I truly believe books find you when you’re ready for them. My story with Eastern Body, Western Mind feels like proof of that. I first heard about it during a yoga teacher training at Samyak Yoga early last year. I bought the book, carried it with me across at least three countries — but only cracked it open recently, while alone in Japan, fresh off a course in Buddhist philosophy, with a relatively still mind and the rare gift of solitude. And wow - it was time.
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From the very first pages, my brain just kept going yes, yes, yes. This book is a bible. It weaves together soul and science, East and West, the ancient and the modern — using the chakra system as a framework to explore developmental, somatic, and transpersonal psychology. Judith doesn’t reduce the chakras to simplistic symbols; she explores them as deep psychological maps of our lived experience. The result is a layered, holistic way of understanding the self.
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This isn’t a light read. It’s dense, research-backed, and full of insight — the kind of book you take notes from, return to, and re-read through different phases of your life. Each chapter dives into one chakra, tracing its developmental roots, its emotional themes, and how imbalances might show up in our bodies and relationships. Some chapters will speak directly to what you’re moving through right now; others may wait quietly in the wings until they’re needed.
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What stood out most to me is how seamlessly Judith bridges worlds — East and West, intellect and intuition, science and spirituality. Having lived between India and the U.S., I’ve often felt like I exist in the middle of those spaces. My brain is constantly connecting the dots between cultural and philosophical systems, trying to make meaning across traditions. This book felt like it gets that — and offers language and structure for what that kind of integration can look like.
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If you’re someone drawn to the intersections of yoga, psychology, movement, energy work, and inner transformation — this book will speak to you. It’s not a quick or easy read, but it’s deeply worthwhile. More than anything, Eastern Body, Western Mind reminds us that healing is multidimensional. That we’re not just minds or bodies or spirits — but a complex, beautiful dance of all three.
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Highly recommend, especially if you’re craving a deeper lens through which to view your growth, healing, and humanity.

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