What has been life altering, are the breathing exercises and the introduction to Chinese Medicine. I have since had acupuncture and herbal treatment for menopause symptoms which has worked a dream and which I can recommend. I just went to one of those chinese doctors (a husband and wife team) in a shopping mall. They were fantastic.

I have also found a book called the ‘Complete System of Self Healing: Internal Exercises’ by Stephen T. Chang. I had heard the the eye exercises were very good. I’ve needed reading glasses for a while, but this year I’ve needed glasses for driving and my night vision is also getting worse. I’ve been doing the eye exercises for about 7 weeks. My eyes feel much better. The exercises are great for tired eyes, after work or after a long drive. You can even do them while driving. If I’ve had any improvement with my vision, it has been very subtle, but the book does say you need to do them for 3 to 6 months.

Complete System of Self Healing: Internal Exercises

I’m also doing a few of the other internal exercises. They work with Chinese concepts like meridians and chi (energy or life force). They are easy to do and fit well with Dr Weil’s program.

Dr Weil has an online program which I may start when the weather gets a bit better.

The book is an excellent example of a sensible approach to healthy eating and living. Nothing new or ground breaking, but instead an approach that is easy to understand and follow. What I love about it is that it not about dieting. I have always believed that as soon as we start to diet and deprive ourselves of things we like to eat, we want them even more. What we resist persists!

Dr Weil promotes eating whole foods, getting moderate exercise and managing stress through breathing techniques. He also considers our spiritual side and suggests simple things like creating beautiful and orderly surroundings.

I’m in my first week and really enjoying it. What’s very different than what I have been doing over the last few years is his approach to supplementation. He doesn’t suggest taking high doses of supplements, but rather low to moderate doses based on research on how much our bodies are able to absorb.

He focuses heavily on cholesterol, but acknowledges a growing body of research showing that other factors such as triglycerides and inflamation are more likely to cause heart disease. He makes no mention of coconut oil or any other tropical oil, I suspect because they are saturated fats which he suggests keeping low (this is the one area where I disagree with him). I was very relieved to read his advice on poly-unsaturated vegetable oils – don’t eat them – throw them away and use olive oil instead.

Dr Weil is also a proponent of drinking filtered tap water for the same reasons we outline on out water page.

I’m looking forward to my eight weeks. The breathing exercises are a revelation and I am learning more about the power we have to heal ourselves.

Eight Weeks to Optimum Health, Revised Edition: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body’s Natural Healing Power

“He who does not get fun and enjoyment out of every day… needs to reorganize his life.” - George M. Adams

How true, but fun and enjoyment are near impossible when we’re stressed out – and the same goes for great health.

Do you want to reduce your stress and have more enjoyment and health in your life?

We like to start each year with good book. A book that will set the scene for the next 12 months. This year we recommend: The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook Order it now and then go out and play!