Fitness Books

This is the most informative book I have seen on eye care and improvement. I notice an improvement in 4 weeks, but have much further to go.

The information is presented in a very clear, well-organized, and succinct way. The instructions for the exercises are very clear and thorough. I especially like the "What to Watch For" and "Notes" sections for each exercise. I feel like it's hard not to do these exercises correctly with all the notes and observations the author adds. The testimonials at the beginning and the introductory chapters really gave me hope and enthusiasm in this program. I just started the program, but I feel this book will have been valuable even if I do not see improvement in the "First Stage" of the program.

The "First Stage" is only 8 weeks, with a simple exercise for each day. Eight weeks is quite a short time considering how long it took for some of our vision to have deteriorated this much. The exercises taught seem like they should be helpful in the prevention of my worsening nearsightedness, if not improvement.

I read through the non-exercises part of this book quickly--its content is all relevant. It seems helpful to read through the exercises before starting because some may require other materials, such as a fusion string for the first exercise or a voice recorder for the visualization exercise later on. The schedule asks that you follow it strictly (6 days a week with the 7th day as a rest day) so I'd rather not discover that I'm missing materials on the day for a certain exercise.

I wish the materials were either included in the book or that we were warned that it might be helpful to order the materials from The Cambridge Institute for Better Vision. The materials are easy to make or find, though--it's just a "tad" more trouble.

If you are looking around Amazon at all the different vision improvement books, this is the one that is worth investing in. It is clear, succinct, and offers a step by step program that is thoroughly outlines and easy to follow. A lot of the other books on the subject offer a lot of information, but fail to give the reader a program to follow. Martin Sussman's book also explains why and how vision works and why it will improve with this program. I just got the book, but already his techniques have completely changed my (previously negative)attitude toward my vision.

When I started this program, my perscription was -4.75 in each eye with enough astigmatism that I had to wear glasses to correct it. Now, three months later, I wear contacts at -3.50 and no correction for astigmatism and am seeing 20/20. I have hope that someday I might not need lenses at all.

This book explains everthing about you eyesight and the way you can improve it. I recommend it.

I have been doing this exercise routine, or a variation thereof, for about four months now, and it has worked extremely well. This is a very simple plan, but doing just this amount every day is better for you than intermittently doing more strenuous or demanding workouts. And once you master this simple plan, there's no reason not to add on more routines/exercises. You can also do this several times a day (early morning, and then evening for me), which increases its effectiveness.

(Note: I have also been eating a largely whole grain/vegetable diet lately, so some of the fitness can be ascribed to weight loss, but not all. I think they complement each other well.)

it is especially for people who aren't used to move a lot, for people who live a very sedentary life. and the book makes it very easy for them to change this life style into an active one. the workout routine it suggests is extremely easy to follow and helpful.

This program is simple indeed: 10 minutes of brisk walking or simple aerobic stepping, followed by 5 minutes of strength and flexibility routines using two-5 lb. dumbells. Plus lots of good motivational advice. This is the minimum program-you can expand it by speeding up the walk, adding arm movements to the steps, more weight to the dumbells, or by adding a few more strength and flexibility routines. This author makes no presumptions about your physical abilities-if you need to start working out on a bed instead of the floor, he provides you with the basic tools and urges you to get started. I bought a perfectly good copy from one of Amazon's associated stores for a few dollars: I am doing it every day, and it really works for me.

Richard Bradley is the Director of the Fitness Center at the Department of Transportation here in Washington, D.C. He created Quick Fit to give time-crunched federal workers a fast, simple workout that they could fit into their schedules any time, without even changing clothes.
I'm a federal worker myself, facing the same time challenges. I've tried Bradley's Quick fit workout, and it certainly works as advertised.
But the choice of exercises IS limited and you will probably quickly outgrow them. I recommend buying "Quick Fit" and using it to learn these principles:
-- It IS possible to pack a complete, effective workout into 15 or 20 minutes.
-- Fitness success lies not in WHAT you do, but in doing it consistently.
-- Consistency in exercise hinges on keep the whole thing simple and convenient.
-- The "perfect" workout is one that people will actually DO.
The only downside is that, at first, I felt self-consious working out in my civvies. But no one in our agency's fitness center gives a darn or gives me a second look. And I've noticed that a few other people now work out in their civvies, too.
Bradley's "Quick Fit" is an excellent book, and a good place to get started. I recommend it.

