Medicine and Health Books

As a dog owner, it is my responsibility to make the best informed choices for my precious puppies. This book was enlightening to the max and opened my eyes to the ways in which the lives of our beloved pets are shortened by profit based veterinary medicine and "nutritionally complete dog foods".
Though I've been aware of the dangers of commercially prepared dog foods for some time, I had no idea of the dangers of vaccinations...especially giving little dogs like mine the SAME DOSE that big dogs get...come on!!
IMHO, this book is required reading for every dog owner who wants their precious pup to be around for many years beyond the "usual lifetime". An alternative approach to standard dog care can and does lengthen their lives and makes their lives far more comfortable. Isn't that what we would want for our own family members - because our pets ARE our family members.
Ellie Stanford

If you own a small dog, this is a MUST READ!! The author has done a tremendous amount of reseach and has such good information. You won't be disappointed!

Chiclet and her "mom" have done an exemplary job of researching and compiling a much needed resource for pet owners. Scared Poopless provides a humorous, yet insightful look into the trials and tribulations encountered when caring for our beloved four-legged "kids." This book raises many questions that we have as animal guardians and encourages us to explore all available options in seeking answers. I carry it in my practice and sell it to clients at my cost.

My name is April and I am the owner of Dogs On The Run.[...]Being that I am working with animals everyday and educating my staff and clients, I felt this book was not only fun but educational and easy to read. I think the auther did an outstanding job on this book and will be sure to recommend it to everyone I know who wants the "Straight Scoop on Dog Care."

I read the whole book Sunday and can't say enough about how wonderful it is. To be able to write like that and to give so much useful information, even references to things that are not fun for dogs to have happen to them, is a gift to all companion animals and their people. I loved the writing style and learned so much. Our pets are important family members. This book teaches you how to keep them healthier by vaccinating less, feeding them nutritional food that can in the end cost less and save on veterinary bills. The books is a great resource for everything you want to know about your dog's happiness and health.

The book gives hope to persons afflicted with IC for which there is no known cure.

This is an excellent and informative book. As a person who suffers from I.C. it has given me many insightful moments and lots of advice and ideas. It is well written and easy to understand book. I was very happy I purchased this book.

This book gives a lot of good advice and information on dealing with i.c. I was not formally diagnosed, but have a lot of the symptoms.
I have done a few things that were recommended and have gotten so much better. I would say that it was worth the money spent and it's good to learn from someone who has been there before.

This book has been a blessing to my life. Within a short period of time I was able to get off the antibiotics that I have been on for over 15 years. Ms Simone's insight and wisdom is a gift from God. I would highly recommend this book.

This book is a MUST for anyone that is suffering from IC. I was at the lowest (and in the most pain I'd ever been in) when I stumbled across this book. It literally has changed my life. I was in SEVERE pain and had just spent 6 days in the hospital and was still in pain and doing no better. After reading Along the Healing Path, I completely stopped ALL medicines, began drinking Marshmallow Root Tea (with Catnip and Raspberry Leaf) and acidophilus and within a few days I was COMPLETELY OUT OF PAIN!!! It was amazing! I have been suffering with IC since I was 16 (took two years to get diagnosed, which is so common for IC sufferers) and had recently been in a flare for over 6 months. I'd had three bladder distensions, several painful bladder distillations and was on 22 pills a day. My life was changed dramatically by this disease. I was unable to attend classes and work and felt like my whole world was collapsing. I cannot say ENOUGH about this book. Thank you, Catherine, for helping so many of us find our way out of pain!!!! You are amazing!!!!

I've been having back pain in the morning for the last few months after some furniture moving. I stopped at Borders for a coffee and picked this up to read (ok, I'm shameless). After about an hour with the book, I developed a game plan for dealing with the backache which I learned is of a very common garden type. It might be too early to declare victory but I woke this morning with almost no pain after sleeping in the prescribed position with a heating pad and taking a few NSAIDS before bed.

I have family members that opted for surgery years ago and it ruined their lives - possibly even led to a death of a cousin from OD of narcotics. I wish that they had had this book to read. A lot has changed in medicine and it seems like the author has much more modern thinking than most of the medical profession that still seems bent on drugs and surgery first.

This book is laying on the floor next to my bed. Why? I do the exercises every morning, and refer to the chapter to make sure I don't miss any. I do most of the exercises on the floor, so that's where the book lives. It is a part of my life now.

