Over the Counter #346

What books caught my eye this week as they passed over the library counter and under my scanner. Well, with a New Year comes resolutions and change.....

First up is How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh.

From the publisher, Parallax Press:

"In How to Relax, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh shares inspiration and clear, simple directions for exploring mindfulness meditation. With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being at peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are. Pocket–sized with two–color sumi ink drawings throughout by celebrated artist Jason DeAntonis, How to Relax is perfect for those brand-new to meditation as well as those looking to deepen their spiritual practice."

In How to Relax, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh shares inspiration and clear, simple directions for exploring mindfulness meditation. With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being at peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are."

Next up is Forever Painless: Lasting Relief Through Gentle Movement by Miranda Esmonde-White.

From the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada:

"In Forever Painless, Miranda Esmonde-White introduces us to a new understanding of how chronic pain begins when our muscles become unbalanced and cause connective tissue problems. Something as common as daily habits or as unexpected as accidents or injuries create imbalance, and we compensate by favouring our weaker part, leading to strain on our feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrists or neck--and eventually such conditions as arthritis, chronic back pain, plantar fasciitis and fibromyalgia. Hips and knees are especially problematic: surgeons often tell those with chronic hip or knee pain to tough it out and come back in two or three years when the damage is sufficiently severe that only a joint replacement will do. Forever Painless deals with preventing and reversing imbalances so you can live a pain-free life.

Forever Painless will teach you a new way of looking at your body, providing neurological and physiological explanations of the causes of most chronic pain and teaching you simple exercises that real people have used to become free of pain and regain mobility. Among those who have conquered their pain using the techniques in this book: the director of child services in New York City who used these exercises to recover from disabling chronic back pain; an accountant who avoided major bone reconstruction surgery through 20 minutes a day of stretching and strengthening; a prima ballerina whose career was extended by five years when Esmonde-White's exercises relieved her debilitating hip pain. "It's time to change our relationship with chronic pain," Esmonde-White writes. "The solution is right under our noses, it's free, and it doesn't require drugs or surgery: it's gentle rebalancing exercises."

(Over the Counter is a regular feature at A Bookworm's World. I've sadly come the realization that I cannot physically read every book that catches my interest as it crosses over my counter at the library. But... I can mention them and maybe one of them will catch your eye as well. See if your local library has them on their shelves!)