Don't have time to exercise? The last of the good excuses is gone with this guide to 15-minute, no-sweat workouts presenting 10 minutes of aerobic activity, 4 minutes of strengthening exercises, and 1 minute of stretches. Step-by-step illustrations demonstrate just how to do them, case history successes link exercises to positive results, and the author comes with credentials: he's directed the Occupational Health and Fitness program at the U.S. DOT for the past twenty-five years, and presented extensive seminars to business and government groups alike. With Quick Fit: The Complete 15-Minute No-Sweat Workout, even those who are most pressed for time have no excuse now.

I wanted to know about real food that has not been adulterated with pestecides and hormones. I wanted to learn how to eat properly for me and my familet's health. This book provided all that information in detail and also made me aware that to get this good food we have to support our local farmers. I now purchase most of our foods from local farmers markets and I am now considering learning how to preserve good food to get us through the winter. This is the best book on this subject I have read out of at least 30 books.

In recent years, our society has become more and more obsessed about food. Many people consciously count calories, limit fat intake, and cut carbohydrates hoping to become healthy. At the same time, however, our food has never before contained so many additives or had so many chemical and other unnatural processes occur before the product ever reaches the supermarket. Such things not only reduce the nutritional value and tastiness of our food but may even be detrimental to our health.

The authors propose a real food revival to counter these costly effects. This revival takes the form of understanding the processes that our food undergoes to get to us and determining the freshest, least processed food products on the market. At first, this task seems almost impossible given that many of us have very little time to research, seek out, and then prepare these products. However, this book sets out in an easy to understand way, various practices that reduce food nutrition and taste starting from the raising of animals and the growing of crops through the antibodies given to these animals and the pesticides used on these plants to the chemicals and freezing processes that keep foods looking flawless during transportation and storage. The authors then explain ways that consumers can reduce costs and increase potential nutritional value of the food they buy. The simplest of these plans is to buy local foods in season, limiting the amount of chemicals that are needed to keep the product looking perfect during long periods of transportation.

Are you sick of eating tasteless food that may contain genetically modified ingredients or harmful amounts of pesticides and herbicides? Check out this book, and take back your right to good food! This is a great book, and really inspired me to take control of what I and my family eat. Learn how to find out what is in the food you buy, and how to insure a steady supply of fresh, nutritious food for your family. Includes some practical steps we can all take, and a list of resources in the back.

I was so impressed that I bought 6 additional copies to give to close friends. It's not preachy or radical, just wholesome information. Like the other reviewers, I was appalled of what I learned about food and livestock production, it's impact on the environment thus our economy. I particularly laud the German, French, and Japanese governments for the food production actions they are taking to protect their people. The EU is also instituting humane legislation for chickens that has a deadline of 2012. I consider the current pertinent laws a blatant selling out of the American peoples' health by the USDA and FDA (not from content from this book, but other books and web searches) through lobbying antics by mega international food and chemical producers (most started here and then went international). I also quit Splenda (as a RN I had been one of its strongest proponents to diabetics and overweight persons) and went back to sugar (now organic) and will soon try stevia. I think each of us has a responsibility to make our consumer demands for healthy products well known by no longer purchasing unhealthy food products and notifying our local, state and federal government officials of the same, including the USDA and FDA. Unfortunately money or political votes seem to be the only way to get a message through nowadays. As an aside, Monsanto and the US government own a shared patent on technology that renders a plant's seeds sterile so they cannot be saved for future plantings. Sounds like a bad science fiction movie or a take off from Logan's Run (1976) or a more accurate Soylent Green (1973), but it's really true. In the latter movie, when Charlton Heston says the freeze dried company developed its technolgy for soylent green in Norfolk,VA, I about flipped out that 1973 Hollywood even knew my hometown existed.