I've suffered from low-grade back pain for years, and learned a lot from this book. I especially like the integrated mind-body approach, the solid, realistic information about the mechanics of the spine, and the practical advice for care and recovery.

I've spoken with a chiropractor and an MD about my back problems, and the advice they gave me is identical to the advice in this book -- and the book was far less expensive.

Unless you were injured, your back took years to get into its current condition, and it will take a while to improve. This book is a first-rate map of the road to recovery.

This books covers a lot of territory but I did not find it particularly helpful. It feels like it has a lot of filler material to get it to "book length", without focusing in on the most useful information. Also, it completely ignores the neck, apparently assuming that all problems are lower-back problems.

Save your money on Back Pain Remedies for Dummies or just check it out of the library and skim it; in my opinion it is not worth the space it takes up on my book shelf.

Overall, a very informative book, as everyone else says. My only reservation - be careful doing the exercises in the book. The author also has a warning about this - he says "at no point during your back exercise program, should you feel that you are straining...to the point of significantly increasing your pain."

I tried doing a lot of the exercises in the book, and it did add to my pain, so I then got a referral to a physical therapist, who then worked with me, showing me the 9 exercises that were best for me - using the big exercise ball. Those exercises (and perhaps the glucosamine that I take) have gotten me back to where I can again play badminton once a week, and no longer have the serious back pain I had before. (The book does mention, of course, the possibility of getting help from a physical therapist.) I'd recommend the book - just don't increase your pain by overdoing the exercises - as the author warns, in that chapter.

i love this book! its so easy to understand, and it really put my mind at ease on alot of pain issues.it covers so many topics that you dont usually read about, such as: the pros and cons of back surgery, who to seek help from, exercises, getting back to work and the feelings associated with it,etc. a definite must read!

This book is invaluable in increasing awareness and education about breastfeeding. It also exposes the negative social and financial implications our country suffers from not placing the needs of parents and families first. I really appreciate that its underlying focus is on the family. This book incredibly informative on a variety of issues all directly related to breastfeeding and the consequent emotional and psychological health of not only the baby, but the mother and entire family as well.

I was raised in a "breastfeeding family" but this book still was amazing. It should be required reading for college students in business ethics courses. Students majoring in health education, nutrition, family sciences, and women's issues, all should read this during their coursework.

The statistics and studies cited, and information contained, are invaluable in understanding how we came to be a formula-feeding society. And they are the nuggets of how we can reverse that situation. Inform yourself! And you'll begin to be able to inform others, too [given opportunities]. I'm amazed how many people don't recognize the duplicity of formula companies in their product marketing, here and in the Developing World.

I can go over all the reason why to read this book, but it's easier to say you have to read it! If you have come across this book, you must be interested in breastfeeding, this book won't tell you how to do it, but it will tell you why and give you a much greater feeling of how to promote it to others!

I'm shocked that a book like this can be around, it's sad that there is enough anti-breastfeeding companies etc. to warrent the book.

This book should be on every mother-to-be's MUST READ list. It goes into great detail about breastfeeding in other cultures, how the medical establishement derails a mothers efforts before she can even get started, and the overly agressive marketing tactics of the formula manufactures.

There are heartbreaking tales of the number of babies who were killed by artifical feeding.

I cannot reccomend this book enough! Read it before you have children, it will make you see formula (and the Nestle corporation) in a whole new light.

This definitive history of formula, pharmaceutical companies and infant death is highly readable, despite its depressing topic. While it would be comforting to think that formula fed babies only die at a higher rate than breastfed in places without access to clean water that just ain't so -- never has been, never will be, and the companies which make formula know that. Which is why the code of advertising (which formula -- which is to say, pharmaceutical -- companies continue to violate) adopted in the early years of the boycott applies around the world, including in the U.S.

Along the way, Baumslag and Michels include some really amusing sidelights like the invention of the stroller by a New York man, and its adoption by Queen Victoria. One tiny snit: they're anti-swaddling, considering it a barbaric, backward practice that only occurs in backward, barbaric places and should be stamped out.

