Uphill Books

"A glittering gem of a book!"—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

Following dragonflies into the territory between nature and the human psyche

Two decades ago, naturalist and environmental writer Brooke Williams had a powerful dream about a dragonfly, a dream that cracked open his world by giving rise to a steady stream of dragonfly encounters in his waking life.

In the years since, he has delved deeply into the fascinating biology and natural history of dragonflies and made pilgrimages to see them (he now has 38 species on his life list) while also exploring their symbolic meaning and cross-cultural significance.

Encountering Dragonfly is his account—related in a series of odonate encounters—of being drawn into a different kind of relationship with the natural world.  By opening himself to the personal and mytho-poetic meanings of dragonfly, and patiently courting an understanding of these creatures that is built upon, but also transcends, a naturalist’s observation, Brooke has come to believe in the importance of ‘re-enchantment.’

Throughout much of human history, we lived in an enchanted world in which myth and magic, ritual, stories, and spirits informed every aspect of our lives, defining the relationships between psyche, Earth and cosmos. The enchantment ended with the Enlightenment and modernity, when reason and scientific discovery explained away the magic, commencing a commodification of nature that has only intensified ever since.

Brooke’s personal re-enchantment has required of him a faith that material, biological reality isn’t the only reality; it recognizes symbols and archetypes as remnants of a different understanding, which may—as perhaps they always have—play a role in our long-term survival.

In many cultures, the dragonfly carries messages between the inner and outer world. For Brooke Williams the message of the dragonfly is to ask questions about synchronicity, awe and the collective unconscious, and how to engage with a world increasingly out of balance. What are the implications of following a path toward greater enchantment? In a time where the stakes have never been higher, nor the political and biological imperatives of climate change and environmental degradation more urgent, can we afford to choose such a path? Perhaps more to the point, can we afford not to?

"The most insightful guide to getting moving I've ever read.” —Kelly McGonigal, author of The Joy of Movement

"If you've ever felt stuck on the sidelines of your own wellness journey, this might be the most validating, actionable, and life-giving book you pick up this year."—Kelly and Juliet Starrett, authors of Built to Move

Break down the common everyday mental blocks to moving your body, and turn your mind from an adversary into an ally in the quest to feel better in your body.

"I know I should move my body more, but...

• I’m on my feet all day for work and I’m exhausted!"
• I’m addicted to my phone."
• I’m great at starting movement programs, just lousy at sticking with them."
• My body jiggles and embarrasses me in public."
• Movement is sooooo boring!"

Sound familiar? If not, it probably means you have another perfectly good excuse of your own. We all have our reasons for not getting the physical activity we know is good for us—reasons which stubbornly defy the same old tired prescriptive advice about hours of weekly cardio or numbers of steps. Adding insult to injury, these same excuses contribute to you feeling bad or guilty when you fail to move as much as you know you “should.”

That’s why Diana Hill and Katy Bowman have put together this simple guide to changing the way you think to change how much you move.

Diana is a modern psychologist, expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and host of the Wise Effort podcast. Her mission is to help her clients and readers grow the psychological flexibility needed to get moving in directions that matter to them. Katy is a biomechanist, author, and trailblazing movement teacher who has spent a career helping people integrate more movement into their lives. In I Know I Should Exercise, But…, the two join forces to help you challenge your barriers to movement in a new way. Katy translates her understanding of the obstacles that keep people sedentary—including dozens of real-world examples from readers and clients—into 44 essential impediments to movement. Diana responds to those common barriers, while introducing you to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), behavioral psychology, and self-compassion: evidence-based-approaches for cultivating flexibility and aligning actions with values.

Whether your internal barrier is born of fear, malaise, inertia, embarrassment, or difficulty managing competing priorities, you will learn how to disempower it by applying effective science-based tools for changing the way you think.

You’ll learn to identify your resistance—whether it’s an unhelpful thought, a misplaced motivation, or a contextual barrier—and respond wisely and effectively, using tools and techniques that can be applied to other areas of your life as well, including:

• urge surfing
• motivational interviewing
• behavioral stretching
• strengthening your acceptance muscle

This is a must-have book for anyone struggling with the mental barriers to moving more and an essential resource for personal trainers, fitness instructors, and mental health professionals wanting to better connect with their clients.

