I’ve been doing Essentrics for over 10 years. As a former dancer, I fell in love with the technique and how it made my body feel. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate what the technique does to calm my entire nervous system. Every morning on set I do a 15-45 minute Essentrics warm up in my trailer. It helps me tune into my body, align my posture and tap into a mindful state.” –Sarah Gadon, Actor (Star of ‘Alias Grace’ & ‘True Detective’)

"Miranda combines scientific principles with intuition in creating Essentrics, a workout that rebalances the full musculoskeletal system through using flexibility training to increase strength. Essentrics complements any fitness routine and offers a huge potential for health promotion and disease prevention." –Emilia Zarco, Chair of the Department of Health and Sport Sciences at Adelphi University

"I have been doing Essentrics two to three times a week for the past 20 years to date. As an athlete it with recovery and added speed and balance to my game...It allowed me to train harder and perform better." –Jonathon Power, World Squash Champion, Became #1 in 1998 and retired #1 in 2007

04/01/2023

Drawing upon her years of formal dance training, Esmonde-White (who readers might know from her PBS series) introduces readers to Essentrics, a gentle movement program that emphasizes a full range of motion to improve one's strength and flexibility. The author argues that programs such as Pilates, static stretching, or high-intensity workouts designed to push bodies to the limit don't consider all 360 joints and 650 muscles that make up the human body and the natural way it's designed to move. Much of this book is dedicated to targeted workouts that can be done with minimal equipment. There are routines for every day (including mornings), stress relief, chronic pain, and much more. At the start of the workout section, various movements are detailed with both full-body images and specific ones of affected joints. VERDICT Readers will gain knowledge of concrete movements and exercises that will reduce their pain, improve their mobility, and help them move gracefully through life.—Whitney Bates-Gomez