An account of how the mind-body connection was uncovered, this book explains the experiments that revealed the physical mechanisms--the nerves, cells, and hormones--used by the brain and immune system to communicate with each other, and how these connections help in the treatment of physical and emotional ailments. Illustrations.

“Esther Sternberg is a rare writer—a physician who healed herself...With her scientific expertise and crystal clear prose, she illuminates how intimately the brain and the immune system talk to each other, and how we can use place and space, sunlight and music, to reboot our brains and move from illness to health.”—Gail Sheehy, author of Passages Does the world make you sick? If the distractions and distortions around you, the jarring colors and sounds, could shake up the healing chemistry of your mind, might your surroundings also have the power to heal you? This is the question Esther Sternberg explores in Healing Spaces, a look at the marvelously rich nexus of mind and body, perception and place. Sternberg immerses us in the discoveries that have revealed a complicated working relationship between the senses, the emotions, and the immune system. First among these is the story of the researcher who, in the 1980s, found that hospital patients with a view of nature healed faster than those without. How could a pleasant view speed healing? The author pursues this question through a series of places and situations that explore the neurobiology of the senses. The book shows how a Disney theme park or a Frank Gehry concert hall, a labyrinth or a garden can trigger or reduce stress, induce anxiety or instill peace. If our senses can lead us to a “place of healing,” it is no surprise that our place in nature is of critical importance in Sternberg’s account. The health of the environment is closely linked to personal health. The discoveries this book describes point to possibilities for designing hospitals, communities, and neighborhoods that promote healing and health for all.

Nautilus Book Awards Winners for 2007 (category: Self-Help/Psychology/ Personal Growth) "Like many people, Kathleen Hall found that despite great success and material wealth, she had yet to identify purpose, meaning, and balance in her work and her life. She left her Wall Street firm and devoted herself to understanding the relationships between mind, body, and spirit, and between professional and personal fulfillment. Since then, she has studied with great spiritual leaders including the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the exiled Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. She has also learned from medical experts like Dr. Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Dr. Herbert Benson at the Harvard Mind-Body Institute. Inspired by those diverse influences, Dr. Hall has written A Life in Balance, a guided journey to joy, peace, and an intentional life grounded in the four roots of the SELF: * Serenity. Find what brings us peace, and channel it into everything we do * Exercise. Align the body with energy and health through walking, yoga, martial arts, and more * Love. Build community and relationships that heal others as well as ourselves * Food. Pay attention not just to what we eat, but to what we experience through all our senses Our lives pull us in many different directions; to find happiness, we must first create balance. Filled with wit, wisdom, and compassion, A Life in Balance will help any reader identify and stay true to his or her authentic self."

This nationally bestselling book explains the shocking new science of how hormones are wreaking havoc on the body, and the delicious solution that improves health, reduces pain, and even helps to shed weight. Hidden in everyday foods are the causes of a surprising range of health problems: infertility, menstrual cramps, weight gain, hair loss, breast and prostate cancer, hot flashes, and much more. All of these conditions have one thing in common: they are fueled by hormones that are hiding in foods or are influenced by the foods we eat. Your Body in Balance provides step-by-step guidance for understanding what's at the root of your suffering-and what you can do to feel better fast. Few people realize that a simple food prescription can help you tackle all these and more by gently restoring your hormone balance, with benefits rivaling medications. Neal Barnard, MD, a leading authority on nutrition and health, offers insight into how dietary changes can alleviate years of stress, pain, and illness. What's more, he also provides delicious and easy-to-make hormone-balancing recipes, including: Cauliflower Buffalo Chowder Kung Pao Lettuce Wraps Butternut Breakfast Tacos Mediterranean Croquettes Apple Pie Nachos Brownie Batter Hummus Your Body in Balance gives new hope for people struggling with health issues. Thousands of people have already reclaimed their lives and their health through the strategic dietary changes described in this book. Whether you're looking to treat a specific ailment or are in search of better overall health, Dr. Neal Barnard provides an easy pathway toward pain relief, weight control, and a lifetime of good health.

Dr. Terry Swan is a Professor of Psychology and Religion and Dean of the Chapel at Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky. He is the author of twenty books and is a popular speaker and workshop leader. Christians often lead lives of frantic over-commitment. The abundant life escapes them. How can you remain productive and efficient without sacrificing your health and relationships while maintaining a sense of balance and wholeness? You will learn how to: - Prioritize what's important to you. - Better cope with stressors. - Get done what has to be done. - Move toward gaining your spiritual center. - Capture a sense of perspective again. - Develop a game plan for living. Read The Balance Book, as thousands of others have, for insights that could change your life.

In Life in the Balance, Niles Eldredge argues that the Earth is confronting an ecological disaster in the making. He reviews compelling evidence for this "biodiversity crisis", showing that species are dying out at an unnaturally rapid rate. This book explores the same themes that illuminate the American Museum of Natural History's new Hall of Biodiversity, for which Eldredge is Scientific Curator. An eloquent and passionate account by one of today's leading scientists, Life in the Balance draws attention to one of the most pressing problems now facing the world. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

This medical detective story traces the ongoing quest to reverse sudden death, looking at such breakthroughs in our understanding as respiration, circulation and defibrillation. It includes a guide to emergency CPR