Whether you're like me and you were outraged by "Fast Food Nation" and "The Future of Food," or like the author of this book, you simply miss the taste of your grandmother's home-grown peaches, this book is an excellent resource on how to eat Real Food. By Real Food, the writers mean food that is not genetically modified, grown with harmful chemicals, or overly processed. The writers take you through the grocery store, aisle by aisle, explaining exactly what terms such as "free-range," "antibiotic-free," "USDA inspected," and "natural" really mean. It is eye-opening as well as interesting. One thing I particularly like about this book is that the writers do not insist that you must be vegetarian or vegan. They include plenty of information on buying meat, dairy, and eggs that are healthy and sustainable.

As a Certified Polestar Pilates Studio Teacher and Hellerwork Practitioner, daily I explore varied ways to communicate with clientele, to get them inside their bodies and to slow down. I believe that with the proper education anyone can move intelligently, gracefully and without pain. It is my responsibility as a teacher to connect with each person that walks through my studio doors and help them feel the movement that spirals from the inside out. This connection is what you will discover with Anita. Her descriptive instructions make sure that absolutely anyone can do these exercises to release tension, slow the breathing and consequently calm the nervous system; a place to begin healing.

Joseph Pilates said," if your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30 you are old, if it is flexible at 60 you are young!"

Anita steps up to prove that these simple exercises will unwind your body and your mind or vice versa. Everyday is a new day and if you've mastered the moves, I suggest trying them again as you find something different in every moment.

Thank you Anita your work is appreciated !

May all beings be well,
Kimberly RIchardson
moksa7@yahoo.com

Why do I love this book? Let me count the ways:
1) The exercises in this book are very "body friendly". If something feels uncomfortable, just continue moving without making the one move that is uncomfortable, and soon the "stuck" spot starts moving. You don't have to hurt before you feel better.
2) I also find the movements give almost instant gratification - how often do you feel better and find relief in a matter of minutes?
3) But maybe the best thing is that you don't need any special clothes or equipment, and for some exercises you don't even have to stop what you are doing to get some relief. You can make small, unobtrusive movements (like when sitting in a meeting) and feel better. Since it is so easy I find myself doing it more often.
4) I have found that undulating in bed for just a few minutes before I get up in the morning starts the day with less stiffness.

I must mention that I am paralyzed from the waist down, so I can only do some of the exercises, but it is amazing to me that small movements can have such a big impact on improving how I feel. A great book.

I write most of each day, and by evening I'm aching from both the posture at the keyboard AND the stress of trying to be creative. What I really appreciate about "Relieve Stiffness" is that so many of the exercises can be done right at the desk and that they make sense to those of us who have difficulty understanding exercise instructions. "Hula hoop" and "Swing" I can understand and duplicate! If I spent a few minutes each hour with an exercise like "Easy sway" or "Back and forth," I'd significantly reduce my stiffness at day's end. I'm making this a goal for 2008!

I loved Anita's book on undulation. It's an effortless way to get my body moving. I do a little undulation every morning to start my day, my body loves to wake up with this movement. I also use the undualtion movemnt in my Hellerwork practice, it really gets my clients connected to their bodies. Anyone can do this. I highly recommend this book.
Ilona Lord
Hellerwork Practioner

I am a licensed massage practitioner, many of my clients come to me seeking relief from neck and back pain. I use undulation during my treatment sessions. My clients can use it as a tool to assist me with releasing deep painful muscles around their spines. I found the photos in the book showing what direction the spine is in for each movement to be very helpful. Sharon Sandin,LMP

The Saint-Tropez is an excellent diet book, or better yet, a way of life.
It's very easy to follow, once you read the book.
The recipes are out of this world! Who thought of cooking spinach with pine nuts and raisins ? There are no rare ingredients, everything is at your grocery store.
This diet combines two nutrients in every meal, omega-3 and foods rich in beta carotene.
Some of the recipes have two parts like "Marinated grilled vegetables", The marinade part for this recipe could be used also as a salad dressing.
Also the recipes are not complicated,they are simple, but different.

I am so glad that I bought this book. After a fast food diet of KFC and Big Macs and with the extra pounds packing on this was just what I needed!

