Book Promo ~ VIBRANT

Stop thinking of your own well-being as something that’s beyond your control.

Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson, aka “The VibrantDoc”, is a survivor and an advocate for safety who would love to share her personal story to help others.

Dr. Stacie married the wrong person and found herself in a dangerous, severe abusive situation. She spent seven years basically locked away with no voice, no freedom, and no hope. She narrowly escaped with her life and knows firsthand the devastation and destruction that comes from abuse.
 
When she was finally able to escape, she became an advocate for others being abused and works tirelessly to share the importance of ensuring you are surrounded by healthy, supportive, and nonabusive friendships and relationships. Safety and connection are critical aspects of our overall health – without it, things like exercise and diet won’t move the needle. 

Ultimately, Dr. Stacie was able to reclaim her voice and live a healthy, constructive, and vibrant life. She is now a recognized leader in functional medicine focused on integrative, regenerative, anti-aging, and natural medicine modalities. She’s the author of the new self-care book Vibrant: A Groundbreaking Program to Get Energized, Reverse Aging, and Glow.

About The VibrantDoc 

Dr. Stephenson has dedicated her life’s work to helping people create vibrant health from within to prevent chronic disease and recover from illness naturally. In addition to her functional medicine and anti-aging board certifications, she is a Certified Nutrition Specialist® and Doctor of Chiropractic. Dr. Stephenson is the Founder and CEO of health and wellness media venture, VibrantDoc, and serves as the Chair of Functional Medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America®. She is also a board member for the American Nutritional Association, has partnered in a joint “Healthy Communities” venture with the American Heart Association, and is the Vice Chair of Gateway for Cancer Research, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding breakthrough cancer research and early-stage clinical trials.

Vibrant: A Groundbreaking Program
to Get Energized, Own Your Health, and Glow

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BenBella Books

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1950665828
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1950665822

Available from
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE

Book Promo: How to Be an Adult in Relationships by David Richo

How to Be an Adult in Relationships:
The Five Keys to Mindful Loving

“Most people think of love as a feeling,” says David Richo, “but love is not so much a feeling as a way of being present.” In this book, Richo offers a fresh perspective on love and relationships—one that focuses not on finding an ideal mate, but on becoming a more loving and realistic person. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, How to Be an Adult in Relationshipsexplores five hallmarks of mindful loving and how they play a key role in our relationships throughout life:

1.  Attention to the present moment; observing, listening, and noticing all the feelings at play in our relationships.
2.  Acceptance of ourselves and others just as we are.
3.  Appreciation of all our gifts, our limits, our longings, and our poignant human predicament.
4.  Affection shown through holding and touching in respectful ways.
5.  Allowing life and love to be just as they are, with all their ecstasy and ache, without trying to take control.

When deeply understood and applied, these five simple concepts—what Richo calls the five A’s—form the basis of mature love. They help us to move away from judgment, fear, and blame to a position of openness, compassion, and realism about life and relationships. By giving and receiving these five A’s, relationships become deeper and more meaningful, and they become a ground for personal transformation.

About the Author

David Richo, PhD, is a therapist and author who leads popular workshops on personal and spiritual growth.

He received his BA in psychology from Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1962, his MA in counseling psychology from Fairfield University in 1969, and his PhD in clinical psychology from Sierra University in 1984. Since 1976, Richo has been a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor in California. In addition to practicing psychotherapy, Richo teaches courses at Santa Barbara City College and the University of California Berkeley at Berkeley, and has taught at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. He is a clinical supervisor for the Community Counseling Center in Santa Barbara, California.

Known for drawing on Buddhism, poetry, and Jungian perspectives in his work, Richo is the author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving and The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the Happiness We Find in Embracing Them. He has also written When the Past Is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds that Sabotage our Relationships, Shadow Dance: Liberating the Power and Creativity of Your Dark Side, The Power of Coincidence: How Life Shows Us What We Need to Know, and Being True to Life: Poetic Paths to Personal Growth.

Richo lives in Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

“Well-constructed and thought-provoking.”—Spirituality & Health

“An inspiring and highly practical guide to effective relationships.”—Kathlyn Hendricks, coauthor of Conscious Loving and The Conscious Heart

Amazon
Barnes&Noble

Book Promo: Soar Above by Dr. Steven Stosny

Soar Above:  The Tools That Help Make A Positive
Transformation Possible In Any Area Of Life   

In Soar Above, Dr. Stosny explains why diets don’t work, addicts relapse, marriages falter, and Mr. Hyde can’t remember what Dr. Jekyll learned in anger management

In Dr. Steven Stosny’s book, Soar Above: How To Use The Most Profound Part Of Your Brain Under Any Kind Of Stress (HCI Books), the reader is given tools showing how to take flight from the toddler brain to landing in the adult brain when things get tough. Dr. Stosny illustrates that our brains are like “habit-forming machines,” and the goal of his new book is to use habits to overcome the limitations of them.