The book presents some interesting thoughts and ideas. It has plenty of exercises and a few of them actually work (especially those for enhancing energy) BUT there are quite some anomalies in the book too.
First of all at the beginning of the book the dear doctor raves about how he has cured or helped curing a deaf person, persons with cancer and even a blind kid. How strange though that the doctor wears glasses ... what? he can cure blind people, but he can't even improve his own eyesight?? His "medicine" doesn't work for him?
Secondly, the doctor explains a few techniques in the book, one of which pertains to chanting various chinese number combinations and mantras in chinese. Depending on which part of the body you're healing there's a different number combination or mantra because each of these produce a different level of vibration when pronounced or chanted and thus help healing a particular part of the body. BUT suddenly there are two exercises where you have to chant "God's Blessings" and "God's Light"...well, so far for the theory about chinese words that produce different levels of vibrations. Why does he use english words now?...I have no idea. Why does he starts relying on God all of a sudden when he has been explaining throughout the whole book it's all about energy and energy movement?...I have no clue either. Do the english words induce a certain level of vibration...I doubt it, but let's say they do, then why can't he do the other exercises in english too. Why do we (=readers) need to learn number combination in chinese?
Albeit small thoughts, these thoughts make me a little sceptical towards believing the book's content, even although some of the exercises seem to work.
Maybe it's all in the head after all!

A friend gave me this book in Mid April, he said when he saw it at the bookstore, it just jumped out at him and he had to buy it for me. Diagnosed with Systemic Lupus 4 years ago, I recently began exploring alternative medicine, but I was getting frustrated with all the difficult and costly methods I found. I have always believed that my body could heal itself, I just didn't know how to help it. "Power Healing" is the answer I have been waiting for. I know nothing about Chinese Philosophy or any of the other Ancient healing arts, although I have heard of Reiki. This methods in this book work, regardless of any prior knowledge or belief.

I'd had the book for about 2 weeks, when a few days ago, I began having pain so severe that I was bedridden for 2 days. I decided to pick the book up and begin reading. I will admit that I was more than a little bit skeptical at first, but I made a conscious decision to suspend all disbelief and give the techniques a try. To my complete astonishment . . .It Worked! After doing the very 1st techinque for about 15 minutes, I was out of bed, pain free and full of energy, I even went out to join friends at a gathering. Knowing that I had been under the weather, they were all amazed to see me, and I couldn't stop talking about this amazing book.

I highly reccomend "Power Healing" to everyone. Try it, you've got nothing to lose, but your illness. I have only read the first few chapters, but I plan to continue the techniques until I am off all medications, and completly healed.

Thanks Dr Sha. ..

I like Dr. John Gray, had been studying different forms of healing for years. In fact, Dr. Gray and I studied together with Swami Kaleshwar, a famous mantra healing Master in India, several years ago. I"ve worked as an medical technician at Deepak Chopra's Ayurveda clinic in Lancaster, Mass., studied Thai Yoga massage, herbs, jyotish astrology and am a Reiki Master. I became a Holy Spirit healer with Dr. Fuller in Florida who is famous for dental healing where mercury/almalgam fillings actually turn to gold in your mouth before your eyes. I have also been a meditation teacher for over 20 years. I have studied complex systems, seen many miracle healings and witnessed miracles of healing in my own work. I am not easily impressed. At first Dr. Sha system just seemed a little to simple to be real. But the more I thought about it the more sense it made. Dr. Sha has synthesized all the elements that I knew worked in healing - prayer, sound therapy, physical postures, positive thinking, gratitude, etc. But the real "proof of the pudding" is in the eating. When I tried some of the mantras and exercises it was amazing. These deceptively simple procedures possess tremendous power. The first exercise to build energy in the Dan Tian really lit a fire in me. Later when I did a chi gung stance using the golden ball, the heat started in my body and a burning smell filled my nostrils. I found out later that this was a sign that the heavy metals were being burned up in the body. That night I went to sleep with the Book which he had energized at his workshop. I followed the instructions he gave and as I lay there with it the most powerful energy went through my body. It was very blissful but very intense. I feel something profound is happening in my system and am grateful to Dr. Sha and his teachers for this gift and hope in the future I may be able to study more deeply with him and help bring this healing to the world.

The next best thing to hearing Dr. Sha speak is reading his book, Power Healing. Filled with exercises and techniques to help one take charge of their own health, this book is easy to understand and very inspiring. I recommend it for anyone interested in alternative methods of healing to use in conjunction with more traditional Western medicine.

