Medicine and Health Books

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!

A great quick guide on drug information, perhaps, the best one. Full monographs of almost all of the drugs, including interactions. Much necessary to the pharmacists and other health professionals.

Excellent, concise, just the facts, ma'am, and easy to look up just what you need. Why wade through the Physicians Desk Reference when this handy gem has all that you really desire in drug information, presented efficiently by pharmacists. Boils it down to the facts. 2-3 pages per medication, in table form often. Once you buy this book, you'll ditch the PDR. Guaranteed.

this is a great resource. as a pharmacist, I use this quite often for basic questions.

The charts in the back are very comprehensive and useful; the drug monographs are very up-to-date and accurate.

While other people in my class waited for their DIHs to arrive, I had mine in no time! Thanks!

Good for you Crystal for losing 167 pounds. I don't blame you for writing about it either, something this dramatic needs to be shared. What I really liked about this book was that it did not pressure the reader into losing weight. Diets these days are very stick: don't eat this, you must eat this, that and nothing else. Crystal shows us that you can lose weight your own way and it's up to you to set the pace.

I would like to give this book 3 1/2 stars but there aren't any 1/2's so I have written it. I really enjoyed her story and how she worked thru her struggles. It was a little unorganized but still enjoyable.

I,JUST PURCHASED CRYSTAL'S BOOK ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO,AND I LOVED IT.I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED,USING HER SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS
I'M PRAYING EVERYDAY THAT THE LORD WIL GIVE ME THE STRENGTH AND THE CURAGE TO SUCEED.
I HAVE NOT BEEN TOO SUCESSFUL IN THE PAST.
CRYSTA IF YOU READ THIS,GIRLFRIEND,PLEASE KEEP ME IN YOUR PRAYERS
I KNOW I CAN DO THIS.
LOOK FOR THOS BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES,IN THE FUTURE.
LADY DI.

This book allows one to understand that the challenges of temptation for those struggling with weight loss is normal.

Some people kick themselves for backsliding on the diet trail. But this is verifivation that you still can continue and get over those mental humps.

This is chrystals everyday challenges that gets her through the storm. She begins to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I admire her because she experimented and found a method that was good for her. She teaches that there is no "blueprint" available for everyone.

If this book taught me anything it was the power of jeeping a journal. It will help you see where the problem lies and how to get through; and it will enable you to identify what is causing you to stifle your plans. It may be mental, physical or spiritual.

I use this book strictly for motivation. It's nice to read the words of someone who has been there.

I'd like to see her now! I hope she has kept up the good work.

"The Me I Knew I Could Be" is Crystal Phillips' journey from 292 lb (size 26) to 138 lb (size 6). I believe Crystal's obesity and binge eating would probably fall into the worst case category so I couldn't identify with Crystal's struggles, but I was inspired by her committed plan to lose weight. Apparently, the 292 lb was a result of her continuous binge eating (4 steaks, entire peach cobbler, and much more in one setting) causes my emotional issues (anxiety induced by grandfather, death of her brother, volatile marriage, and insecurity) she refused to deal with. Instead of just waking up one morning stating "I'm going to lose weight", Crystal learns the real reason she binged and began to deal with it. She uses typical weight loss techniques that can be found in any book, but what sets this story apart is her true story (complete with journal entries) that describes how she worked through the emotional problems to stop the emotional eating. At times, Crystal discusses how she came to a crossroad had to make the decision on whether or not to emotionally eat - sometimes she did, most times she didn't. When she did emotionally eat, she didn't give up but got refocused. Never does she say she's cured of binge-eating but offers ways to prevent to urge, i.e., after a big family gathering give leftovers away or only buy the smallest portion of a snack item. Her story is very honest.

Included in this book: recipes, before-after photos from her workshop participants, several exercises, and much more. The one unique item I found is the contents for a Survival Kit - a bag packed with healthy food and water that prevented Crystal from stopping at fast food restaurants.

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

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.

As both a dog owner and veterinarian by profession, I work in the world of medical science and I live in the world as a devoted dog owner. Therefore, I can truly appreciate the need for Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care. Although the title might suggest the content is someone trivial, this author has poured her heart, detective skills and keen sense of intuition into real fact finding and honest answers. Her concerns should also be your concerns and her cautions, your yellow flag! In these times we are all bombarded with tons of information and often not enough time to make truly informed decisions. Therefore, I encourage you to let Jan Rasmusen be your guide to bridge the dangerous gap between advances in modern medicine and aggressive marketing campaigns fueled by drug companies to help you decide what is best for the dog in your life.

I did not discover this book until my 9th week after surgery. It is still a help, but I sure wish I had known about it b-4 the surgery. I am going to give a copy to my Doctor when I see him in a few weeks.

