[.ca] Comfort at Your Computer: Body Awareness Training for ... (ISBN 1556433220)

Fluffy non-specific waste of money:
This book is a mushy worthless waste of reading time. I stopped reading after 4 chapters of stuff like, "Now close your eyes and imagine stretching your fingers. Feel the difference. Visualize a butterfly...blablabla" The "It's not Carpal Tunnel" book was much better; full of stretches and useful advice.

Excellent:
I've developed intense pain from using the mouse (both on right and left hands). I was doing a lot of graphic work, lots of double clicking and dragging. Going weekly to the chiropractor relieved 20% of the pain. After one session with a Feldenkreis practioner, 80% of the pain was gone. She lent me the 1st edition of this book, which is what the review is based on. I've taken Feldenkreis lessons before, but never noticed much difference. I now realize that this pain has raised my awareness levels of my body in a way I didn't know before. Now I can do simple Feldenkreis lessons at home and feel a definite difference in muscles being looser and moving better. This book is great on raising my body awareness while I am at the computer. I've professional training in safety and ergonomics. I learned more from this book that was not covered in previous professional training. Understanding about the proper pelvis position while sitting and how it affects your arms was an eye opener. The general public has a misunderstanding of what good posture is supposed to look like. The only thing I would recommend is a more in depth chapter on the different types of mice (pointing devices) and keyboards available out there, their pros and cons. Having to choose a new pointing device and keyboard for myself has been a daunting task. I've already returned 2 keyboards with centrally located touchpads that relieved some of the pain, but not all. I'm now considering a vertical mouse and the comfort keyboard, which would keep my hands in the vertical position. Maybe this is covered in the new book edition or maybe this topic is too individual to be covered in a generic book. As the author mentioned to me in an e-mail: If you sensitize yourself to feelings of balance and ease in your body, you will be better able to detect which ergonomic devices are actually helpful. I particularly enjoyed having him respond to specific questions I posed. Highly recommended!

A boon to computer users:
This book changed my life at work. I have to admit, I didn't exactly follow the "program" - I skipped to the section on sitting, which is what interested me. I have a chronic, mild, back problem, and I had searched and searched for a computer chair that would allow me to sit without pain. I had 3 loaner chairs from different companies, after trying about 20 at the display area at my university ergonomics group, and with all of them, my back hurt. Then I read and worked with Paul's book - and now I sit on a not wonderful chair, with a rolled up towel (and a cushion to make up for the seat), and I am comfortable, all day. He teaches you how to sit, how to move, without expensive gadgets. Try it.

A *very, very* useful book:
I completely disagree with the review below from 1/29/01. The most important tool to overcome repetitive strain injury is awareness of how you are using your body & how you may be injuring it by the way you move (or by not moving enough!). The exercises in this book help you become much more aware of your posture, body tension, & awkward movements that may be causing your problems. Learning how to relax your body is essential to recovery. Even better, the guidance on how to sit has changed my life. I can finally work at my computer without back pain! BTW, I also recommend Pascarelli's excellent book. These two complement each other nicely.