Book picks similar to
Pottering: A Cure for Modern Life by Anna McGovern
non-fiction
nonfiction
self-help
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Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
James Nestor - 2020
Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.
Stuffocation
James Wallman - 2013
On the way, he goes down the halls of the Elysée Palace with Nicolas Sarkozy, up in a helicopter above Barbra Streisand's house on the California coast, and into the world of the original Mad Men.Through fascinating characters and brilliantly told stories, Wallman introduces the innovators whose lifestyles provide clues to how we will all be living tomorrow, and he makes some of the world's most counterintuitive, radical, and worldchanging ideas feel inspiring – and possible for us all.
Clear Home, Clear Heart: Learn to Clear the Energy of People Places
Jean Haner - 2017
This, along with difficult experiences in your past that still weigh you down, can keep you from being a creative force in your life.Clearing is a gentle but powerful way to release the old stress you’re still carrying from your life history, as well as transform how you’re affected by the energy around you each day. Many people experience immediate shifts in their energy during a clearing, and significant change often unfolds in the days and weeks afterward. In fact, clearing has even been described as “accelerated meditation” because it can lead to a sense of calm and happiness that typically results only after years of a mindfulness practice.In this simple, elegant guide, Jean Haner teaches you, in easy-to-follow steps, how to clear your own energy or that of any person, as well as bring harmony to the energy of the spaces you inhabit, so you can reclaim your vitality and joy, and open up infinite new possibilities in life. Healers, intuitives, energy workers, highly sensitive people, and anyone who just wants to optimize their energy and live their best life will find this to be the perfect training. Jean refines energy clearing to its pure essence—the power of the compassionate heart!
Next Time You Feel Lonely...
Osho - 2012
Osho looks at this in a very different way and sees these developments as great opportunity. Discovering of your ultimate 'aloneness' is the great chance to turn loneliness into a totally new experience.This small book in a new series of 'OSHO SOLUTIONS" consists of a single talk by Osho to deepen the readers understanding how to deal with loneliness in a completely different way.
The No S Diet
Reinhard Engels - 2008
No Sweets. No Seconds.* *Except on days that start with S (Saturdays, Sundays, and Special days).Developed by a problem-solving software engineer who was tired of diets that are too hard to stick with, The No-S Diet has attracted a passionate following online thanks to its elegant simplicity-and its results. Unlike fad diets based on gimmicks that lead to short-term weight-loss followed by backsliding and failure, The No-S Diet is a maintainable life plan that reminds us of the commonsense, conscious way we all know we should be eating.The book offers readers the tips, tricks, techniques and testimonials they'll need to stick with No-S for life
Letters to a Young Writer: Some Practical and Philosophical Advice
Colum McCann - 2017
McCann asks his readers to constantly push the boundaries of experience, to see empathy and wonder in the stories we craft and hear.A paean to the power of language, both by argument and by example, Letters to a Young Writer is fierce and honest in its testament to the bruises delivered by writing as both a profession and a calling. It charges aspiring writers to learn the rules and even break them.These fifty-two essays are ultimately a profound challenge to a new generation to bring truth and light to a dark world through their art.
The Healing Power of Reiki: A Modern Master's Approach to Emotional, Spiritual & Physical Wellness
Raven Keyes - 2012
The first Reiki Master to practice in an operating room under the supervision of Dr. Mehmet Oz, author Raven Keyes has brought Reiki to the defining events of our time. With engaging prose, Keyes tells moving stories of giving Reiki to rescue workers at Ground Zero, PTSD survivors, professional athletes, trauma patients, and those suffering from crippling emotional pain. Keyes offers inspirational experiences of connecting with angels and spirit guides, and shares the joys and pains of working with patients, their loved ones, and their communities. Through stories and meditations, readers are filled with hope and a sense of good will. Helpful exercises and meditations are included to invite healing and provide the opportunity to engage with Reiki energy more deeply.
The Savage God: A Study of Suicide
Al Álvarez - 1971
Alvarez, "has permeated Western culture like a dye that cannot be washed out." Although the aims of this compelling, compassionate work are broadly cultural and literary, the narrative is rooted in personal experience: it begins with a long memoir of Sylvia Plath, and ends with an account of the author's own suicide attempt. Within this dramatic framework, Alvarez launches his enquiry into the final taboo of human behavior, and traces changing attitudes towards suicide from the perspective of literature. He follows the black thread leading from Dante through Donne and the romantic agony, to the Savage God at the heart of modern literature.