After just one week and I see results: I have lost some weight and I do not feel deprived at all. This diet should be used by everyone who is interested in not only their weight management but also those are interested in living a healthy lifestyle where processed food is a thing of the past. The food can be a bit pricey but if you use your common sense substitutes are easily found.

I loved this book. Surprised to not really hear much about it. I found it one day while playing on Amazon and reading reviews. After I read the reviews I immediately bought the book. It is an easy read. Simple and to the point. I have been trying the simple recipies day to day for the past two weeks and love most every one of them. I feel like a gourmet chef but it is so easy. My kids are still a little stand offish about trying radically new stuff but I know in time they will get more and more used to it. I love having a glass of wine now and then and I do find that I simply enjoy the taste and freshness of the food. I highly recommed. We should all shake up our diets and make them tastier and healthier.

I liked this book so much that I purchased extras as gifts for my health-concious foody friends.

The overall philosophy is sound and not extreme, and the recipes I've tried so far are delicious.

Who knew that healthy eating could be this enjoyable? The recipes in this book are appealing to everyone in our family. The Saint-Tropez Diet offers 56 days worth of menu ideas, including snacks and desserts. Merci beaucoup!

This book takes you through this yogi's amazing life experiences. I found it to answer many questions on the afterlife and the unseen dimensions of our existence.

This is a great little book that you can carry around with you and have a read whenever you have five minutes. I try to read a paragraph or two every day. Wonderful stuff to help keep you feeling positive and happy.

This book contains helpful and enlightening approaches to life. Although I was not too spiritual myself during the time I read the book, I understood the author's messages and concepts. It is a pretty short read, but very full of information and I felt satisfied in the end. I am looking forward to viewing/reading more work from this author.

Little did I realise that after reading Autobiography of a yogi my life would have taken the turn that it did.Words cannot express my gratitude and thanks to Yoganandaji. Scientific Healing Affirmations is a great book to those who want to learn and feel the power of God's love. Yoganandaji tells us that we are all made divine beings and we can reach our true potential in life by focusing within and releasing our true beauty, strength, love and power. This book used properly will take you there, I'm just beginning to realise the power of having a strong will and conviction. Thank you

If you study this book and truly believe in God, and that God is absolute health, you can heal yourself without doctors or pills. I've done it.

Holly Hollenbeck reminds us to put our spouse and our relationship at the top of our "To Do" list. I love her opening chapter -- you might see yourself!

With so many of us making New Year's resolutions, I know I need to resolve to keep my marriage strong and reignite the passion. I'd recommend this book for a book club (don't forget the chocolate martinis!), a gift for a new (or not so new) bride or any gal pal.

With managing a home with five (yes, five)kids and trying to maintain sane, I know this book was a good one for me to read.

Sex Lives of Wives is a entertaining and informative book on how to maintain the passion in marriage. Holly Hollenbeck writes with a down to earth real world style. She writes from the perspective of a fellow traveler on the journey to greater marital passion. As a wife and mother from the mid-west she is easy to identify with as a reader. Wives and Husbands should read this book together and then begin a passion quest together.

Sex Lives of Wives is an entertaining and fun read. Additionally, it provides you with practical advice on how to keep the passion alive in your marriage--something very worthwhile. Buy this book, you won't regret it and neither will your spouse!

Written for married women in their thirties, forties, and fifties who feel trapped in passionless marriages, "Sex Lives of Wives" offers ways for these women to rediscover the passion within themselves. Although Hollenbeck describes experiences by married women (from her Passion Seekers support group and from online research) who participated in extra-marital affairs, swinging, and alternative sexual practices to reignite their passion, the book's theme always returns to the spouse.

Using the metaphor of "passion quest," Hollenbeck describes most of her ideas in figurative terms such as taking emotional and sexual journeys to new places, and occasionally in literal terms including actually traveling to a couple's only resort and visiting a nude beach. This book offers many different ways of reigniting the passion in marriage, and concludes with a glossary of passionate terms, a guide to sexy entertainment, resources on human sexuality, and Passion Seekers coupons. "Sex Lives of Wives" is an informative and entertaining book.

