The Rapture Of Being With Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan; Unlocking Your Body: Regaining Youth Through Somatic Awareness With Thomas Hanna

Based on the national public television series Thinking Allowed, hosted by Jeffrey Mishlove, these two programs are basically extended dialogues. In the first program, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, initiate of an Indian Sufi Order, and author of Toward the One, Call of the Dervish, and other titles, talks rather vaguely about the "divine" in us all. In other words, one looks for God within, rather than without. This concept--that we're the stuff of angels-is at least as old as Plato's theory of universal forms (i.e., if God exists as an eternal absolute, we are imperfect representations of God). To further muddy the waters, according to Pir Vilayat, as mini-Gods, we, in turn affect God. Most people are not going to be able-or even want-to follow the convoluted paths of mystical thought espoused in this very long 90-minute program. And, frankly, there's not enough concrete here to furnish the walkway for a doll house. The second program, on the other hand, not only addresses concrete concepts, but also features a hands-on training session for those viewers who want to put the ideas to practical use. Thomas Hanna, author of the book Somatics, makes an interesting, and persuasive, argument that some of the aspects of aging that we take for granted-aching muscles, curving back, etc. - are not due to normal structural evolution of the body, but rather to a psychological cause which Hanna terms "sensory-motor amnesia". Hanna shows that various reflexes provoked by stress can involve involuntary muscles, which gradually become locked into a contracted position. By becoming consciously aware of these muscle groups, viewers can train the muscles to relax. First, using Mishlove, and then with a live model, Hanna effectively demonstrates a series of simple exercises for viewers to perform. An interesting information/how-to discussion/workout from a 60-year-old man who can lecture with his foot behind his head-literally. The first program, The Rapture of Being, is not recommended; the second program Unlocking Your Body is recommended. (Available from: Thinking Allowed, 2560 Ninth St., Suite 123, Berkeley, CA 94710.)