“Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (chicken), which is better than eating what stands on four legs (cows, pigs and other mammals”  Chinese Proverb.

Michael Pollan bestselling author of five books including  “In Defense of Food“  and  “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (named one of the top 10 books of the year by New York Times)  has an another awesome book called “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual“.  My book of the month.  There are 65 rules in all, one page per rule, most with a brief explanation.

So, if you are confused about how and what to eat,  “Food Rules” simplifies it all for you.  No lengthy explanations or confusing contradicting facts.  Just 65 rules.  Simple and straight to the point. I love it.

I find this book very much aligned to the new food movement that I’ve mentioned before “Eat close to the source”  – the more ingredients, artificial additives, more processing and unhealthy cooking methods involved, the further away you are from the original food source and the less healthy and nutritious.

There are 3 parts to this book.  Part 1 - What should I eat? (food) - Part 2 What kind of food should I eat? (mostly plants) – Part 3 How should I eat? (not too much).

You might also be pleased to know that Michael encourages you to break the rules once in a while – afterall obsessing over food rules is bad for your happiness and health.

To give you a taste of his book, I’ve shared 12 of my favourite rules although I could have easily shared more with you.  Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

12 of my favourite food rules:

# Rule 11 – Avoid food you see advertised on television

# Rule 13 - Eat only foods that will eventually rot

# Rule 15 – Get out of the supermarket whenever you can

# Rule 17 – Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans

#Rule 25 – Eat your colours

#Rule 27 – Eat animals that have themselves eaten well

# Rule 30 – Eat well-grown food from healthy soil – go organic as much as you can

# Rule 35 - Eat sweet food as you would find it in nature – Eat fruit

# Rule 36 - Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the colour of the milk

# Rule 37 -  The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead

#Rule 38 - Favour the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground

# Rule 46 -  Stop eating before you’re full

# Rule 57 – Do all your eating at a table

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Recent book recommendations:

Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lassater

Chakra Foods for Optimum Health by Dr. Deanna Minich

Light on Life by B.K.S Iyengar

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Join me at my July or September 2011 Rest and Rejuvenation Retreats in Bali

Click here for all the relaxing details.

At the moment I’m reading – extra slowly -Light on Life by B.K.S Iyengar.  Rush through this book and you’ll miss wonderful pieces of wisdom from the yoga legend Mr Iyengar (born 1918).  He shares many ways (yoga philosophy based) for us all to strengthen our emotional well-being, physical stability and  mental clarity.  Of course it includes regular yoga and mindful breathing to calm our mind and strengthen the nervous system. All with the aim of encouraging us all to flow through the ups and downs of life with minimal residual stress and upset.

Or as Mr Iyengar so eloquently writes.

“When lifes little upsets happen, we take them in our stride, deal with them – and then them put down.   We are in balance, so changes, disturbances, and events in our daily life do not throw us off balance.   We’re sensitive to them, we’re flexible, we survive without trauma”.

As I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this book thought I would share a few insights that are connected with my passions of breathing, relaxation and being in balance.

The “echo” exhalation was a piece of wisdom that really resonated with me, not only because of the funky name (you’ve got to admit its cool)  but because he’s right.  There always is residual air in the bottom of our lungs – even after we have exhaled.  Enjoy.

6 great quotes and wisdsoms from B.K.S. Iyengar:

One: Try an “echo” exhalation.  Exhale slowly and fully.  Pause.  Then exhale again. There is always a slight residue left in the lungs.  In that residue is to be found the sludge of toxic memory and ego.  Exhale further, let them go and experience and even deeper state of peace.

Two: If your liver is sluggish with toxins your brain will be impaired because the liver is not filtering the blood.  Your nervous system will be slow to react to danger and disproportionate to the degrees of stress you register.

My thoughts:  Detox the liver to think more clearly and feel less stressed.

Three: You have to tame your breath to tame your brain.  Begin with observing the movements of normal breathing and letting them become quiet and soft in such a way there is no load on the cells in the brain.    To accomplish this you have to release the diaphragm.  The diaphragm is the medium between the physiological and mental sheaths and in consequence tightens as it records stress and tensions that occur in daily life.

My thoughts:  Soften your belly to relax your diaphragm – to quieten the brain.

Four: Everyone desires more life energy.  If energy could be packaged and sold in a shop, it would be the most successful business ever.  Merely talking about energy excites and energizes people.  Where can we get it, people want to know.  Well, not in packets and not in shops because it is, first, everywhere and, second, free of charge.  Energy or prana in the form of breath, is the starting point.

My thoughts:   Invite more energy into your body right now – with your next inhale.  Pranayama is also a great place to start with alternate nostril breathing or by paying more attention to the quality of your breath for at least one minute every hour.

Five: Focus on relaxing not clenching.  Learn how to relax your tongue and throat and you know how to relax your brain.   There is a connection between the tongue, throat and brain.

My thoughts -Start by un-clenching your jaw, tongue, teeth, shoulders, neck, stomach and buttocks.

Wisdom six: If we look with tension in our eyes it means our nerves are already exhausted which causes us to lose energy.

My thoughts:  Soften and relax the muscles behind the eyes.  Give your eyes something pleasant to look at other than computer screens, TV and your mobile phone.