Stretch your mind, connect with what is truly important to you, and stop talking yourself out of the movement you need!

In her practice as a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in pelvic health, Dr. Anietie "Tia" Ukpe-Wallace sees evidence nearly every day of the disconnection between women and their bodies. That disconnect has a variety of sources—trauma, embarrassment, miseducation—and manifests as both a lack of understanding and awareness and a reluctance to physically connect with their own bodies.

• Gentle guidance for exploring one’s own anatomy, with abdominal massage and journaling prompts
• Information about menstruation, perimenopause and menopause
• An in-depth examination of the causes and challenges of infertility
• An honest, detailed review of many of the conditions that can arise to complicate a pregnancy
• A prescription for post-partum self-care
• A powerful and lovely inquiry into the many types of grief related to the reproductive journey—especially that of losing a child.

Tia’s holistic approach draws on traditional knowledge (“to tend to our womb is not new”), and honors the relationships between the reproductive system and the rest of the body: for example, our feet, posture, breasts, heart, and brain. She encourages women to get personal with their anatomy, become curious observers of their own bodies, and become their own best advocate in a medical maternity care system that is not stacked in favor of women, and even less so for women of color.

Tending to Your Womb is a compassionate and trustworthy guide to improving your relationship with your most intimate parts.

Many work hard on good posture and better walking and running alignment, but it’s critical to understand how what you put on your feet each day can play a bigger role in the function of your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and spine than you might realize.

By applying the principles in this book, you will be able to restore your foundation and prevent dysfunction. ―Ray McClanahan, DPM, inventor of Correct Toes

Biomechanist and author of Simple Steps to Foot Pain Relief, Katy Bowman offers walkers, runners, and health professionals alike clear, accessible lessons on how the shape of shoes can play a role in painful feet, knees, and hips―and what to do about it.

When we have painful feet and weak ankles it seems like stiff, supportive shoes are the answer, but this solution can be temporary, especially if our issues stem from foot and leg weakness. In short, humans come with great foot technology, we just need to learn how to use it.

Minimal footwear―shoes that protect your feet while still letting them move freely―is gaining traction (get it?). Being barefoot is a natural human movement, but research shows simply kicking off our shoe-shackles and releasing our feet into the wild can result in injury. Whole Body Barefoot will help you safely and effectively transition to minimal footwear, reaping the enormous benefits of freeing your feet without injuring yourself along the way.

Whole Body Barefoot presents:

• 25 exercises to create strong, supple, feel-better feet
• The mechanics of bunions and pronation
• How to strengthen weak ankles and arches
• How to figure out your true shoe-size
• The importance of walking on natural surfaces―Vitamin Texture!

With clear, science-based explanations, Bowman lays out the ways in which conventional shoes and artificial environments leave us with sedentary feet as well as the steps necessary to restore lost foot function, and improve health…naturally!

Human beings have always moved for what they need until recently. We know how a lack of movement impacts our bodies but how does culture-wide sedentarism impact the world?

Movement Matters is an award-winning collection of essays in which biomechanist Katy Bowman continues her groundbreaking presentation on the interconnectedness of nature, human movement, and the environment.

Winner: Foreword Indies Book Award (Gold)

Here Bowman widens her there is more to movement than exercise message presented in Move Your DNA and invites us to consider this idea: human movement is a part of the ecosystem.

Movement Matters explores how we make ourselves, our communities, and our planet healthier all at the same time by moving our bodies more–as well as:

• How did we become so sedentary? (Hint: Convenience often saves us movement, not time.)
• the missing movement nutrients in our food
• how to include more nature in education
• why ecosystem models need to include human movement
• the human need for Vitamin Community and group movement

Unapologetically direct, often hilarious, and always compassionate, Movement Matters demonstrates that human movement is powerful and important, and that living a movement-filled life is perhaps the most joyful and efficient way to transform your body, community, and world. A must read for exercise teachers, environmentalists, and those wanting simple, accessible ways to take action for a better world.

