A wealth of information facilitating a pro-active approach to holistic living
By Cissi Williams
Findhorn Press, 198 pp., $22.95
The Well-Being Handbook: An A-Z of 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 of Holistic Healing
Review by Diane Saarinen