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Recent book recommendations:

Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lassater

Chakra Foods for Optimum Health by Dr.  Deanna Minich

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

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“What color will you bring into your eating today?  Red – Passionate, Orange – Creative, Yellow – Powerful, Green – Healing, Blue – Intuitive, Purple – Spirit” Dr Deanna Minich

Sometimes all you need to do is hold  a book to really know – I need to read this book.  Chakra Foods for Optimum Health is absolutely one of those books for me.

If you appreciate the importance of healthy chakra’s and have a sneaking suspicion the energy or vibrational quality of our food is just as important as the calories, protein and vitamin content, then you will love this book.

Monthly book recommendation:

I’m so excited to share this months book with you by Dr. Deanna Minich called  Chakra Foods for Optimum Health.

Although Deanna has a doctorate and masters degree in the scientific field of nutrition she has beautifully combined this sound knowledge with quantum physics and ancient wisdoms such as yoga, Ayurveda, Native American healing and energy medicine.  I personally feel this book is beyond awesome.  Its a keeper and I love it.

Five things I learned or loved:

At a glance, there were a few highlights that really resonated with me.  You’ll probably be different but these are mine.

1: Dr Deanna suggests that the solar plexus is the most out of balance of all our chakra’s.  This is something she has observed from her clinic and research.

2: If you are over thinking you may be depleting your solar plexus by putting too much “thought energy” out there.

3: The single most important vegetable for grounding are beets (beetroots) as they are born within the earth and carry the colour vibration (red) necessary for grounding.  Good to know.

4: Healthy low glycemic foods sustain the solar plexus such as bean soups, hummus, nuts,oatmeal and apples just to name a few.  The solar plexus is responsible for our energy balance.

5: Deanna suggests that only when we focus (give our attention and energy) to our food (be present with our meals) that we are able to truely receive the health and well-being benefits of each meal.

What you will find in this book:

* A questionnaire and  chart on how to determine how healthy each of your chakras are

* Chakra detoxification chart

* How a depleted chakra will effect your life and certain organs

* A full explanation of each chakra and the emotional and physical health imbalances they relate too

* Affirmations for each chakra’s

* Recipes and menu suggestion to improve the health of each chakra (they are excellent)

* What food cravings mean and how to correct them

* A list of food, substances and processes that deplete our chakras

* List of foods that stimulate and have a balancing effect on our chakras

What to feed your chakra’s at a glance:

“If you are always eating the same way (what I call “eating ruts”), how can we expect to experience our lives in a new way ? By “shaking up” your eating and getting more variety you may open yourself up to new experiences …. imagine”  Dr. Deanna Minich

Dr. Deanna Minich (pictured left) author Chakra Foods for Optimum Health:

I’m sharing below a few of the recipe suggestions which Deanna recommends in her book. It should give you an idea as to the type of foods that best nourish and balance each of your individual chakras.

What to feed your root chakra (red):

Recipe suggestions - Nourishing bean soup, winter root vegetable soup, red whirl smoothy, grilled tuna steak with oven roasted red peppers.

Think protein, root vegetables and red – tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, apples, red cabbage and beets.

What to feed your sacral chakra (orange):

Recipe suggestions - Smoked salmon, carrots dipped in fresh almond and cashew nut butter, creative curry soup, grilled salmon with apricot orange sauce.

Think fats and oils (omega’s 3), fish, nuts and orange - sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, salmon and mango’s.

What to feed your solar plexus (yellow):

Recipe suggestions - Brown rice pudding, steel cut oats, toasted rye bread and  sunny corn salad

Think foods for power and transformation – low GI complex carbohydrate, fibre, whole grains and yellow, tan and golden foods – corn, ginger, banana’s, pineapples, yellow lentils, amaranth, quinoa, whole grain breads and cereals.

What to feed your heart chakra (green/pink):

Recipe suggestions – Hearty split pea soup, pesto pasta  with broccoli florets, flax-zucchini muffins of joy.

Think sprouts, raw food, foods rich in chlorophyll and green -  asparagus, mixed greens, spinach, kiwi fruit, avocado and green grapes.

What to feed your throat chakra (torquoise/blue):

Recipe suggestions – Vegetarian nori rolls, mango lassi, Asian miso-dulse soup.

Think – Chew food, try new food, mindful eating, sea plants, juices and fruits.

What to feed your third eye (indigo/purple):

Recipe suggestions – Ask your intuition!   Of course there are recipes in the book.

Think purple-red foods – eggplant, blueberries, black berries and purple cabbage

Spices to stimulate and protect: cardamon, nutmeg, tumeric, wasabi, corriander

What to feed your crown chakra (lavendar/white):

Fresh air, sunshine, moonlight, prayer and love.

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If you would like to purchase Deanna’s book please click here. Deanna’s web site is Food and Spirit.  You might also like to watch a short 3 minute video of  Deanna  talking about her passion for chakra foods. Click here to view.

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Last months book recommendation Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lasater

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Join me at my next Rest and Rejuvenation Retreat in Bali.

Click here for all the relaxing details.

“Restorative yoga is an act of kindness towards yourself” Judith Lasater

Imagine a yoga class that encourages you lie on your back, or at least a bolster ….. most of the time.   A yoga class that supports you no matter what your age or what your body is currently going through – pregnancy, anxiety, recovering from illness, menopause, breathing problems, exams, moving house, deadlines, lack of energy, moon day cycle or changing jobs.

