A wealth of information
facilitating a pro-active approach to holistic living
The Well-Being
Handbook: An A-Z Guide to Holistic Healing
By Cissi Williams
Findhorn Press, 198 pp., $22.95
The
Well-Being Handbook: An A-Z Guide to Holistic Healing is a
gem of a book to consult to maintain good health, and also if dis-ease
has already manifested. Its author, Cissi Williams, is a registered
Osteopath, Cranial Osteopath and Naturopath, and she provides a wealth
of information so that one can take a pro-active approach to holistic
living.
Williams writes: “The
orthodox western medical view sometimes supports the belief that
‘dis-ease’ is something that just seems to happen, and the way they
often try to bring the body back into health is by treating the symptoms
of the ‘dis-ease’, rather than the true cause.” Before the book is
broken down into a dictionary of dis-ease states A through Z, Williams
discusses the importance of maintaining a healthy mind and attitude.
Meditation exercises are given to release negative emotions, release
limiting beliefs and decisions, and to learn forgiveness. It’s
interesting that the author then focuses on setting goals – in this
case, SMART goals: Simple, Measurable and Meaningful to you,
Achievable, Realistic and Responsible, and Toward what you want and
Timed. This segment is actually a coaching program of sorts that has
the goal of better mental health in mind, which ideally will lead to
better physical health.
I was impressed with the A-Z
segment – Williams provides more than just an overview of various
conditions. She describes the symptoms, the causes (including
psychosomatic), how the condition is treated conventionally, dietary
needs, herbal and vitamin supplement information and even what types of
yoga might help. Under heart disease, for example, she provides even
affirmations: “As I let go of the past I make room for joy and
happiness to enter my life and heart.” And thanks to this book, I
personally am going to investigate doing shoulder stands to help with my
hypothyroidism!
Another point in Williams'
favor is that she also stresses when Western medicine is needed. For
example, under “depression,” she writes: “If you suffer from severe
depression then a course of anti-depressants can be life saving.”
Finally, the book concludes with an overview of the different type of
holistic therapies available, including Chinese medicine and
homeopathy. Overall, I was quite pleased with this book. I will be
keeping it with my other health books, to reference again and again.
The Well-Being Handbook: An A-Z Guide to Holistic Healing
Review by Diane Saarinen
