Joy : the surrender to the body and to life

126 Pages·1995·0.67 MB·English

by  Alexander Lowen

Table of Contents

ARKANA
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
PREFACE
Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1 - JOY
CHAPTER 2 - THE SURRENDER TO THE BODY
CHAPTER 3 - CRYING: THE RELEASING EMOTION
CHAPTER 4 - THE RESISTANCE TO CRYING
CHAPTER 5 - ANGER: THE HEALING EMOTION
CHAPTER 6 - LOVE: THE FULFILLING EMOTION
CHAPTER 7 - THE BETRAYAL OF LOVE
CHAPTER 8 - SEXUAL ABUSE
CHAPTER 9 - FEAR: THE PARALYZING EMOTION
CHAPTER 10 - THE FEAR OF DEATH
CHAPTER 11 - PASSION, SEX AND JOY
CHAPTER 12 - PASSION AND THE SPIRIT
ARKANA
JOY
Dr. Alexander Lowen is the creator of bioenergetics, a revolutionary method of
psychotherapy designed to restore the body to its natural freedom and
spontaneity through a regimen of exercise. The foremost exponent of this
method of incorporating direct work on the body with the psychoanalytic
process, Dr. Lowen practices psychiatry in New York and Connecticut and is the
executive director of the Institute of Bioenergetic Analysis. He and his wife live
in New Canaan, Connecticut. Dr. Lowen’s other titles include Depression and
the Body, Bioenergetics, Pleasure and Love, Sex and Your Heart, all of which
are available from Arkana.

ARKANA
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books USA Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd,
Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England First published in Arkana 1995

Copyright © Alexander Lowen, 1995 All rights reserved
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Lowen, Alexander.
Joy: the surrender to the body and to life/Alexander Lowen.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-10150165-8
1. Bioenergetic psychotherapy. I. Title.
RC489.B5L685 1995
616.89’14—dc20 95-17549

http://us.penguingroup.com
This book is dedicated to my wife,
Rowfreta Leslie Lowen,
a truly religious person
PREFACE
It is forty-eight years since I saw my first client in therapy. I had just completed
my analysis with Wilhelm Reich. Reich’s work was becoming known, resulting
in a demand for his kind of therapy. As there were very few individuals trained
in his approach, I was sought out despite the fact that I was not a physician at the
time. As a beginner I charged my first patient two dollars an hour, which was a
small fee even then. But as I look back to that early experience, I question if I
was worth even that small sum. I had no idea of the depth and severity of the
disturbance that afflicts so many people in our culture—the depression, the
anxiety, the insecurity and the lack of love and joy in life.
After working with people for almost half a century, during which time I have
written eleven books, I believe I have gained an understanding of the human
problem and have formulated the principles of an effective therapeutic approach
which I call Bioenergetic Analysis. This book will describe the process of that
therapy and illustrate its application through the case histories of my clients. Let
me say that it is not a quick and easy cure, though it is effective. However, its
effectiveness depends upon the experience and self-understanding of the
therapist. Since the problems that people struggle with have been structured in
their personalities for many years, it is unrealistic to expect any quick or easy
cure. True miracles rarely happen. The one miracle that occurs regularly is the
miracle of the creation of new life. To that miracle, this book is dedicated.
The underlying theory of Bioenergetic Analysis is the functional identity and
antithesis of mind and body—of psychological and physical processes.
Functional refers to the fact that body and mind act as a unit in running the body,
and are a unit on the deep level of the energetic processes. The antithesis is
reflected in the fact that on the surface the mind can influence the body and the
body, of course, affects thinking and mental processes.
Bioenergetic Analysis is based on the concept that a person is a unitary being
and that what happens in the mind must also be happening in the body. Thus, if a
person is depressed with thoughts of despair, helplessness and failure, his body
will manifest a similar depressed attitude, evident in decreased impulse
formation, reduced mobility and restricted breathing. All bodily functions will be
depressed, including metabolism, resulting in lowered energy production.
Of course, the mind can influence the body just as the body affects the mind.
It is possible in some cases to improve one’s bodily functioning through a