This my friends, is the wonderful world of Restorative Yoga.

A very gentle, therapeutic form of yoga helping you relax with the support of props (blankets, pillows, chairs, bolsters) to move your spine, calm your mind and heal.

You certainly don’t need any previous yoga experience or a flexible body to enjoy the benefits.

And, in case you don’t know Judith Lassater is considered a pioneer and world leading authority on Restorative Yoga.  I feel very blessed to have studied with her when she visits Australia.  Her book I can highly recommend if you are keen to learn and understand more on this wonderful thereputic form of yoga.  It’s called Relax and Renew – Relaxing yoga for stressful times.

Book recommendation “Rest and Renew”

The book is more of a “step by step” guide to over 50 restorative yoga postures.  In fact, the book is written in such a way that you feel like you are learning from Judith in person – whilst still in the comfort of your own home.   It’s easy to follow, lots of well explained instructions, carefully explained steps for setting up in the pose and plenty of photo’s (I personally need lots of photos to learn).

Great chapters on:

* poses for insomnia    * poses for difficulty breathing    * poses for lower back pain    * opening to menopause    * poses during pregnancy    * poses for headaches    * poses for when there is no time and you are super stressed

Restorative yoga at a glance:

1:   Gently opens up areas of your body which tend to close down during stress

2: Your body is fully supported (blankets, bolsters, cushions) requiring little physical effort, creating the space for deep relaxation

3: Restorative yoga postures are generally held for 5 – 20 minutes or longer to trigger the relaxation response

4:   Nourish and calms your adrenals and nervous system

5:  Helps enormously dealing with anxiety and nervousness

6:   Improves blood and oxygen flow throughout your body as your muscles are given permission to relax

7: Boosts the exchange of oxygen & waste products across the cell membrane.

8:   Stimulates and soothes your organs.

9: Gently moves and twists your spine.  A flexible spine is the key to good health.

10: Balances the female/male energies in the body

11: Helps improve your quality of sleep

12: All the organ systems of the body benefit during deep relaxation

13: Inverted postures (such as legs up wall) greatly alter hormone levels, improve blood and lymph flow

14:   Gives you a greater sense of inner calm or inner stillness

If restorative yoga speaks to you, then Relax and Renew – Relaxing yoga for stressful times is the perfect starting point.  There are always times in our life when a softer, gentler style of yoga is what our body and nervous system need. It’s an absolutely perfect practice to do at the end of the day to help us switch off, unwind and integrate the day.

You can buy the book Relax and Renew – Relaxing Yoga For Stressful Times by clicking here:

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What I’m reading at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change with her health and mood that she wrote an e-book about it.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s  guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”  Lao Tzu

The 3 arrivals is a fabulous well-being practice that encourages your mind, body and breath to arrive – into the present moment with awareness and calm.  Its origins are Buddhist, and takes no more than 5 minutes of your time to bring you into the here and now.   Your breath, mind and body are all invited to be at the same place, at the same time.  A very healthy relaxed  place from which to live.

Photo by  Justin Adam’s:

I have personally found the 3 arrivals a real life saver over the past few weeks as I have spent many long hours in emergency rooms and hospitals with my youngest son.   So whilst the 3 arrivals is essentially recommended as an ideal practice prior to meditation, you can easily benefit from this wonderful  restful / mindfulness exercise anywhere, anytime.  Before you get out of bed, before you turn the computer on, in the shower, waiting in a queue, at traffic lights,  before you eat a meal or when you are about to start a new task.  In fact, I truly believe that the more you practice the 3 arrivals the more you will want to do it.

7 weeks to finding the Buddha in you:

The 3 arrivals is sourced from a wonderful book I am currently reading called Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You by Lama Willa Miller. I love, love, love this book.   Each day Lama Willa shares simple insight or thoughtful exercises to encourage you to live your life with more awareness.  You certainly do not need to be a Buddhist to benefit from this book.

Meditation on the 3 arrivals:

Time taken 5 minutes:

Step one:  Arrive with your body:

Step two: Arrive with your breath:

Step three: Arrive with your mind:

1: Firstly, arrive with your body.

Give your body permission to unwind and chill out.  Get into a comfortable position, then exhale (as loud as you like) with a sigh or ahh!   Let it all go.  Use the exhale to release physical tension and stress.

As Lama Willa Miller shares this is like a mini holiday for your mind and body.

2. Arrive with your breath.

Notice your breath.   Feel the rhythm of your breath.   Let your breath breathe you.  Simply allow it come and go naturally.  Allow your breath to arrive into this moment.

3. Arrive with your mind.

Stop getting involved in your thoughts. Stop planning and worrying.  Do not think about the past or be concerned about the future.  Give yourself permission to just be.  If you do nothing the mind arrives.

As Lama Willa Miller says “Thoughts are like fish-bait.  If you stop biting at the bait, you will not get hooked.  If you leave thoughts alone they will not harm you”.

You can find Lama Willa Miller on twitter and learn more about her book by clicking here.

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What I’m loving at the moment:

Sarah Wilson, health practitioner, writer and TV presenter quit sugar as an experiment to support the health of her auto-immune disease. She noticed such a huge change in her health and mood that she wrote an e-book about it.  I think its a fabulous idea – although not sure I could go 100% no sugar and living without my honey and coconut palm sugar.

