Two of the things I find most interesting rolled into one: books and natural healing. I am very much a proponent of natural healing whenever I can. I found immense benefits in such books as a spiritual individual and love to share my findings with others.
However, as a disclaimer, these book recommendations are absolutely not intended to be any kind of replacement for a doctor’s opinion. I am not a doctor and cannot respond to nor diagnose any ailment, physical or emotional. This is not at all what this article is about.
Instead, these books have helped guide me when I’ve felt like I need to give myself a little more T.L.C., when I’ve felt lost, or when I needed extra help finding my centre ground.
My mom bought me this book for Christmas last year and I have yet to discover all of the hidden treasures that it shares. It’s a foundational book when it comes to learning about crystals and how they can have healing properties for humans, so if crystals is something that interests you, I recommend giving this a read.
Dr. Peschek-Böhmer and Screiber go over the history and legend, healing and magical properties, chakra classification and application and care of each of the crystals. They also share statistical facts about each crystal-like color(s), where found, available forms, and chemical composition.
I am in no way an expert at healing crystals, nor do I claim to be. Rather, my intention here is to share that this book is a good introductory book to look at if you’re not only interested in crystals but also the healing properties they can contain for us when used mindfully. For instance, I keep a rose quartz crystal, aligned with the heart chakra, in my bag to remind myself to keep an open heart.
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I can say first hand that the meditation app Headscape — and Andy Puddicombe’s soothing voice — saved me during my first year of graduate school. I had spiraled into a severe period of anxiety and in order for me to function properly to get my school work done and to, simply, just be, I relied on Headspace to get simultaneously get me out of my head and in a better frame of mind.
Andy Puddicombe’s physical guide is a perfect complement to his meditation app, giving a visual representation to the amazing oral material he shares with listeners. This book is full of helpful meditation techniques to teach you what mindfulness is and how you can begin achieving a more mindful existence, thereby helping you control your, well, headspace.
If you have not tried Headspace before or are looking for a new meditation app, I highly recommend Headspace. Then I recommend this guidebook!
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I’ve only just started dabbling in essential oils but I am fascinated by the different pure and blended oils that can help heal different maladies, as well as just make your overall physical and mental wellbeing better.
Our olfactory senses are so powerful that we have the ability to remember things – foods, events, people, places, etc. – from our childhood when we get a whiff of certain smells. Even if it’s just for a second, certain smells are so engrained in our senses and in our beings that if and when we smell that scent again the memory comes back. It happens to me on occasion and when it does, I just can’t help but smile at how amazing our senses are.
With essential oils, a lot of it is about using our senses to help heal us. Curtis and Johnson’s book goes through the main essential oils and then shares some healing remedies. They go over how to use essential oils safely and how they actually affect our mind, body and home. In some senses (ha ha), it is both the smell and the physical contact with our skin that activates these benefits.
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Another foundational essential oils recipes book, albeit here, the authors, Galper and Daigneault offer essential oil recipes for health, wellness, and personal skincare. These recipes then are meant to be used topically to help your skin be its truest and healthiest self.
The authors really dig deep into how our skin works and how to really pay close attention to the products we use daily, opting to use more natural and simple ingredients to aid our skin rather than harsh ones. Some examples of their skincare recipes are Almost Milk Facial Cleanser, Blemish Gel, Coconut Whip Makeup Remover, Quick and Fresh Cucumber-Thyme Body Scrub and Vitamin-Rich Hair Health Serum.
When it comes to my skincare and, more specifically, what I put on my skin, I want to make sure I am using the simplest and most natural ingredients. In other words, I want to know what’s going on and absorbed into my skin as much as I want to know what foods I put in my body. This book is a great one to help you transition towards more natural beauty products that you can make at home.
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Oh, I love this book and will probably love it for life. I read this book when I was first getting into yoga during graduate school so it was fundamental and foundational in terms of how I became acquainted with yoga and, for me, my main method of natural healing my mind, body, and soul. Rebecca provided me with the rudimentary tools and mindsets to embark on a yoga journey that has actually become a way of being.
Rebecca’s approach to yoga and meditation in her book is perfect for the beginner yogi because she doesn’t gloss over the important traditions and spirituality of yoga for the sake of being understandable but rather discusses them at length in a digestible way for those just beginning to navigate yoga and meditation. She also discusses these traditions not as a prescription for her readers but an invitation to do with them what they will, to figure out how to apply it to their lives their om way, as her title states.
This book has been my personal bible on all things yoga and the very thing that really helped me when I needed it. She discusses yoga with honesty and humour, explaining its history and its benefits but not sugarcoating that it is hard work and a life long pursuit, rather than merely a fad of this decade. Indeed, one of my favourite lines of her’s is, “Never has someone I loved with every piece of my heart chakra dumped me on my ass.” In other words, contrary to popular belief about yoga these days, it is not the fixer of all problems nor the thing that makes people immune to pain or tragedy.
Her way of writing soothed me as much as it informed me, and I felt inspired and excited about my practice all throughout. I highly recommend this book to any and everyone curious about yoga and wants to hear about it from a modern yogi.
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Well, as the title suggests, this book teaches us how to live through our yoga practice. That is, Baptiste shows his readers how movement is where transformation happens, creating a ripple effect that lasts well beyond the mat. It teaches us that our lives are, in fact, perfectly imperfect and that it’s not in perfection that we succeed or are most fulfilled, but rather in the nooks and crannies and, yes, imperfections that make up our daily lives. It is in these moments that true growth happens, which begins to expand and alter our entire lives.
My definition of natural healing methods is vague here, but intentional. I believe that natural healing occurs in many aspects of our lives, not just when it comes to herbs and natural medicinal remedies. There are so many ways to heal and yoga has been a huge part of my healing process and I hope will heal others, too. Baptiste’s book is perfect for the individual looking to understand how their yoga practice and, more specifically, each movement of their yoga practice alters their very being.
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A very popular book when it comes to sharing natural healing methods is Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. What I mean by this is that Tolle takes his readers on a journey towards removing their ego and finding their higher selves. In doing so, we truly find ourselves.
This book has been claimed as a marvel for those searching for the answers to their life’s purpose and finding happiness. It is in removing the ego from the equation and tapping into this higher state that we become connected with our Being, an indestructible force in and of itself.
Tolle’s book is in a question and answer format to really get ourselves thinking and, more specifically and importantly for his purposes, feeling deeply and presently. Tolle teaches his readers to understand the power of the present moment, of existing in the Now as a way towards enlightenment. A favourite by many in the field, The Power of Now is a must-read for anyone who is searching for the answers to the questions they may not have known they needed.
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