Find Your Awesome: A 30-Day Challenge to Fall in Love with Your Playful, Imaginative Colorful Self
Judy Clement Wall - 2017
We live in a fast-paced, high-octane society where feeling lost in the jostling crowd is the norm and finding our own significance is oftentimes the biggest challenge of all. Fearless love champion Judy Clement Wall will guide you through this challenge--to fill your well for 30 days and tap into the miracle that is you! When you learn to love and value yourself, your relationships with everyone else will change, because the person that you bring to the world will be the fullest, truest, best-loved version of yourself. So step up and take this challenge. Carve out a few minutes each day to fully engage with yourself; reflect, unwind, and have fun! Here's a sneak peek at just some of the prompts:#2: Be outrageously grateful#3: Create a life list#4: Appreciate your body in all its awesomeness#6: Doodle your perfect t-shirt#11: Find your life theme#12: Call "BS" on "should"#14: Text love.Using a stimulating mix of coloring, creative prompts, and other daily activities, master writer, artist and doodler Judy Clement Wall will help you uncover the undeniable awesomeness that is you.
It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand
Megan Devine - 2017
Having experienced grief from both sides—as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner—Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, "happy" life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it. On this unabridged audio recording read by the author, Megan offers stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices to guide us through an experience we all must face. With Megan’s gentle but direct guidance, you’ll learn: • Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief • How challenging the myths of grief—doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold—allows us to accept it as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve • Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to "fix" your pain Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to "solve" grief. Megan writes, "Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution." It’s OK That You’re Not OK is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves—and each other—better.
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed
Carl Honoré - 2004
We strain to be more efficient, to cram more into each minute, each hour, each day. Since the Industrial Revolution shifted the world into high gear, the cult of speed has pushed us to a breaking point. Consider these facts: Americans on average spend seventy-two minutes of every day behind the wheel of a car, a typical business executive now loses sixty-eight hours a year to being put on hold, and American adults currently devote on average a mere half hour per week to making love.Living on the edge of exhaustion, we are constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. In Praise of Slowness traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down? Realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace -- and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result. A Slow revolution is taking place.Here you will find no Luddite calls to overthrow technology and seek a preindustrial utopia. This is a modern revolution, championed by cell-phone using, e-mailing lovers of sanity. The Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word -- balance. People are discovering energy and efficiency where they may have been least expected -- in slowing down.In this engaging and entertaining exploration, award-winning journalist and rehabilitated speedaholic Carl Honoré details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed in a perfect blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. In Praise of Slowness is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide Slow movements making their way into the mainstream -- in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools. Defining a movement that is here to stay, this spirited manifesto will make you completely rethink your relationship with time.
More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament
Lexie Kite - 2020
With insights drawn from their extensive body image research, Lindsay and Lexie—PhDs and founders of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined (and also twin sisters!)—lay out an action plan that arms you with the skills you need to reconnect with your whole self and free yourself from the constraints of self-objectification.From media consumption to health and fitness to self-reflection and self-compassion, Lindsay and Lexie share powerful and practical advice that goes beyond “body positivity” to help readers develop body image resilience—all while cutting through the empty promises sold by media, advertisers, and the beauty and weight-loss industries. In the process, they show how facing your feelings of body shame or embarrassment can become a catalyst for personal growth.
It's All Absolutely Fine
Ruby Elliot - 2016
Ruby Elliot, aka Rubyetc, is the talent behind the hit tumblr account, 'Rubyetc', which has over 210k followers and growing. Taking readers on a journey through the ups and downs of life, the book will encompass everything from anxiety, bipolar disorder and body image to depression and identity, shining a light on very real problems - all framed with Ruby's trademark humour and originality.Ruby balances mental health with humour, making serious issues accessible - and very funny. With the superb talent to capture the essence of human emotion (and to make you laugh out loud), this book is as important and necessary as it is entertaining. IT'S ALL ABSOLUTELY FINE will include mostly never-before-seen material, both written and illustrated, and will be an empowering book that will make you laugh, make you think, and make things ok.
Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN
Tara Brach - 2019
Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.