Click here to visit Sarah Wilson.

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Why not subscribe via email or rss feed and get free updates

You can also grab your daily rejuvenation tip by clicking here

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

Please click here to sample her music:

“Make the effort to let go of your worries” Thich Nhat Hanh

Walking meditation is the perfect alternate if your body and mind are too restless to sit and rest in stillness.  Its also a lovely change from the usual meditation practices.

No great skill or understanding is required simply the attention of your mind – on your breath, foot steps and the ground.  Of course you’ll need to adjust your walking pace to slow and gentle something  I struggled with at first.

Walking Meditation includes/DVD & CD-ROM

Walking meditation can be practised inside or outside:

The beauty of walking meditation is that it can be practiced in your home, walking to your car, walking home from the shops, in nature or even in a public place.

It is a marvelous healing tool:

* for your body and mind to become one (via breath)

* calm strong emotions, live more in the present moment

* give focus to your inside world rather than your outer

* draw excess energy ( thoughts ) out of your head and back down into your body

“Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The practice is always to go back to oneself.”

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Walking meditation – the book – by Thich Nhat Hanh:

I have only recently deepened my appreciation for walking meditation.  In the past, I always felt that a walking or active meditation was some how cheating.  But I know different now from my recent experiences with it.

If you feel drawn to trying walking meditation I can highly recommend a fabulous book called Walking Meditation by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and Nguyen Anh-Huong.

The Walking Meditation book is short, simple and very easy to read.  All instructions are super clear. An added bonus is that it comes with an instructional DVD and a CD that includes 5 walking meditations.  What more can you need. From memory I only paid around $15.00 for it on amazon.  Great value I thought.

There is no goal to walking meditation:

There is no goal. Walking meditation is not about arriving at your destination or rushing to finish your walk, but simply being mindful that you are walking and that you are breathing.  Your destination is here and now.

Walk leisurely and peacefully, with soft eyes and gentle belly breaths.

4 key steps for walking meditation:

“Walking meditation is meditation while walking” Thich Nhat Hanh

1: Gentle Belly Breathing:

For your body to fully participate in a walking meditation you need to be aware of your breath.  Use a gentle belly breath to calm your thoughts, relax your body, hips, elbows, muscles, legs, face, eyes and ears. Place your hands on your belly to feel it rise and fall (optional).

Breath in “resting” Breath out “softening”.

2: Walking:

Walk with soft eyes, slowly and gently. Feel the sensation of each foot as it presses down onto the earth.  Notice your foot as it lifts up, touches the ground and is lifted up again. Follow the movement of every foot step with your mind and breath.

3: Counting:

To keep your mind focused on each step and each breath Thich Nhat Hanh suggests counting your number of steps to each inhale and each exhale.    It helps prevent your mind from getting distracted with other thoughts.

1 inhale for 3 steps, 1 exhale for 3 steps. This is only a guideline and it will be different for everyone. You might be 2 steps for an inhale and 4 for an exhale.

My inhales and exhales were not equal at first.  I kept repeating “resting” on the inhale and “softening” on the exhale until my mind and body relaxed more and I was able to balance my breathing rhythm.

4: Smiling:

Thich Nhat Hanh is a lover of smiles and half smiles (turn up the corners of your lips).  It is said a smile brings lightness to your feet, invites your body to relax and helps you settle more easily into the walking meditation. Not a bad secret ingredient I thought.

“Don’t bring anxiety and stress to the ground with your feet” Thich Nhat Hanh

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What I’m really, really  loving:

The Path of Practice: A Woman’s Book of  Healing With Food, Breath and Sound by Maya Tiwari

I absolutely love this book.  It”s certainly my favourite book for the year. I felt such a connection – it brought tears to my eyes – on more than one occasion.

Don’t you love it when a book really resonates with you.

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“I absolutely love listening to Ananga play the beautiful Udana flute.  Her flute music is one of the most soothing and relaxing sounds on this planet”  Carole Fogarty

Click here to sample the 9 tracks

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“The Guru Is Thy Self”

Hands are a mirror for your brain and body.  Hand yoga or hand mudras engage certain areas of the brain, body and/or soul and have a corresponding influence on them.

The effect of mudras can be intensified with your breath, mindfulness and focus.  Hand mudras can be done whilst either sitting, walking or lying down.

Dr Dharma Singh Khalsa says “A map of the brain shows that the nerve endings on your fingertips correspond to more areas of the brain than any other body area,  except perhaps the tongue and lips”

Photo by murilocardos

Hand yoga supports healthy fingers, joints and hands:

I’m a great lover of hand yoga particularly when meditating.   I sometimes get frustrated at the inflexibility or lack of co-operation from my fingers at times (some hand mudras are quite tricky), but I’m guessing these are the hand and finger positions I need to do the most.

I have come to appreciate that my hands work tirelessly for me.  They too need nurturing and different movements/exercises apart from the daily tasks I give them – to keep the joints and muscles subtle, flexible and healthy.

As I’ve been receiving quite a few requests of late to write about depression, I was thrilled to find a hand mudra to support the healing of depression from my favourite hand yoga book – Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands.

The author, Gertrud Hirschi has had first hand experience with depression in her life, which is why I felt it worthy to share the Tse hand mudra with you.  She strongly feels the Tse hand mudra coupled with the breathing exercise below, helped significantly recharge her batteries.