As a resident of Fairfield, IA - a community of meditators and people very familiar with alternative healing techniques - I was quite excited when hearing about Dr. Sha's book of ancient healing techniques which he had studied and mastered and was willing to share with the world. Two weeks before his arrival I came down with a flu bug and was still working with a depressed immune system, feeling slugish and tired and still some mucus in the lungs and a little cough. So I told one of his local coordinators I would not be able to attend and I was very disappointed because I had already purchased his book and was very enthusiastic about meeting him. She immediately put me in contact with Dr. Sha by phone. He asked me to close my eyes, hold my hands in a specific way and envision a golden ball. Immediately all symptoms were relieved. I attended the course. You can't get better than that. Since then I have been practicing the techniques, passing them on to others and having one marvelous experience after another. I would highly recommend this book and Dr. Sha's courses to everyone.

Sherie Baron, NLP/Hypnotherapist/Reiki Master/EFT Therapist

I just loved this book. It is wonderful to read about a person who lives their convictions (not that I necessarily agree with her personally but that is nearly beside the point). She shows a great deal of courage by continuing a work that she believes in even after threats and other difficulties. Any book that makes me think about the shades of gray that exist in the world instead of my more comfortable black and white is a good book.
I hope she keeps writing

Professionally qualified specialist explicates her background and experience of many years in following the pathetic result of females' unique dependence and sexual vulnerability. This problem is clearly attributable to the human condition pre-menopause, regardless of age.
As a specialist in OB-Gyn, she does her best to ensure that her patients
are examined to discuss the patient's decision thoroughly and to ascertain early stage of pregnancy. The setting provided in this way goes
to ensure minimal frequency of complications of the event in the life of the individual both emotionally and physically.
The sacrifices involved for this doctor are beyond personal. She describes the forms of protest against her self and family and the
clinic and the clinic staff.
This book is an opportunity to hear from an insider in the confidential
corridor serving "women's health."

Ms. Wicklund's book is interesting and complex. The author travels to different states to abort fetal tissue. Protesters try to block the entrance to the clinics. They harass her family, and scream slogans in her face, such as, "Murderer, stop killing babies".

Susan Wicklund seems to have genuine concern for her clients. She writes that she lives in fear of doing an abortion for women, who would regret it latter. Instead of simply getting rid of the fetal tissue, she counselor's women so they will not regret their abortions. If a women seems hesitate to have an abortion, Ms Wicklund suggests different options like adoption. In spite of her counseling, I wonder how many women regret their abortions.

The book does a good job of describing the complexities of abortion. I learned from the book, as I suspected, that men have no rights over a fetus. Should a woman decide to end the life of their baby, a man has no choice in the matter.

While reading the book I recall seventh grade, when my teacher, Ms. Glen, taught us during environmental week how we should only have two children per couple (ZPG), and that abortion was just getting rid of useless tissue. I shyly asked "Isn't that tissue going to be a baby?' My classmates all looked at me with disdain. One boy sneered, "You must be a Catholic!"

The teacher explained again, that it was just useless tissue. In other words, the teacher explained abortion, like it was similar to taking out the trash.

In spite of the cliques of the abortion advocates. Abortion is not just about "a women's right to choose." The fetal tissue is a separate entity no matter how much women talk about "their rights."

This generation according to a poll in Time Magazine states, that teenagers' attitudes on abortion are different. They do not glorify abortion, and they recognize that abortion is ending a human life. Abortion should not be celebrated, but discouraged. Not everyone who opposes abortion is a religious zealot.

The book left me feeling sad, but I am giving this book five stars because it was well written and interesting

Hooray for Wicklund's heroic struggle on behalf of abortion! I very much sympathized with her enduring persecution from the anti-choice fascists. Because lets face it--abortions are great! The right-wing Bible thumpers claim that abortion is "killing". But what's wrong with that? Killing, obviously, should be a choice left to a child's mother, not the government.

I was shocked to read that there are so few abortionists available in rural America. O, the trials that these women must go through to abort their fetuses! I wept in triumph as each fetus was--against seemingly insurmountable odds--aborted! Thank God for courageous warriors like Wicklund! Fight on, brave abortionists! Unite, I say! Unite behind Abortion's billowing star-spangled banner! Surely a nobler cause was never championed!

This is a remarkable story about a courageous woman who - despite ongoing threats to her self, family, practice, and property- vigilantly protects a woman's right to choose.

Dr. Wicklund's stories about her patients are both inspirational and heartbreaking; her interactions with abortion stalkers/protesters - who violated her privacy and terrorized her family - are absolutely chilling. Before I read this book, I thought I understood the risks that doctors assumed when they worked at a facility that performed abortions. I didn't have a clue.