2024 Foreword Indie Award Finalist

Create a personalized movement plan you love.

You’ve heard of the million benefits of movement, but you can’t make it work in your body or your own life.

• Maybe you move a lot at work, and your body is too tired to do the activities you used to enjoy.
• Maybe you’re an athlete with nagging injuries keeping you off your game.
• Maybe you want to move more but you don’t have the time—or can’t because moving hurts.

The best way to approach movement is to think of it like food—we need certain amounts of all different kinds for our bodies to be healthy. My Perfect Movement Plan helps you figure out exactly which types of movement you’re already getting, what you might be missing, and where to fit it into your daily life.

This workbook is all about discovering the “movement diet” your body needs. Not any body, but your body, specifically. Complete dozens of self-assessment questions and worksheets to develop a plan--your perfect plan--for nourishing your body with movement in a way that’s sustainable, meaningful, adaptable, and even restful.

Get back to your most joyful activities, uncover new ones—and start savoring the movement in every moment.

A nutritious ‘movement diet’ is essential to our well-being. This book contains all the ingredients we need. –Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times #1 Bestselling Author of Young Forever, The Pegan Diet, and The Blood Sugar Solution

This book is elegant and immediately actionable. You cannot help but be changed simply by reading it. –Kelly Starrett, DPT, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming a Supple Leopard, Deskbound, and Built to Move

Winner of the INDIE Gold Book Award for 2023 (Health category)

We make hundreds of movement choices all day long, whether we know it or not: Walk or drive? Sit or stand? Hip to the right or to the left? Heels or flats? So how can we make the choices that leave us feeling and moving—even thinking—our best? It starts with the ways in which our body is positioned throughout the day, whether working, exercising, or resting.

Rethink Your Position is your guide to everyday anatomy and alignment—part by part.

Daily aches and pains can feel unavoidable, but we can start feeling better by moving better.
And moving better starts with our individual body parts, and the relationship between and among those parts and the forces or loads they experience.

Professionals, experienced exercisers, and new-to-movement newbies alike will discover the big and little ways our body parts move. Rethink Your Position explains how to check the way different areas are moving now, includes precision exercises to get important parts moving better, and shows how to support better health by making small changes —not only at the gym, but at the office, in the kitchen, on a walk with friends….even while you’re sleeping.

With her trademark clarity and humor, biomechanist, movement teacher, and bestselling author Katy Bowman provides simple, engaging instructions that will have you rethinking your position by reshaping what you’re already doing. Learn how to:

• Avoid a tech neck by adjusting your head while looking at your phone
• Set up your computer space to open tight shoulders
• Switch up the way you walk for happier feet and knees
• Care for your hips and psoas muscles by sitting differently
• Adjust your pelvic tilt for a stronger pelvic floor and glutes
• Wake up feeling refreshed by changing your sleep shape
• Find even better form in your regular yoga, Pilates, or fitness workout
• Care for your brain (and mind) with simple movements—like chewing!

Transform how you think about movement. Then watch your whole life change!

Through the Pacific Northwest forests and along the rugged coastal shores of California, a young environmentalist’s coming-of-age story about learning, discovery, and survival

Wolf Girl takes readers on Doniga’s journey: from the wilderness immersion school where she was taught by Indigenous elders and wildlife trackers, to hitchhiking across the Pacific Northwest, to Alaska, where she fell in love with tracking wolves.

These experiences shaped and inspired Doniga to become the leader in the regenerative agricultural movement that she is today. Today’s youth are at the forefront of climate change activism, and will see themselves in Doniga’s story, in the message that you can find yourself by finding—and fighting for—your place within the world at large.

Youth aren’t just the activists of tomorrow—they’re the activists of today. Wolf Girl is an inspiring memoir of a young girl’s quest to save the planet. —-Michelle Roehm McCann, author of Enough is Enough: How Students Can Join the Fight for Gun Safety and the Girls Who Rocked the World series

Wolf Girl makes a great gift for any young person wanting to make a difference.

