Book Review: What Your Body Knows About God

By Rob Moll — IVP Press, 2014

In What Your Body Knows About God, author and spiritual director Rob Moll offers a thoughtful and refreshing exploration of how our physical bodies play a vital role in spiritual life. Far from seeing the body as merely a vessel for the soul, Moll invites readers to rediscover their incarnate selves—to listen to what the body already knows about God, relationships, and flourishing.

At its core, this book is an invitation to embodied Christianity. Moll argues that many Christians unconsciously adopt a disembodied spirituality—one that undervalues physical experience and overlooks the ways the body shapes our patterns of connection, service, and joy. Drawing on Scripture, tradition, psychology, and personal reflection, he gently demonstrates that our bodies are not obstacles to spiritual growth but partners in it.

One of the book’s central themes is that the body communicates truths about God and our relationships that the mind alone cannot grasp. Through posture, gestures, rhythms, and movements, our bodies reveal longings for connection, belonging, and communion with others and with God. Moll’s exploration of how physical behaviors shape emotional and spiritual realities is both insightful and deeply pastoral.

What makes this book particularly compelling is its integration of theology and practical wisdom. Moll doesn’t merely present abstract ideas; he offers concrete practices that help readers become more aware of how their bodies connect to spiritual patterns. Whether reflecting on how we sit, how we embrace others, or how we embody generosity and rest, readers are encouraged to engage with God—and with others—more fully through their physical presence.

The book is accessible without being simplistic. It respects the reader’s intelligence and invites honest reflection on patterns that most of us take for granted. While rooted in Christian theology, its insights about embodiment have relevance for all who seek deeper connection, wholeness, and flourishing in daily life.

Highlights for Readers:

• Embodied Insight: Moll helps us see that the body knows truths about relationship, trust, and intimacy that often elude the mind alone.

• Practical Integration: The book offers reflective and actionable practices that help readers cultivate embodied awareness in their spiritual lives.

• Holistic Spirituality: It reframes spiritual formation as something that happens not only in the mind and heart but through the lived experience of the body.

  
  

Who Will Benefit from This Book?This book is ideal for anyone longing to deepen their spiritual life in a way that fully honors both heart and body—including pastors, spiritual directors, counselors, and laypersons seeking a richer, more grounded faith.

Bottom Line:What Your Body Knows About God is a gentle but profound reminder that our bodies are not obstacles to spirituality—they are essential companions in our journey toward God. Moll’s work encourages us to embrace ourselves as whole persons and to discover how God speaks to us through the rhythms and movements of embodied life.