Tse hand mudra for depression:

Kim Tawm an expert in the field of Chinese Medicine and author of a book on Chi Kung writes:  “Tradition says that this mudra chases away sadness, reduces fearfulness, turns away misfortune, bad luck and overcomes depression”

The Taoist monks believe you need to repeat this hand mudra exercise at least seven to forty nine times, but at least seven times.

The Tse hand mudra combines sound, breath and finger movement to open up and activate the right energy channels in your body and brain.  Read through a few times before starting as it is one of the more involved hand mudras.

Step one:

The way you breath can either stimulate or calm you. Start by getting relaxed in a position of your choice and focus on deepening and relaxing your breath.

Step two:

Looking at the palm of your hands move your thumbs to touch and just rest at the base of the inside of your little finger.

Step three:

Slowly curl your other four fingers over your thumbs whilst slowly inhaling through your nose.  It’s like making a fist with your hands except your thumb is not on the outside of your fingers but firmly covered by your fingers.

Step four:

Hold your breath and repeat the sound of Om (aum) seven times in your head while hearing the vibration of the tone in your right ear.  (I know it sounds a little tricky)

If you can’t hold your breath whilst repeating Om seven times, start with just one Om and slowly increase over the weeks.

Step five:

Now slowly exhale while gently pushing your navel towards your spine, in rhythm with your exhale breath.   At the same time open your hands and imagine all your worries and fears float away from your body. Let it all go.

A full deep exhale where you encourage your navel to move towards your spine has the effect of removing any stale, stuck, stagnant air and toxins trapped inside the bottom of your lungs.  In many of my yoga classes we are always encouraged to exhale fully, deeply and squeeze the navel towards the spine to expel as much stale air as possible.

Repeat at least seven times, enjoy and make sure you let me know what you think.

My favourite author on hand yoga:

Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands is an extremely well researched book and one which I am very happy to personally recommend.  The 52 hand mudra’s  demonstrated in the book, support the healing and relief of many physical ailments.

There is a picture for each mudra plus an affirmation and herbal remedy suggestions.  The book includes acupressure points in your hands, chakras in your hand, Ayurvedic elements, reflex zones, meridian channels, planetary connection and even some palmistry.

If you feel drawn to hand yoga this is a great book to start your journey.

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I use and love Ananga’s guided meditations and music

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I’m always reading.  In fact, at any one time you will find at least 2 or 3 books beside my bed.  Novels have never really been my thing (even though I do read some).  Personal development and spiritual growth books, on the other hand, are my absolute love.   I get so excited each time a new book finds me.  Books fuel my body, mind and soul with “the good stuff”.

Photo by rachel sian:

To share my love and passion of books, I’ve created a reading list, which has been 20 years in the making. I’m guessing I’ve read anywhere between 700 – 1,000 over that time.

I’ve done my best to keep the list of books, as simple and as compact as possible, so I’ve allocated them into different groups.  I hope this helps.   I trust you find some valuable books you haven’t read before, that bring inspiration and healing to your life.

Books I’m Reading Now:

I absolutely love this book.  It’s certainly in my top 10 all time favourite books.

The Path of Practice: A Woman’s Book of  Healing With Food, Breath and Sound. by Maya Tiwari

Share Your Favourites:

I’m sure there’s lots of books out there that I have yet to discover so please share your favourite spiritual growth or personal development books which have enriched your life.  I’m always open to discovering new books. 

Spiritual Growth:

1: The Unmistakable Touch of Grace: (Excellent, I love it) by Cheryl Richardson

2: The Seeker’s Guide by Elizabeth Lesser

3: The Game of Life/ Your Word Is Your Wand: Written in 1920’s still excellent, by Florence Scovel Shinn

4: The Power of Intention (life changing book)  by Wayne Dyer

5: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: by Deepak Chopra

6: Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie

7: The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zakov

8: Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Abraham Hicks

9: Creative Visualization: Create What You Want in Your Life by Shakti Gawain

10: Soul Coaching by Denise Linn

Mindfulness:

1: Present Moment Wonderful Moment: Verses for Daily Living by Thich Nhat Hanh

2: Findhorn Retreat: Stillness (CD of live event, its fabulous) by Eckhart Tolle

3: Getting Unstuck (CD of live event) by Pema Chodron

4: Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

Meditation CD’s:

1: Getting in the Gap: Meditation (Book with CD) by Wayne Dyer

2: Chakra Clearing (Book & CD) (morning and evening meditation) by Doreen Virtue

3: Walking Meditation w/DVD & CD-ROM by Thicht Naht Hanh

Yoga:
1: Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana by Judith Hanson Lasater

2: Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Hanson Lasater

3: Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi

4: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: A Practical Guide by Deepak Chopra

Holistic Health and Wellbeing:

1: The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide: 77 Strategies for Serenity by Kate Hanley

2: The Fragrant Mind: Aromatherapy for  Mind, Mood & Emotion by Valerie Worwood

3: The Hidden Messages in Water by Dr. Masuro Emoto

4: Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide by Deepak Chopra

5: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: by Christian Northrup

6: Grow Younger, Live Longer: Ten Steps to Reverse Aging by Deepak Chopra

7: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

Alternate Books:
1: Bringers of the Dawn: Teachings from the Pleiadians (channeled teachings)  by Barbara Marciniak

2: The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

3: The Education of Oversoul Seven by Jane Roberts

4: Angel Medicine by Doreen Virtue

5: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Travel:

1: Eat, Pray, Love: Italy, India and Bali by Elizabeth Gilbert

2: Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman.