Publisher’s note: This is a young adult adaptation of Doniga Markegard’s Dawn Again.

Our abdominal muscles are rarely "broken"; rather, their weakness is a reflection of how little we use our entire body. Whether you have diastasis recti, a hernia, are postnatal, or simply have a very weak midsection—this is the definitive "whole-body" guide to restoring your core!

Abdominal muscles have many important jobs; twisting the spine safely, accommodating pregnancy, protecting your abdominal organs, and even breathing are just some of the jobs we want them to do well. Many will try to fix their middle through crunches and other abdominal exercises without realizing that things like tight shoulder muscles, poor posture habits, and even our breathing patterns can affect what’s going on in our abs.

In Diastasis Recti, biomechanist Katy Bowman:

• Gives 30+ exercises, organized into Small, Medium, and Big Moves
• Expands the core to include essential parts, like the shoulders and pelvis (and how movement patterns here can worsen abdominal separations)
• Explains why it’s better to think of a diastasis (abdominal hernias, or even weakness) as a symptom rather than as the "problem"
• Teaches 5 simple postural adjustments to change the forces on the front of the abdomen
• Notes that in addition to exercises, you can sit, stand, and walk for a stronger core

"By making the material understandable, approachable, and achievable, Bowman offers an outstanding and necessary guide to diastasis recti and many other abdomen-related issues. Everyone can benefit from these insights and improve their health in an empowered and proactive way." —Foreword Reviews

Diastasis Recti is for anybody wanting to improve both the function and the appearance of their abdomen!

The wolf was so close now... Approaching the place where the edge of the forest met the open meadow, I paused before stepping out from the shadows of the trees. The sun was directly overhead. In that moment I stood frozen in my tracks next to the fresh footprint of the wolf that had led me here. I was sharing this trail with the wolf and I did not want the moment to end. I wanted that wolf to be with me forever. (from Chapter Seven, Pack)

Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild is a memoir of exploration and survival that will inspire you to better tend to the planet, even if it’s simply tending the soil in your own backyard!

Doniga has given us a manual on how to get in touch with our best selves, through getting in touch with the earth. —Joan Baez

Dawn Again takes readers along a young woman’s journey from unsettled teen to immersive nature school student to wildlife tracker to a cattle woman on a mission to save the food system through regenerative agricultural practices that restore the soil and other non-human elements of the planet.

From one of the few female voices in both wilderness immersion and ranching, Dawn Again is a nature memoir that shares Doniga’s experience hitchhiking across the Pacific Northwest, waiting patiently to connect with a deer on its terms, and tracking in Alaska where she finally came face to face with white wolves and the rigor of wilderness survival.

When Doniga tracks mountain lions with Erik, a rancher, she finds herself falling in love with more than just nature. She settles down on a cattle ranch on the California coast to start a family, and has to learn how to apply the deep lessons of the wild to her everyday life.

Advocating for nature knowledge and ecological wisdom, Dawn Again dives into Doniga's real-life experiences as a woman, environmentalist, wilderness expert, woman rancher, mother, and producer in the food system.

Your kids are looking at their screens All. The. Time.--and you're concerned. Maybe you've read Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation or Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods and you want to stop screen addiction and nature deficit disorder before it's too late. This book can help.

Don’t just focus on taking away screens; focus on creating a fun childhood!

2021 INDIE Awards Gold Winner (Family & Relationships category)

Katy Bowman is my go-to expert on the importance of movement for the body. Grow Wild is no exception to that. Filled with delightful, rich nuggets of information on everything from the best shoes to put on your child's feet (if necessary!) to the importance of climbing trees, this book is a real gem for any family wanting to make the most of their movement opportunities on a daily basis.--Angela Hanscom, author of Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children

Our kids are moving less than any other generation in human history; indoor time and screen time have skyrocketed. As adults and kids turn more to convenient, tech-based solutions, tasks that once required head-to-toe use of our muscles and bones can be done with a click and a swipe. Without meaning to, we’ve created an "anxious generation" by opting for wired convenience over the movement-rich environment that our physical, mental, and environmental health depends on.

