author guides the reader through step by step instruction to increase awareness of body landmarks, movement, breath, and holding patterns with well-described sentences and lots of helpful illustrations. By understanding the relationship between sitz-bones, tail bone, pubes, anterior iliac spine, femur, spine, organ, and breath, the application of this book is tremendous. My "seeing" skill (structural assessment) is significantly enhanced and identifying muscular and movement imbalances have become much clearer and easier. I am grateful that Eric Franklin wrote this book because I am able to help my clients with leg length discrepancy, lower back pain, foot pain, knee pain, hip pain, poor posture with a clearer understanding of mechanics, structure and movement.

In my earlier years, I was a teaching fellow in physiology and a research biochemist. I have a strong background in physiology, but later I went back to school for psychology and my studies included work in somatic psychology. I am also a meditation instructor and do a lot of public speaking on various topics related to the mind-body issue. I also use biofeedback in my practice, so these kinds of books are part of my meat and potatoes living. In this volume, Mr. Franklin has done an EXCEPTIONAL job of describing the structure, function and importance of the pelvic area and how to strengthen and balance it. He takes a very integral approach to the connection between mind and body and the book although a bit of a difficult read for people without some background in biology is still very accessible. This accessibility is partly due to the detailed and easy to follow descriptions, organization of material and excellent diagrams that clearly illustrate key points. This book also covers beliefs about the flow of energy through the pelvis and it's relationship to other body systems and the mind as understood by the various world's wisdom traditions. There are also good exercises to explore these concepts from the inside yourself. I think this is a most own book for any massage therapist, athlete, dancer or yoga instructor who wants a deep understanding of the pelvis, how to strengthen it and how it contributes to the overall health of the body. This is truly a unique book and worthwhile read.

This book has helped me more than a very expensive pelvic floor workshop I attended which just taught me how to become tense. These are the best fourteen bucks I have spent in exercise literature. The book has to be slowly digested and paced to fully grasp the content. The explanations are simple and the visuals are wonderful, but the simplicity is deceptive: the subtle movements require complete calm and focus. I have a lot of problems around the pelvic/hip/lumbar region and these exercises are a treasure to me. I feel I have only started taping into the benefits they can bring if done correctly. I keep coming back to the book and the exercises again and again. Totally recommended!

As a somatic practitioner using neuromuscular techniques, Pilates, Gyrotonic and Yoga, Eric's innovative work in dance medicine has always been solid and inspirational. Here he tackles the structures of the pelvis with sound functional anatomy, visualization and awareness exercises that are challenging for the professional and accessible to the lay person. Incorporating the information in this book into my teaching always brings positive comments from my students and sets me apart as an instructor.

Great stuff. I've been working on a lot of these principles for the past 3 years in Pilates and Feldenkrais classes. This is an excellent discussion of the bones and muscles in the pelvis, why they're important, and how to develop pelvic power! Why should we care? Because the pelvis is a fundamental structure in the body. Having proper mobility in the pelvis is a keystone of sitting and walking. If we lack proper strength in our pelvis -- or proper flexibility -- we cannot really be happy with our bodies. Franklin has already addressed the shoulder area in his other book "Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders". These two books together are a potent prescription to a fully functional and integrated body.Typically, these concepts are difficult to understand -- even for massage therapists and other professionals in the bodywork industry. However, Franklin is gifted in his use of imagery to get his point across. There are many titles worthy for students to explore (Anatomy of Movement, Anatomy Trains, etc.) but this is one of the most accessible books for the lay person to read. Highly recommended.The title of this book will put off some people; I appreciate the direcness of Franklin. It really is about having your pelvis be a powerful foundation for your body. There's no way to expand our understanding without talking about it! It is not a book about sex, but developing your pelvic strength and flexibilty will almost certainly have a positive impact in that area of your life. How could that possibly be a bad thing?