From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement

Drawing from more than five decades of physical therapy practice, lifelong yoga study, and the latest insights in pain science, Sherry Brourman offers a transformative guide to healing through body awareness, movement intelligence, and compassionate self-understanding. From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement invites readers into a deeply integrative approach—one that honors both scientific evidence and the wisdom inherent in lived experience.

Brourman’s method begins with a simple yet profound premise: healing is a partnership. Whether you are a patient, client, practitioner, or curious mover, she empowers you to become an active collaborator in your own well-being. Through clear explanations, personal stories of her own back and knee injuries, and vivid clinical examples, Sherry reveals how subtle shifts in movement patterns, perception, and breath can alleviate pain, restore confidence, and reduce the need for invasive procedures.

This book seamlessly weaves anatomy, neuroplasticity, emotional awareness, and yoga philosophy into a practical roadmap for everyday life. Brourman’s writing is warm, intuitive, and accessible—bridging the gap between technical understanding and embodied wisdom. Therapists and clinicians will discover fresh perspectives to support their patients, while individuals without medical training will gain tools to understand their bodies, trust their sensations, and cultivate meaningful self-care practices.

More than a manual for movement, this is a book about agency, connection, and the remarkable capacity of the human body to heal. Readers will learn to recognize subtle cues—like a lifted shoulder, a held breath, or a familiar muscular bracing—as invitations toward deeper awareness. With encouragement and clarity, Sherry guides us back to our innate resilience, reminding us that even small shifts in alignment, breath, or attention can open pathways to relief, vitality, and joy.

Beautifully blending science, therapeutic insight, and heartfelt storytelling, From Bodily Knowledge to Intuitive Movement is an essential resource for physical therapists, yoga therapists, healthcare professionals, and anyone seeking a more empowered, compassionate relationship with their body.

This book introduces and expands understanding of yoga therapy as a problem solver. Teachers/therapists will be able to choose and teach comprehensive solutions using explicit yoga sequencing for multi-layered health conditions originated structurally. The ten chosen postures presented provide a template for any number of asanas used by the teacher/therapist. The book will enable yoga teachers/therapists and physical therapists to determine the underlying issues with regards to posture, movement patterns, discomfort and pain.

Author

Sherry Brourman is a movement educator. She volunteered at a school for handicapped children when she was 12 years old, and continued there until leaving for Boston University graduating as a physical therapist in 1973. At her first professional job, she was assigned the task of evaluating 60 disabled children for whether they might learn to walk with training, thus initiating her quest for articulating movement education. Subsequently at Rusk Institute in NYC, Sherry developed classical skills for long term and severe pain rehabilitation. In 1975, she opened the first private physical therapy office in New Mexico. Sherry began teaching yoga to her patients in small group classes and during this time studied walking as the template for all physical activity eventually inspiring her groundbreaking book, Walk Yourself Well, 1998. Just after publication, Sherry started training yoga teachers and knew that this her new book, Using Yoga Therapeutically, was in its beginning stages. A member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the International Association of Yoga Therapy, and a Yoga Alliance registration at the E-RYT 500 level, Sherry continues to study and teach the ways that her two fields coalesce scientifically and effectively. Sherry taught a seminar entitled “Using Yoga Therapeutically” for medical professionals for 10 years; and for five years she has taught functional anatomy at Loyola Marymount University on its yoga therapy certification program. She currently teaches workshops for yoga teachers, yoga therapists, physical therapists, and many healing arts professionals. Sherry also founded the Tensegrity Center for Yoga Therapy, an IAYT registered school, has developed a 300 hour internship program for yoga therapists, and continues her 40th year in private practice.