Grow Wild helps parents start to address this massive problem, serving as a field guide to all the movement opportunities we’re currently missing.

Learn to stack your life for richer experiences that don’t take more time:

• Set up your home to promote more movement, naturally
• Dress for (movement) success
• Add snacktivities to your meals
• Plan dynamic celebrations
• Create a dynamic homework space
• Bring nature into your home and play

Bowman, a leader in the Movement movement, has written Grow Wild to show where movement used to fit into the activities of daily life and more importantly, how it can again.

The perfect companion to Bowman’s bestseller Move Your DNA, Grow Wild provides practical, everyday, nature-rich ideas on how to let kids move their DNA while doing things they’ll love. The book features:

• 100+ full-color photographs of kids and families moving
• Success stories from parents, grandparents, teachers
• Study sessions that make movement research more accessible to laypersons
• Written to all that work with children―parents, teachers, relatives, health professionals, and more
• A book to be referenced again and again as kids grow up!

Grow Wild is essential reading for a wide range of readers―anyone who spends time with children. Humans live in many places and there are countless movement opportunities wherever you live, you just need to know how to spot them.

Children and their families can thrive by learning to move more inside, adventure more outside, and grow wild in any environment.

Bestselling Move Your DNA has shaken up the health and fitness world with this message: there is more to movement than exercise.

"A landmark in explaining biomechanics." Dr. Joan Vernikos, Former Director of NASA’s life science division and author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals

It’s often said that "movement is medicine," but rarely is the how behind the power of movement explained. It’s not only our whole body that’s moving; our cells are being moved as our limbs push and pull to locomote us around, and each movement moves our cells uniquely.

Some of the "big ideas" in this paradigm-shifting book include:

• The human body evolved to a tremendous amount of certain movements―like walking, squatting, hanging, and carrying―loads our bodies still require to work well, even though they’re mostly gone from our "convenience-centric" culture.
• Many of the ailments we face today relate to how little we move and how stiff our bodies are when we do move. Body issues are often more accurately symptoms of "movement malnutrition."
• Why a physical therapist or personal trainer is coaching you in alignment or "good form": we’re adapting most to our daily positioning!
• It’s not only "move more," it’s "move more of your body parts!" (All bodies, couch potatoes to high-level athletes have areas that can be nourished with better movement.)
• We’re using exercise like "movement vitamins" instead of addressing the deeper issue of a poor movement diet. We should be using both!

Move Your DNA also contains:

• 40+ corrective exercises to help you find your "sticky spots"―areas of your body that just aren’t moving (even when the rest of you moves a lot)
• alignment checks and a guide to increasing your walking movements
• simple lifestyle changes to get you moving more (without always needing to add exercise!).

Keen laypeople, yoga and pilates teachers, fitness enthusiasts, personal trainers, physical therapists, and athletes can all use this humorous, passionate, and science-based guide to finally getting the movement every body requires.

As seen on the Today Show, Dynamic Aging isn’t that same old "senior fitness," "senior stretching," "senior strength" book you’ve seen again and again. This book is about using simple exercises to feel better and get back to living vitally no matter your age.

"Don't blame your age if you're feeling creaky. It could just be the way you're using (or not using) your body." ―Washington Post on Dynamic Aging as a "Book for the Ages"

Movement is a powerful tool and changing how you move can change how you feel, no matter your age. Dynamic Aging is an exercise guide geared to an over 50 audience that includes:

• 30+ illustrated exercises
• Moves for pain-free feet and strong hips
• better balance and getting over the fear of falling
• how to improve sitting, standing, and walking posture
• go from stiff shoulders to arms that can reach, carry, and lift
• how to stay fit to drive
• tips for moving more in daily life

Alongside Bowman's exercise and alignment instructions are stories and advice of four women over seventy-five who began this program over a decade ago. Along the way they found recommended surgeries unnecessary, regained strength and mobility, and ended up moving more than they did when they were 10 years younger.

From hiking in the mountains to climbing ladders and walking on cobblestones with ease, each of these women embodies the book's message: No matter where you're starting, if you change how you move, you can change how you feel.