3: When in Rome: Chasing La Dolce Vita by Penelope Green

4: Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull

5: The Long Hot Summer by Mary Moody

6: Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald

Money:
1: How to Be Wildly Wealthy Fast: by Sandy Forster

2: Rich Woman: A Book on Investing for Women by Kim Kiyosaki

3: Suze Orman’s Financial Guidebook: Put the 9 Steps to Work by Suze Orman

4: Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money by Robert Kiyosaki

Work/life balance:
1: Simplify Your Work Life: Have More Time by Elaine St.James

2: The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere by Tim Ferris

3: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

4: 7 steps to sanity by Jennifer Jefferies

_______________________________________________

I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to read my article, Carole.

Return anytime to the Rejuvenation Lounge or connect on facebook

A Chat With Kate Hanley, Yoga Teacher, Writer and Author Who Shares 77 Simple Strategies For Serenity In Her New Book:

Kate says: ‘With a simple mindful adjustment of your posture and a few deep breaths you can make all the difference in 30 seconds.

Photo of the gorgeous Kate Hanley:

Before we chat with Kate, a quick reminder that Kate is giving away  3 copies of her new book called “The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide:  77 Simple Strategies For Serenity” right here at the Rejuvenation Lounge.  I love this book and have a copy beside my bed.  To win yourself a copy simply click here and leave a thoughtful comment at the end of the post.

Now, lets get into our chat with Kate.

Question to Kate:

How did you come up with the idea for The Anywhere, Anytime Chill Guide?

I’ve been practicing yoga for 13 years, and I’ve come to realize that the one deep breath  I take when I get a last-minute project heaped on my plate is even more important than the many deep breaths I take during the yoga class. Because in that moment when my carefully planned schedule flies out the window, I need all the help I can get so I don’t make a bad situation worse by stressing out.

I love going to yoga class, but I have come to realize that the true power of cultivating a self care practice comes in the midst of your  everyday life. I also know that a lot of people are looking for a way to feel less frazzled, but they have no idea where to start.  So I had the idea for a book that would help people of all ages and fitness levels remember to take a breath, regardless of their exposure to – or propensity towards -all things “woo, woo”.

In addition to modified yoga poses, I also include mini practices from meditation, breath work, nutrition, Ayurveda, acupressure, and more. It’s one-stop shopping  for self-care remedies.  Because that was another guiding principle when I was writing the book.   Offer the best solutions for each situation, and compile all this incredible information that’s been cultivated over the last 3,000 years and make it accessible to today’s incredibly busy, time-crunched person.

Question to Kate:

Some of these remedies you suggest take just 30 seconds.  Can something that quick really change the way you feel?

Absolutely.  That being said,  I’m not going to tell you that you can completely defuse a stressful situation by doing 30 seconds of deep breathing.  Nothing in the book is going to solve all your problems, I am sorry to say.  But in any situation, how you react to it, plays a huge role in how much of an impact it has on your well being.  And if you take even one deep breath or make a mindful adjustment to your posture before you respond, you are going to react from a place of awareness instead of knee-jerk impulse.  The impact may be incremental, but it’s like the law of inertia. Just as an object in motion has a tendency to remain in motion if you take a step to improve your wellbeing no matter how small you have a greater tendency to move toward balance, calm and contentment.  In most cases, the most difficult piece of any of the remedies I suggest is to simply remember to do them in the first place.

Question to Kate:

What is it about remembering to take a deep breath or adjusting your posture that’s so powerful?

Either of these actions reminds you that you have a body, and that you are more than just a never-ending stream of thoughts. And that’s a good thing because our bodies are where are deepest wisdom lies-whether you call it a gut instinct or a feeling in your bones.

Taking a deep breath or adjusting your posture works on many levels: First, it helps your body work efficiently – you get more oxygen and you remove any barriers to the flow of breath and energy throughout the body.

Second, by shifting your attention away from whatever situation is causing you stress and turning it toward your breath or your body, you give your mind a chance to get off the treadmill of negative thinking and create an opportunity for your deeper knowledge to rise to the surface and be heard.

And third, it takes your intention-to react to a situation with a clear head-and puts action behind it.  And without action, all your best intentions are just nice ideas.

Last Question to Kate:

How do you envision a reader using the book?

I like to imagine you keeping it on your bedside table, and before you go to sleep or get out of bed, you look up whatever’s going on in your life at the moment and get some ideas on how to help yourself through it.

I wanted the book to be incredibly relevant to your daily life, so I organized the chapters around all the major parts of your life – at the office, – out on the streets, in love and friendship, and dealing with life’s biggest challenges.

I also included remedies for the most common mental and physical woes – from PMS to constipation – cross-referenced everything so that you can go through and cook up a prescription for whatever is ailing you.  I was inspired by the idea of  Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute  Meals: (thanks Rachael Ray), and wrote my remedies in the tried-and-true recipe format, so you can see at a glance what you’ll need, how long it will take, and exactly what steps you need to take in what order.