Leslie Halpern, author of Reel Romance: The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies and Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science.

Holly Hollenbeck is a marvelous storyteller. She brings the stories of married women to life with respect for the complexities of modern day wife-hood, and a challenge to women to get back in touch with the passion that day-to-day life sometimes robs us of. Holly has brought together important research and common sense ideas to help women form a new way of thinking about how to connect with their husbands.
I was concerned about the chapters that discuss alternative lifestyles, including swinging and affairs. I'm not a big fan of partner swapping, and I abhor infidelity, so I was interested in seeing where this would go. I think the basic message that came out here--even though it made me uneasy--was that the power of connecting with your partner trumps the immediate gratification of having a fling with others.
Ultimately the book challenges women (and men) to think differently about how to get passion in their lives. And I'm all for that!

This is a well written, candid book written by two certified sex therapists and a clinical psychologist. It provides thorough explanations of adult sexuality, male and female sexual response, aging, healthy body image and the effects of illness, disabiltiy and trauma and overcoming sexual difficulties. There are practical suggestions to address issues throughout the book, and an extensive list of resources on topics from body image to erotica, from masturbation and orgasm to safe sex and STDs, all of which are at least briefly discussed within this book. A few sections may be offensive to some people, but I agree with the authors that omitting information for some people reduces the benefit to others.

The book, good for old and young lovers, captures a very thorough understanding of sex for all people: well, injured, fragile, or just emotionally frustrated or hurt. The stories and details are helpful as they guide you through fixing some common misconceptions or denial about your own personal idea of sexual satisfaction. It is a very good book all women should have, but it would be just as good for a man seeking to understand and help his wife or lover to find their own sexuality. If I had kids, I would want my daughters to know this information--the information I never was given nor knew before. A very helpful book for me, I hope it would be picked up by others not afraid to tackle their own sexuality.

This book is written with a tenderness that is lacking in other books on the subject. Sensitive issues such as sexual dysfunction, abuse, trauma, and body image need to be addressed with compassion- and this book prevails. Comprehensive in its scope but not overwhelming. It's modern, it's fun, it's THE book to buy for understanding your sexual self.

This book was recommended to me in my Women's Health course at my undergraduate university. I picked it up and couldn't put it down! It has made my sex life much more healthy and enjoyable! My roomates and I have loved sitting around and talking about our sex lives and reading exerpts to each other. I am giving it to them for the holidays. I think it makes an excellent gift.

My therapist works with one of the authors and suggested this book to help me in my recovery from childhood sexual abuse and becoming more knowlegeable about my own sexuality. I found this VERY informative and helpful. The exercises and suggestions that were given were really helpful and I have bought another copy to give to my sister! Thanks for this book! It is a definite recommendation for any woman (or man who wants to understand his woman) who is looking for an updated guide on sexuality and health.

"Ducky's" book is extremely detailed and informative about many aspects of human sexuality while remaining quite interesting and upbeat...an excellent for read for anyone over 18.

Ducky's book is a refreshing, exciting, humorous, non-judgemental and straight forward approach to answering sex questions people think about, talk about with friends and don't talk about...she even covers questions we never thought to ask.

This book has shed light in my personal life but also helped me in counseling my patients on issues of sex and sexuality. I love that Ducky stresses clear communication with your partner, that sex is not just what happens when we are naked, but that even eye contact and cooking together leads to the bonds that help us feel safe with our sexual partner. I also love that she counsels women to loveand embrace thier body type no matter what they look like. And as an author, Chinese Medicine & Healthy Weight Management, I admire her ability to write with such clarity, organization and personality!

Don't Miss This Book!

There is no technical word usage to make you put the book down! Ducky does a great job keeping the answers simple and to the point! Great resources section and I really loved the "tales of" sections. It's always great to read about things you never had the guts to ask about. I've been a fan of Ducky's advice for years and now I can keep it on my bookshelf. I learned a lot from this book and got explinations on things I'd always wondered about. Great job Ducky!!

All I can say is I loved this book! Very informational, Awesome read. I recommend it to everyone.

