6 minute read
Summer Bookshelf
Books for summer
If you find yourself with some time for reading, we’ve picked out some titles of interest…
Thai Massage Dissected
Natasha de Grunwald has created the most fascinating book which explores the roots and techniques of Thai medicine and massage, drawing on everything from traditional Buddhist texts to the cadaver lab. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to discover more about Thai anatomy and tools, techniques, herbs and protocols that will enhance all practitioners’ skill sets. It’s very much grounded in the traditions of traditional medicine. There are chapters on traditional healing practices for women and self-care practices that draw on decades of research and learning from village midwives on the Thai/Burmese border.
Janet Penny and Rebecca L Sturgeon have lined up a host of top ranking contributors for this impressive and enlightening book which takes an integrative approach to cancer care. It also includes feedback from clients which makes a valuable addition to the understanding of how massage can be used as a safe and effective part of cancer care. Given that one in two people in the UK will get cancer at some point in their lives, most holistic therapists are likely to work with those in remission or recovery at some point in their careers. This thoughtful book is particularly strong on showing how to use adaptations to pressure, site, position and duration during massage to provide safe and effective treatments.
Kriya Yoga for Self-discovery
Lowenstein and Lett have produced a detailed guide to Kriya Yoga, an ancient breath and spine focussed meditation practice for spiritual growth, inner stillness, and self-realisation. This book is an excellent primer on the inward mental and spiritual aspects of yoga which are often overlooked including proper posture, breath work exercises (pranayama), visualisation practices, and mantra designed to produce deep states of meditation and ultimately experience inner stillness.
The Ancestral Power of Amulets, Talismans and Mascots
Since the earliest beginnings of civilisation, people have used objects to bring about a desired situation, whether that’s cave paintings in the hope of a successful hunt or a stone that the wearer hopes will bring good fortune, all the way to the mascot sitting on a teenager’s desk during an exam or symbolic jewellery. In this interesting book, Nigel Pennick explores the origins and history of amulets, lucky charms, talismans, and mascots taking us on a fascinating journey through the age-old spiritual principles, folklore, and esoteric traditions behind the creation of magical objects as well as the use of numbers, colours, sigils, geometric emblems, knots, crosses, pentagrams, and other symbols.
Restoring your Intestinal Flora
Naturopathic specialist, Christopher Vasey, shares some achievable techniques for rebuilding good gut health, strengthening the immune system, and reducing inflammation using prebiotics and probiotics. This is a rapidly developing area of health research, with new discoveries every day, so Vasey’s guide to the many functions of intestinal flora and their role in a healthy immune system, as well as the major causes of weakened flora, and the negative impact this can have on many aspects of health is a welcome addition to the growing literature.
A Healer’s Journey to Intuitive Knowing
One of the emerging explorative trends in holistic therapy is that of exploring how the act of healing impacts on the healer themselves and the effects this can have, both positive and negative, so renowned
healer Dolores Krieger’s final book is timely. The cofounder of Therapeutic Touch explores the energetic flow, intuitive knowing, and grounded centred experience that occur for a healer during a healing session. She explains that healing transforms the healer and how that transformation may elicit more profound and radical healing results.
Write a poem, save your life
If you’ve ever felt that writing poetry could add a new level to journaling or self-understanding, then Meredith Heller’s new book could be just the starting point you need. Heller provides writing prompts, tools, encouragement, and moving student examples, in this guide to figuring out who we are and what matters to us and to heal the deeper issues many of us face.
Peak 40
Life, they say, begins at 40 and Dr. Marc Bubbs is on a mission to ensure that mid-life is a period of peak fitness, especially since many of us have experienced an enforced sedentary lifestyle of late. It’s a realistic, grown-up and non-judgemental approach that explains the effect some food groups and lack of exercise and sleep have on our body, and couples this with easy to understand advice that can be tailored to your body and personality type. A good introductory read for those who want to get back on track.
The Healthy Vegetable Garden
Over the past couple of years, many people have become interested in gardening and, in particular, in producing their own food. Sally Morgan’s new book is a great starting point for anyone interested in growing organically. There’s advice on reducing chemical inputs; naturally enriching your growing ecology and creating a hardy, nutrient-dense and delicious crop as well as ideas designed to help you cope with the challenges of a changing climate through principles from regenerative gardening, agroecology and permaculture. We particularly like the sections on attracting pollinators and creating a range of habitats through rewilding, to work with nature rather than against it.
The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
Foraging goes hand in hand with growing your own food, whether that’s gathering wild garlic in spring or harvesting blackberries in September. Chef Alan Bergo gives home cooks and chefs alike a whole new way of seeing and thinking about all vegetable ingredients-by looking at them through a trained forager’s eyes. It’s similar to how the nose-to-tail movement affected the way chefs consider animals. Bergo shows how understanding the properties of leaves, stems, roots, and flowers can inform how you prepare something unexpected using over 200 recipes, from Seared Hosta Shoots to Raw Turnips with Acorn Oil or Crisp Fiddlehead Pickles.
Christopher Hobbs’s Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms
Mushrooms have long been foraged by many people in Europe, but are still largely ignored as a wild food in the UK, where we’ve been brought up to believe that mushrooms from anywhere but the supermarket will probably be poisonous. We need to rethink our understanding of the benefits mushrooms can offer us and herbalist and mushroom expert Christopher Hobbs’ book is a great way to do that. He introduces the mushroom varieties most widely used for medicinal purposes, exploring their powerful health benefits, the science behind their effectiveness, and how to make mushroom medicine at home.
Occult Botany
This is a beautifully illustrated reissue of Paul Sedir’s classic 1902 text on esoteric traditional herbalism, yet somehow it seems more in accordance with many of today’s ways of thinking than being a historical text. The book covers nearly 300 magical plants with descriptions of each plant’s scientific name, common names, elemental qualities, ruling planets, and zodiacal signatures, with commentary on medico-magical properties and uses. It’s a fascinating merger of the scientific discipline of botany with ancient, medieval, and Renaissance traditions of practical occult herbalism, connecting us back to the tradition of the wise woman. n