Kate’s web site:

Please  zip over to Kate’s web site MsMindbody.com and feel free to look around, watch her TV interviews or subscribe to her weekly newsletter.  If you are interested in the fine art of feeling “better” and “better” then Kate is a great person to know.

Kate also hangs out on twitter www.twitter.com/KateHan

Thanks for your time.  Peace, love and chocolate, Carole.

Feel free to subscribe to our regular articles right here at the Rejuvenation Lounge or grab daily tips, shared links, books that are hot and rejuvenation tips from me daily over at twitter.

More Great Ideas For You to Rest, Relax And Unwind:

14 funky ways to calm your nerves consistently:

15 Clever things to know about your breathing:

Shake off your afternoon slump:

Cancel, clear, delete negativity:

Six special bath recipes for sleep, relaxation and healing;

Power at your finger tips with hand yoga:

9 ways to soften yourself up for a great nights sleep:

Relax and unwind with a yoga eye pillow:

“The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day” Hippocrates Father Of Medicine:

You deserve to add a dash of magic and a good dose of therapeutic healing to your bath waters.  Bath recipes have been prescribed for thousands of years to detox, relax and nourish the body, mind and soul.  There are even bath recipes for manifesting, hang over cures and for steaming up your love life.

Seq’s photo’s

In the meantime, I’m sharing with you bath recipes to rejuvenate your physical, mental or emotional well being.

1. Calm your nerves bath recipe
2. Sleep like a baby bath recipe
3. Removing other peoples negativity bath recipe
4. A yogic cleansing bath recipe
5. Love yourself more bath recipe
6. Stop rushing bath recipe

Treat yourself tonight to a bath infused with herbs, oils, crystals, essences and ancient potions. It’s time to make a date with your body right now.

Six special bath recipes for sleep, relaxation and healing:

Over time I’ve gathered bath recipes from my womens rejuvenation retreats, energy healers, from workshops around the world and books. Back in the years when I taught Feng Shui, I’d often prescribe a bath recipe to my students to help cleanse and strengthen their energy fields.

I believe all ingredients  need to be as organic and natural as possible to support the healing process.

1 – Calm Your Nerves Bath Recipe:

Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) sedates your nervous system.  It relaxes your muscles, releases toxins and is probably best known for reducing swelling. Magnesium is a mineral your nervous system and adrenals need in order to relax.

• 1 cup of epsom salts
• 4 tea light candles

Repeat this wonderful mantra from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh whilst lying in your bath:

Breathe in:  “I calm my body” Breathe out:  “I smile”.

As my yoga teacher is always saying in class, there is no where to go and no where to be here except here, now in the present moment. Enjoy.

Optional extras: Soft, soothing music. My favourite music at the moment for calming my home and relaxing myself and the boys is The Essence by Deva Premal. Yes, my boys actually request that I play this as they drift off to sleep.

Note: A foot bath of epsom salts is great for tired aching feet and after sport.

2 – Sleep Like A Baby Bath Recipe:

This recipe is from Mary Muryn book Water Magic which I talk about below.

• A handful of chamomile flowers
• 2 warm chamomile tea bag for your eyes
• 1 cup of chamomile tea

Optional extra: homeopathy remedy of chamomile

Soak your fresh chamomile flowers in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes.  Place your face over the bowl with a towel over your head. Enjoy inhaling the calming qualities of the chamomile for a few minutes.

Scoop off the flowers and pour the water into your bath. Place two warm chamomile tea bags over your eyes.  Make yourself a cup of chamomile tea.  If you really want to evoke the healing qualities of chamomile you can add a few pellets (or drops) of the homeopathic remedy chamomile.

Focus on your breathe and allow your body to surrender.

* 12 great reasons to start alternate nostril breathing:

3 – Removing Other Peoples Negativity Bath Recipe:

Sometimes we are effected by the negativity of other people, places or situations.

• A piece of black tourmaline crystal. Transmutes negative energies.
• A good handful of sea salt

Note: Place one piece of black tourmaline and labrodrite (also a crystal) under your pillow for a good nights sleep. Labrodrite prevents energy leaks and seals your auric field.

4 -Yogic Aura Cleansing Bath:

Cleanses negativity from your aura and removes chemicals from your physical body.  Mary suggests soaking for 20 minutes and repeating each day for 7 days.  If you start to feel dizzy or weird leave bath immediately as you have successfully loosened and removed some negativity from your physical and energetic bodies. I personally have not done this one for 7 days but a few of my friends have and all rave about how awesome it is.

• 1 lb Baking soda
• 1 cup Sea salt

Optional extra: Mary suggests playing harp music or Tibetan bells whilst soaking in your bath.

5 -Love Yourself More Bath:

When things aren’t going your way, some days all you need is love. Open your heart chakra and invite more love into your body. This bath will encourage you to think less from the head and more from the heart.

• A good piece of rose quartz crystal
• 6-8 drops of rose essential oil
• Rose water to spray onto your face

Mantra for you to repeat whilst soaking in the bath:  “Every cell in my body is loved and healthy”.

Optional extras: Organic dark chocolate, fresh rose petals if you happen to have a rose bush or treat yourself to a bunch. Love songs on your ipod

6 – Can’t Stop Rushing Bath Recipe:

Brings your scattered energies back into your body. Grounds and centres you.