God bless you, Dr. Wicklund, for your eloquence, grace, and devotion to woman's health. You are an inspiration.

she is my herbal guru. very informative and she has a great website. excedllent book

I don't know of any other book that covers the approaches to healing in such an insightful way. I had numerous ahh haa moments. Susan's writings on specific plants also really give one the sense that they are living energies deserving of respect.

I absolutely love this book! Susuns way of teaching is so matter of fact and not so technical that we can understand, and gives you this urge to just try.
Gabby

Anyone interested in herbalism in any way needs to read this book. Susun is most definately a grandmother of herbalism to the next generations that follow the herbal ways.
Susun is delightful in her writing and is also very public about everything she writes about. Truly teaching us about the herbs themselves and how to apply them.

I got a bit confused on her way of describing dandelion in her french accent writing about the plant, but now that I have been exposed to a french teacher, I am more comfortable with understanding this section of the book and should re read it.

But that is Susun's playful style and how the plants are in relation to her.

If you practice herbalism in any degree, this is a must have book.

Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise looks at health and healing from a completely different perspective than any other resource I've ever consulted. Instead of looking at illness as something needing medication (as in western scientific medicine) or as the result of some sort of bodily imbalance (as in traditional eastern medicine), this book looks at illness as an opportunity.

At first, I have to admit that this concept sounded really strange to me. What sort of opportunity is suffering from Chronic Fatigue or having to deal with the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis? However, as I continued through the thorough and easy to understand explanations of the wise woman tradition, I began to understand more about the principles behind optimum nourishment.

Basically, this concept requires that we learn to take care of, accept, learn from and love ourselves at every point in our life process. To do so, brings about change and further opportunities to nourish our being. Thus, if we have an illness in the traditional sense, then we need to take the opportunity to learn about ourselves and fully nurture our being before we can ever hope to release the seemingly negatives aspects of the situation.

Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise has me intrigued with the wise woman tradition. I find the concept of a spiral healing pattern (as opposed to the linear pattern of western medicine and the circular pattern of traditional eastern medicine) fascinating. I also like that this book gave me a distinctly different way to think about my health. I am extremely eager to learn more about this tradition.

I love this product! This book is wonderful for planning meals for whole days, weeks and months! Easy to follow recipes.

I just started cooking for my father who is a diabetic. This cookbook is great. It has a weekly list of ingredients so you can get a weeks worth at one time or you can shop day to day. I also like how it lists the number of starches, sugars, etc. for each recipe. It is a great help to someone who is new to diabetic cooking.Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking

I've used this recipe book for 5 weeks, and used the grocery list each time. I love making my grocery shopping trips quick and easy with this cookbook! I am also diabetic, and found that these recipes were low to moderate in carbohydrates, and offered the nutritional information I need. The recipes are also low in sodium and fat, which are other things I watch for. The down-side though, is that though most of the recipes said 25 minutes to prepare, most took 60 minutes (getting on the long side for me). I'd love to see these recipes updated to incorporate time-saving techniques.

I have had this book for a couple of years now, and I use it two or more times a week. Very Good recipes. HIGHLY RECOMENED

The recipes from this book shatter any stereotypes that may be associated with the words "diabetic food". They're tasty and easy to prepare. The menu concept makes planning meals easier and provides great variety. I am not diabetic, but wanted to make healthier food choices and feel better about what I was eating. This book has been a valuable resource and has made the whole process a lot easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be!

(HUNGRY) is a humorous and motivating book about living life in the fat lane. Allen Zadoff's fast-paced, witty, yet poignant writing style gives any overweight person an honest look into themselves. It's a diet tool that will inspire the reader to reach the same success level that Zadoff did in learning to control the urge to eat, compulsively! Every overweight person should read this book!

As the author says more than once, not everyone will relate to his particular story with food. I think anyone with eating issues would find something in this book to be of help. I could relate all too well, and appreciate the author's candor at revealing things about himself, and his thoughts, that were of help to my own situation.

How is everyone doing in conquering this:
~*weight loss battle*~?
It really is a WAR against those excess pounds, isn't it?

After reading HUNGRY by Allen Zadoff, I decided not to call it a 'diet' because it is not suppose to be a reducing diet but a healthy way of eating.

This book gives you some ammunition to WIN that war!
(Although you will always have to be 'on guard' for the rest of your life!)

It was a worthwhile book to read...It had short one or two pages chapters. None of that recipe filler pages.