I love this book! It is so fun and easy to read, like the author is just speaking to the reader conversationally. The book has lots of tidbits and facts and hints I didn't know, it's very useful! I especially loved the chapter on foreplay, with suggestions of leaving the clothes on for an extra ten minutes to see how excited you can get each other, the chapter on body image with the top fourteen things that make a person sexy from a poll of over 500 people, the emphasis on creativity and the sexiest organ--the brain! Ducky sounds super sex positive and I believe this book would benefit anyone, any gender, any type, any age. It is inspiring and made me feel good about myself and sex.

Sheehy claims that her writing of this book was the breaking of silence on a taboo subject. Her aim is to provide information which will help woman better understand what they have been going through. She claims that traditionally women have been poorly informed on the subject. She claims reliance on friends, on mothers does not bring the kind of full knowledge of the subject required.
She provides many stories and examples, and gives a real sense of how varied this 'silent passage' is. A minority of women go through it seemingly without problems, but for some it is wholly unbearable. One question which is central to the book and really unanswered regards Hormone Replacement Theory , and its advisability. Recent studies have pointed to increased levels of cancer of those who have taken the hormones.
Sheehy repeats herself often, beats her own drum, but is a clear writer whose work no doubt has been of real service to many women who have suffered without understanding what exactly they were going through, and why this is not something to feel guilty or be stigmatized about. Sheehy's strong believe that knowledge and understanding can be of great help seems to me correct and fair.

This book is an excellent overview of menopause but needs further updating in light of the current controversy over Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The author is still all aglow over HRT, and it is heralded within the pages of this book as if it were the end all, be all for menopausal women. While this was the general prevailing medical view, it seems that further research has put its value in question somewhat, and HRT is now at the heart of some heated medical controversy.

Still, if the reader is aware already of this budding medical controversy over HRT, the book does offer some insights into menopause in an informative and fairly concise fashion. This should prove to be especially helpful to the hordes of baby boomer women who are entering this phase of their lives. The book also provides information into holistic, alternative ways of addressing some of the issues attendant in menopausal women. It appears that nature may provide some palliatives that some women may find preferable to the drug-infused approach of some medical practitioners.

Overall, this is an excellent, well-researched book and one that a lay person can read with ease. It provides interesting insights into the emotional, psychological, and medical concerns of peri-menopausal and menopausal women and discusses some of the remedies that are available, if necessary, to ease women through this major life passage. The book has clearly been a labor of love for the author, and she has endeavored, with success, to remove the mystery that has enshrouded menopause for so long.

Chapters are short and easy to read. This book deals not only with the technical aspects that most books do, but primarily with particular women's experiences with those various aspects--especially their feelings. This is what is left out of most of the other books. I recommend this book together with a more techinical book. But if you can only buy one book, buy this one instead. The main thing this book left me with was a feeling that instead of menopause being something that will just happen to me, there are a lot of things I can do, in a proactive sense, to manage the menopause. This is the most positive book I have seen on the subject, and helps me decide about all the questions to discuss with my doctor. Without reading this book, instead of being ready with a list of questions for my doctor, I would have passively listened to whatever he said, and thought that was it.

but I feel better now, and I attribute my new outlook to having read The Silent Passage.

Those of us approaching or in the midst of our passage into menopause owe a great debt to the pioneering women who lifted menopause out of the dark ages and brought it into the broad light of day. One of these early pioneers was Gail Sheehy. With the exception of her views on Hormone Replacement Therapy (as other reviewers have pointed out) this book offers a lively, energizing, well-researched overview of menopause. I read the original edition about ten years ago and have considered the deeper meaning of the title of this groundbreaking book. "Silent Passage" carries echoes of another revolutionary work, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring foresaw a day when pollution would destoy the reproductive cycle of birds, and they would no longer sing their songs. The Silent Passage echoes that notion. It not only implies that in menopause women suffer in silence but also that the clear, vibrant voice of women at midlife and older had been silenced. Now, thanks to pioneers like Gail Sheehy, we are demanding that our collective voices be heard!

--Suza Francina, author, Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause and The New Yoga for People Over 50.