• 6 drops Ylang Ylang
• 4 drops Vetiver is great for burnout and depression. Has a grounding and tranquil effect
• Yoga eye pillow

Optional extras: Any black crystals like obsidian or black tourmaline have a very grounding effect.  Place a piece in your bath.

Water Magic:

If you happen to be a bath lover like me then I know you will absolutely love a book I discovered about 7 years ago called Water Magic: Healing Bath Recipes for the Body, Spirit, and Soul written by Mary Muryn.  I’ve included a few of Mary’s bath recipes above. Thank you Mary, wherever you are in the world.

Water Magic: Healing Bath Recipes for the Body, Spirit, and Soul

Great tips for getting the most from your bath recipe:

• Keep bathroom darkish with only a few candles.
• Baths shouldn’t be too hot otherwise they will tire you out.
• Self massage before your bath. It is one of the most healing and soothing rituals you can give your body. I personally do it daily.
• Wear ear plugs to block out any household noise or listen to your ipod.
• Add an oil burner to your bathroom.  Choose essential oils that you feel drawn to.  Jennifer Jefferies serenity blend of frankincense, germanium, lavender and ylang ylang I can highly recommend for creating a calmer enviornment. Here’s the link to her site www.jenniferjefferies.com
• If your eyes are particularly tired place a yoga eye pillow over them whilst lying in the bath.

Thanks so much for reading my article, Carole.

Return anytime to the Rejuvenation Lounge or connect with me on facebook

You are welcome to subscribe to my articles by email – It’s free:

By Carole Fogarty

Rejuvenate Your Soul:

“Spend 30 minutes a day reflecting and learning” by Denis Waitley

Whilst I consider myself very good at de-cluttering, there are quite simply some books which are keepers. They are amazing books which have chosen me, spoken to the core of my being and will continue to fuel my spiritual health.

Cindiann’s

I absolutely know without a doubt that I could re-read any of the 6 books below in 5 years time and still receive wisdom and insight.  In fact, some of the books which I listed below, I’ve kept for over 10 years. I know that by looking at, or simply holding, any one of these books that I will be reminded of their wisdom, once again.

Let me share with you, some books, which are my all time favorites for nurturing our spiritual health.

1 – The Unmistakable Touch of Grace:  By Cheryl Richardson

I love this book. Cheryl is a very practical and down to earth in her style. She shares her personal journey and believes there are no coincidences. Every event you experience and every person you meet has been put on your path intentionally, to help raise your level of consciousness. Life has become a spiritual adventure. Grace is the energy or force which guides you along the way.

This book always makes me feel great.

2 – Journalution:by Sandy Grason

This is a great book about using journaling to awaken your inner wise voice. Find solutions to healing the past and discover how to manifest your dreams. Give your soul a voice through journaling and let the inner whispers be heard. Sandy makes journaling easy and accessible. This may well be just the book you need to kick start your spiritual health.

3 -Eat, Pray, Love: by Elizabeth Gilbert

My absolute favourite book of 2007. Elizabeth shares in a raw and organic way how unhappy she was in life, despite the fact, on the outside she appeared to have everything. Elizabeth traveled to Italy, India and Bali to reclaim her spiritual health.

4 – The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: by Deepak Chopra

I first read this book over 14 years ago when I met Deepak Chopra. The book is simple (you have got to love simple) and shares the seven energetic principles which govern the world in which we live. All principles are keys to strong spiritual health.

The seven universal laws are: The Law of Pure Potentiality: The Law of Giving: The Law of Karma: The Law of Least Effort: The Law of Intention and Desire: The Law of Detachment: The Law of Dharma:

This small book is a masterpiece, and one that I know I will read many, many times in this life time.

I later went on to buy and love The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents.

5 – The Power of Intention: by Wayne Dyer

When this book came out it confirmed everything that I had believed for the last 20 years. Our thoughts are the investment into how our day unfolds.

Consciously choose your thoughts, lift your vibration and align yourself to the flow of universal abundance. Wayne shares lots of great stories and simply strategies to connect to the unseen energy surrounding us.

Staying in the vibration of gratitude always fuels your spiritual health.

6 – The Journey:  Brandon Bays

Anyone who is ill should read this book. It is Brandon’s true story of discovering a huge cancerous growth inside of her. Within 6 weeks she was pronounced textbook perfect, no drugs, no surgery, no tumour. Brandon believes that behind every physical illness is a toxic stuck emotion. Clear the toxic emotion and watch the illness dissolve. This book is nothing short of inspiring.

6 1/2 – A new Earth by Echkart Tolle

Whilst I haven’t yet finished reading this book, I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to be one of my all time favourites. Whilst I loved his book, Stillness Speaks, this new book takes “living in the now” to a whole new level and I mean whole new level.

Hundreds of other great authors:

There are, of course, hundred of other books from many great authors including: Byron Katie, Neale Donald Walsch, Florence Scovel Shinn, Paulo Coelho, Sonia Choquette, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Marianne Williamson, Shakti Gawain, James Redfield, and Don Miguel Ruiz. Books from any of these authors will not disappoint you.

Enjoy and please, please, please, share your most inspirational, life changing books with us all. I’m sure there are many, many more books just waiting to grab my attention and fuel my spiritual health.

Thanks for reading my article. Carole.  

You are welcome to come back and visit my blog the Rejuvenation Lounge anytime, or grab daily rejuvenation tips over at twitter.

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