My husband is 4 weeks post knee replacement surgery, and this book has been our Bible. I wish we had bought it sooner, but it has been very helpful. It tells what to expect and how to rehab! His physiotherapist and doctor have both approved!

This book is a must for all people considering a knee replacement. Especially important to get the book early enough that you can do all the pre-operative exercises to help you manage your post op better. Most surgeons just do not give you the whole picture of what the first year of your life will be like after the operation. To have a great outcome, you really need to know that your re-hab will continue long past what most insurance companies provide. This gives you the information to have the best possible outcome of your surgery. Thanks to the pysical therapist who had both his knees done, you see a very knowledgeable "insider" view of the total process. Get this book before your surgery!

I simply say "ditto" to what most of the other reviewers have stated. This is a real gem of a book. It wasn't until after my LTKR this past summer that I learned of the book. Once I received the book it has been at my side constantly. I'm now 5.5 months post and use the exercises in the book everyday. My faves: Pool Therapy, Futebol and the Balance Exercises. My OS was not familiar with the book so I sent him one as a "thank you" for my wonderful, new knee! It should be handed out to every TKR patient as part of their pre-op packet.

My left knee has been failing rapidly. . I have heard the good, bad and ugly about TKA. Thus I have purchased several books in the last few years. I will be so well prepared for my surgery (4 weeks away). This book has allowed me a be a TEAM player, and not just a patient. I already own a Total Gym, that is one piece of equipment suggested.
I know I will heal much faster due to the exercises I am doing now, and later after surgery. Technology in this field is advancing by leaps and bounds. Some of the info and details are almost outdated, but still covers all the bases. This book helped me have super communication with my surgeon and his staff. Hats off to Dr. Daniel J. Brugioni and Jeff Falkel, Ph.D. - Orthopedic Surgeons should write a pre-surgery prescription for this book!

this book is wonderful! an essential for any yogi. it has wonderful detailed information and good quality pictures. deals with how to do yoga when you have a headache to what helps with cancer patients. i love how this book adds a medical side to yoga. my mother is a nurse and not a fan of yoga, so having a book like this helps validate how wonderful and useful yoga is! anyone can benefit from adding yoga to their lives!!!

For someone like me that isn't into all the esoteric jargon involved in yoga, this book was perfect for me. Written by a western MD, it has practical, everyday suggestions for incorporating yoga into your daily routine. Highly recommend!

It was a nice book and was a well received gift. I read the other reviews and they were really detailed and helpful when purchasing this.

This book is perfect for Yoga teachers. It has helped me to give information to one of my students with high blood preasure. Another with knee problems. This book will give you lots of information from the medical point of view without losing the yoga. I always suggest my students to consult with their doctors since I'm not one, but also give them the additional information I find in this book for them to share it with their doctor. I'm learning a lot more about the human body through the practice of Yoga and this book is complementing every step of the way.

This book is really the complete text on how to use yoga for almost any major ailment. The author, MD Dr. McCall (also the medical editor for Yoga Journal), writes from a scientific perspective. He quotes and footnotes his volume extensively, and merges science with ancient wisdom in 568 pages.

The book opens with an overview of what yoga is and is not, discusses briefly the various forms you can follow (ashtanga, iyengar, etc), and moves quickly into the physical and mental ailments yoga has been observed to help.

Yoga models of various body types illustrate the most helpful poses for anxiety, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, IBS, MS, HIV, headaches, stress, depression, menopause, back aches, cancer, insomnia, infertility, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia, arthritis and asthma.

Contraindications for each condition are provided, along with research notes, holistic approaches to treatment and tons of yoga exercise options (with black and white photos).

Quotes and passages from such well-known yoga instructors as Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden are incorporated into each section as well.

An important chapter in the back cautions practicing yogis to avoid new injuries through incorrect postural alignment and overeager stretching.

I appreciated reading the author's summary at the end about how our society could benefit from incorporating yoga therapy into mainstream medicine. I agree we should be teaching yoga in schools, to the aged in nursing homes, to the chronically ill, and in community centers everywhere. He suggests doctors and nurses themselves should practice yoga, both to lessen the stress in their professions, and also to be able to see first-hand the health benefits of yoga as both preventative and restorative medicine.

Overall, this isn't a sit-down-and-read book, although flipping through it is enjoyable. It's a fantastic reference source to keep in your yoga or medical library. Anyone can benefit from this information - we all get headaches, back aches, stress and anxiety. We all all know people with asthma or incipient heart disease who might be helped by sharing this information.

Highly recommended!

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.

I truly love this book. It makes so much sense to me that IC is not just a bladder disease but the result of a toxic body. I reaize how toxic my body has felt in the last few years and how now I can change that. My only wish is that she would have included information on diet. She has so much knowlwdge and I would love to hear how she feels diet plays a roll in healing. From all I have read, diet is a key factor in healing.

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!!!!

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.