One of our 'assignments' was to try and figure out WHY
we over-eat and make ourselves over-weight.
There is a reason. He suggested maybe it is an addiction
or a disease we need to treat not just cover up with a 'diet'?

He lost 150 lbs...The way he did it was to analyze his feelings and
then to not eat foods that are trigger foods. He had us make a list
of red, yellow and green foods....red meaning those
that we just can't stop eating once we start (like sweets)
yellow meaning those that sometimes cause over-eating problems, and
green are those that are OK and good for us; never lead
to a binge. (Like a traffic light, red STOP, yellow CAUTION and green GO.

He didn't tell us what to eat because everyone's list would be
different.
Allen reminded me of my nephew that also lost a great deal of weight.

For instance, how when Allen was at a normal weight, after weighing 360 lbs. (And having only one pair of pants that fit that were worn out in the crouch.)
It was difficult to think like a normal weight person. (Like how to react when a pretty girl flirted with him.)

This is the suggestion that I am going to have to do since I am
an evening nibbler. Only eat 3 meals each day...(From the green list.)
"Three delicious, abundant meals made up of foods I can handle."Zadoff.

It sounds so sensible yet I haven't done that in a long long time.
I need to stop this mindless evening snacking...that mouth hungry not
stomach hungry HABIT! It is very very hard to break these bad eating habits!

If you can get the book, I highly recommend it.

Allen's final statement:
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can
start from now and make a brand new ending." Carl Bard

I really enjoyed this book. In clear, no nonsense language Allen Zadoff managed to convey to the reader the pain of being very over weight with no self pity, no real excuses. He ate too much at one time. Period. Then, somehow after reaching 300+ pounds, he looked inside of himself and accepted a truth. He needed to eat less. So - no more dieting for him. He decided to establish a traffic light of an idea. Red light for dangerous food, yellow light for foods that need to be approached with caution and green food - the kind one can eat lots of and manage to stay slim. I loved this idea. I don't have a huge weight problem, but I do eat too much at times for a variety of reasons. I swear - as soon as I did what Zadoff said, wrote down my red, yellow and green foods, I began to eat less. And I began to lose weight. Wow. Thanks, Mr. Zadoff. You did a great job. I hope everyone who has ever struggled with weight reads this book. It's short but the message is clear. Look at what you eat. Identify problem foods. Approach them with caution. I guess he said it all.

I can't believe such a terrible book can be reviewed so highly. I think he didn't say anything everyone who has a problem with food doesn't know. IN fact he doesn't really reveal himself at all. He uses thumor to hide behind rather than tell the truth. How does such a skimpy book get published?. He hints O.A is the only answer to overeating. He never explains what home problems kept his addiction active. I find it cruel to give hope to others with one method while telling us nothing else works. Everyone is differet and what works is different. This book is not quite a memoir, not quite a self help book,not quite a book. It is said to be a non diet book but I felt like I had been put on a skimpy diet with this badly written book. sorry. but I could write a more truthful book in my sleep and I have kept off sixty pounds. Hey, let me write a book. Save your money and time on this one. I felt cheated.

Fabulous book! Bair gives clear and easy-to-follow instructions to connect with one's heart and from there to the natural world. I believe it is what the world needs. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

This book has wisdom from beyond the ordinary realms of everyday life. This gives the reader tools and information to use to take steps "up" in life in order to know what purpose they are here for and to live that with passion. The author is highly knowledgeable and uses both general and specific information and personal stories from many people to bring home the points and importance of using these tools and when to use them. They help with the ordinary challenges of everyday life and open the door to the beyond. Pretty exciting stuff that could enlighten anyone who is seeking more from life.

This book is a groundbreaking work in the sense that most sufi teachings are encapsulated for small groups of followers of one particular Master or Stream of enlightenment, but this work has the currency and immediacy to answer the cry of humanity's illnesses today and provide healing and help in the areas of relationships, health, and character building. I look forward to the publication of the successor volume due out this Sept. 07, and I know that it shall be an even bigger event for readers of this important wisdom school in our time. This book is definitely the crest of the wave of practical healthy steps toward enlightenment and valuable and useful applications for steps toward an enhanced life and increased appreciation for living in these difficult days, eventually leading us back to the source from whence we all came, by unlearning some of the hang-up and attachments holding us back and making us all ill. A great primer for meditation, concentration, and contemplation. Enjoy and welcome home.

