Book: the Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – Haemin Sunim
Subtitled “How to be calm in a busy world”, this little book is by a Korean Buddhist Monk. First published in 2012, it has been translated into English this year, 2017, accompanied by delightful illustrations by Youngcheol Lee. This is not a text...Book: Waking Up – Searching for Spirituality Without Religion – Sam Harris
Its easy to fall into seeing science and belief as two mutually exclusive concepts, and from there to see any concept of spirituality as a religious matter and at odds with a scientific and rational approach to life. In this short book – 200 pages – the...Book: The Brain – Michael O’Shea
Part of the Oxford Very Short Introduction Series – a treasure trove for the curious – this is a comparatively short book – 120 pages – exploring the working and structure of our brains. On a couple of occasions in my practical anatomy work...Book: The Sleep Revolution – Arianna Huffington
I’m not sure if its really revolutionary, but the importance of sleep in the human existence can never be overstated – this book is a exposition of that importance. We start with a review of some trends and the current status quo around sleep and sleep...Book: Yoga FAQ – Richard Rosen
The subtitle is “Almost Everything You Need to Know about Yoga – from Asanas to Yamas” – quite an ambitious project. The author pulls it off well, he clearly has the experience and knowledge to tackle the topic, and for the most part he does...Metta
Its been a crazy week. The terrorist attack in London. The last minute posturings in the election. The sobering reality that election day doesn’t bring any closure as the bickering and manoeuvring goes on. This week I’ve been drawn in my...Book: The Telomere Effect – Blackburn & Epel
One of the things – just one – that inspires me around study in human sciences is just how much we don’t really know, and how much there is to still understand and still come to know. A bit like Donald Rumsfelds “known knowns and known...Book: The Modern Yoga Bible – Christina Brown
The Godsfield Bible series is well known, and indeed “The Yoga Bible”, by the same author, has been a popular yoga guide for over a decade. This latest publication came out earlier this year, and takes a more modern approach to yoga, as the name implies....Awareness of Non Awareness
This evening I taught a workshop on Mindfulness and Meditation, two subjects which are linked and overlap but which have different connotations and characteristics. Having had this workshop open for booking for many weeks, maybe 8 or more, and having a rough...Book: The Stress Test – Ian Robertson
The Stress Test: How Pressure Can Make You Stronger and Sharper Until comparatively recently it was thought that the brain was a static organ in the body, and didn’t change once adulthood had been reached. Research over recent years has proved this wrong,...Anatomy of an Ex Friendship
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” – Rumi Ten years ago, words like “like”, “follow”, “friend”, “unfriend” “blocked” either didn’t exist...Book: 10% Happier – Dan Harris
10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story From all the reading I have done recently, this book made a pleasant change as its very “first person”. Dan...Book: Buddhism – A Concise Introduction – Huston Smith and Philip Novak
Growing up in rural 1970s Britain religion was Christianity, state sponsored, slightly threatening, slightly controlling. At school you became aware of “others” in the religious would, and tended to regard them with suspicion. For me that...Book: The Relaxation Response – Herbert Benson
This isn’t a new book – first published 1975 – but when you read it the overwhelming thought is “why didn’t they tell us about it” – they maybe being school – where I was in 1975 – doctors, society. The reason, of...Book: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers – Robert M. Sapolsky
Stress – arguably the curse – or price – of modern life. But what if we don’t accept that bargain? How do we counter stress? Well, first we understand the problem, then we learn how to make changes. This book is a very comprehensive – yet...Book: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma – Bessel van der Kolk
The concept of our body reflecting tension in the mind is nothing new – just think how you can experience stiffness, back pain, IBS or headache in response to tension. However what of the unconscious tensions we hold, and how they are reflected in the body? This...Book: Chinese Medicine – The Web That Has No Weaver – Ted Kaptchuk
A large part of Yin Yoga is based, not unsurprisingly, on Yin Yang theory. In turn Yin Yang theory is a small part of the much larger art of Chinese Medicine, which encompasses, of course, acupuncture, herbal treatments and five element theory (translated by the...Book: Adrenal Fatigue – James Wilson
Its fair to say Adrenal Fatigue is a controversial condition, with opinion being split about whether its a true or bogus diagnosis. The theory goes that stresses and strains of life cause the Adrenal Glands to work sub optimally, but not so sub optimally as to justify...Book: Yoga: Fascia, Anatomy and Movement – Joanne Avison
Fascia, it seems, is the new buzz word. Anatomy of the millennial generation. But thats not without reason, as through scientific, anatomical and ultimately practical enquiry, we learn more about this neglected aspect of our make up. There is,...Socials and Feeds