I have read many many "heart" entitled books over the years and it is surprising to me that so few people are aware of this book and the method of meditation that it introduces, especially given its ease and effectiveness. Before I discovered this work, my own heart had attained various states----from serious questioning with Ramana Maharshi and other spiritual quests, to the ecstatic verse of Rumi and Hafiz----from sharing with patients, life's trauma and joys through years as a health care provider, to the wrenching-heart-breaking-openings of ended relationships.

When I began Heart Rhythm Meditation, sensations and awareness felt great right away which aroused my curiosity and encouraged me to keep practicing. But it took me six more months of various methods of this meditation before realizing I was experiencing much more than just a temporary high or an insightful understanding. Some essential aspect of my being was gradually changing by such a simple practice of attending to my breathing and my heart-beat.

(For the quickest experiential entry, go immediately to "The First Intervention" practice on page 144 for a limited number of breaths. Then go right on to page 155 "The Second Intervention" also for a limited number of breaths. Gently. Simply. Easily. Entering into a "conversation" with your lungs and then opening to the possibility of a "conversation" with your heart. If any anxiety or concerns arise in this new relationship with your heart, move right on to page 166.)

I have read this book every year for the last nine years and shared it with patients and students. With even a little patience, I know you will discover or uncover within, exactly what the book's subtitle suggests: energy, clarity, peace, joy and inner power. Moving into your heart, layer after layer after layer. Holding a feeling state longer and longer. Living less through your mind, and living more from your heart. You will not lose any mental abilities but calm and enhance them as you gain your full heart function. As Puran Bair speaks so succinctly, you may now live with your mind in service to your heart.

(This book provides practical emotional experience of the Elements and insights on pranayama for those interested in either of these arenas.)

Puran and Susanna Bair have also published another title: Energize Your Heart

Living from the Heart has altered my perception of what it truly means to be "real" and has had a profound effect on not only how I perceive others but more importantly on how I react to all of life's situations. I've found that through the breath practices alone my life has changed. My energy is double if not triple what it was, my ability to listen to others and really hear what they are saying has increased when I listen with my heart and maintain a full breathing pattern. Add the element breath practices and WOW you have a guaranteed method of changing your energy to match the situation. If you need to be the calm voice of reason in a business meeting where everyone else is charged up and you use the air and earth breaths you can not only see the bigger picture and commonality of everyone's concerns but you can remain calm in the storm and actually calm down everyone in the meeting (both in person and via phone). If you've had a long day and need to get a boost of energy or optimism then the fire breadth will increase your energy. The water breadth is perfect for developing and sending empathy and emotions for not only your closer relationships but also with those you may have just met. I've found that learning to harness the power of your breath can be an extremely powerful tool in business as well as in life.
I have tried many different forms of meditation over the past 24 years and have taken multiple leadership, communication, relationship building and "stress relief" courses yet they only cover bits and pieces of how to effectively listen to your intuition, relate to another person, show empathy and relieve stress. Living from the heart gives you sound, easy to practice and incredibly powerful methods of developing your concentration, intuition, communication with yourself, and guides you to living a heart centered life.
The key to this method of meditation is that it is not just visualization or counting or any of the other methods that take you away from your body and self but rather key practices that will apply to every situation in your life. This book not only teaches you how to meditate but gives you the tools to apply the benefits of mediation to enhance your everyday life. It gives you the tools you need to contact your heart, hear what it says, learn how to breath (which if that is all you learn from this book your life will be greatly enhanced), and to really connect with your spiritual side. The method is based on thousands of years of collective knowledge from multiple religions and spiritual practices blended with the latest in scientific research.
Puran Bair has done an absolutely spectacular job of synthesizing the best practices that many spend a lifetime learning and presenting the knowledge in an easy to understand, easy to practice and incredibly powerful manor that anyone can learn and benefit from.
I've given copies of this book to countless friends. Anyone that wants to learn how to really breath and utilize the power of the breath, develop awareness of their body and heart, increase their body's natural healing capacity and connect back with (or enhance) their spiritual awareness will love this book regardless of religious affiliation (or lack of religious belief).

In addition, those who will benefit are not just those on a spiritual path but anyone that wants to harness the power of their breath...using the square (or diamond) breath is a highly effective way to increase your lung capacity and VO2 Max...useful for runners, atheletes, anyone living in or traveling to high altitudes or basically anyone interested in increasign their stamina, recovering from surgury (takes pressure off your chest), and increases your vitality and health.