In the chapter titled, Anger in the Age of Entitlement, Dr. Stosny illuminates that “We give more importance to personal feelings than personal values and to expressing how we feel rather than doing what we deeply believe is right.” Throughout his book, Dr. Stosny supports with science how to replace old habits with new ones to transform us into the kind of persons, parents, and partners that we most want to be.

The Table of Contents exemplifies the rich content of Dr. Stosny’s work – all of which can stand alone and as shown takes the reader from boarding to soaring.

1. The Profound Brain
2. How We Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over
3. How Pain Becomes Suffering
4. Feeling Powerful vs. Being Powerful: “Coping” in the Toddler Brain
5. Toddler Brain Habits Ruin the Best of Intentions
6. How We React to a Jerk Like a Jerk: Principles of Emotion Interaction
7. Anger in the Age of Entitlement: Living in the Wrong Part of the Brain
8. How to Turn Toddler Brain Feelings into Adult Brain Values
9. Adult Brain Habits: Improve, Appreciate, Connect, Protect
10. Radical Self-Value Breeds Radical Value of Others
11. How to Be Happy: Make the World a Little Better
12. The Adult Brain in the Web of Emotion: Everything We Do Makes the World Better or Worse
13. To Soar Above, Build a Web of Compassion and Kindness.

Soar Above is filled with engaging examples from the author’s lectures and therapeutic work with his more than 6,000 clients. Readers will learn how, through practice, they can get off the treadmill of repeating past mistakes to become their best selves at home, at work, and in the world. Stress is inevitable in life, but this illuminating book gives anyone the practical tools to rise above.

About the Author:

Steven Stosny, PhD, has treated more than 6,000 people through Compassion-Power, the organization he founded and has directed for more than 21 years. He is the author of Living & Loving after Betrayal, Love without Hurt: TurnYour Resentful, Angry, or Emotionally Abusive Relationship into a Compassionate, Loving One and, with Pat Love, How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking about It. His textbook, Treating Attachment Abuse: A Compassionate Approach, set a new standard for understanding and treating family abuse and was a Behavioral Science Book Selection. His Psychology Today blog on relationships is one of the most popular, with nearly four million views.

Available wherever books are sold or to order directly from the publisher, contact: www.hcibooks.com or (800) 441-5569
Soar Above: How to Use the Most Profound Part of Your Brain Under Any Kind of Stress
ISBN: 9780757319082

Amazon

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Book Promo: Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery By David Clark

Out There: The Zen Of Recovery, Weight Loss,
Compassion And Competition

Transforming from a 320+ pound alcoholic and addict into a healthy and happy Buddhist, Libertarian, vegan and elite athlete took David Clark way out there. Now, with ten years of sobriety, his unique perspective is inspiring others to reach deep inside and break free of destructive habits. He shares his amazing story in a bestselling book, Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery.

“Healthy mind and body is where I found peace,” says Clark.  “My hope is that people are able to see, through my story, that there are no boundaries to what we can achieve.” He credits extreme endurance sports for his path to recovery. He ran the Boston Marathon four times in a single day last year, and recently ran four consecutive 50K ultramarathons in four days on a treadmill while attending this year’s ISPO Show in Munich, Germany.

Clark’s spiritual transformation into a practicing Buddhist combined with a fierce drive to compete and win give him a balanced view of a world where compassion and competition seldom work in tandem. Out There is a candid story of addiction and recovery; the lessons learned provide inspiration to never give up despite life’s challenges. It is brutally and unflinchingly honest—and a testament to the power of redemption and the human spirit.

A running coach, sponsored runner and inspirational speaker, David Clark owns a gym near Boulder, Colorado. Prior to running his Quad Boston, he has competed in some of the most difficult endurance races on the planet. An elite athlete, Clark is well respected in the national running community.

For more information, visit: www.wearesuperman.com

Out There:  A Story of Ultra Recovery
By David Clark
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Available at Amazon.com
ISBN-10: 1499721196
ISBN-13: 978-1499721195

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Fitness Program for Women

 

Are Women’s Fitness Programs Outdated?
Celebrity Trainer Says Most Women Benefit From A Comprehensive Approach 

A study indicating why British women don’t workout as much as they’d prefer surely reflects the sentiments of American women, says celebrity trainer Holly Perkins.

The research revealed that 75 percent of women in the United Kingdom want to exercise more, but they’re discouraged for fear of being judged by others. The women surveyed worried about how they would look while exercising in front of others, their inexperience in personal fitness and the idea that they’re putting themselves first, ahead of their children.

“Whether she’s a stay-at-home mom, a busy executive or somewhere in the middle, these are concerns most women have about fitness,” Perkins says. “I believe this reflects their self-image, and it’s a shame that so many women live their lives short-changing themselves.”

Even today, most fitness programs women come across neglect important parts of the average woman’s mindset, she says. Many gyms have spinning and other classes targeting women, but they lack the comprehensive aspect so many women are searching for, she says.

“There are plenty of women who frequent gyms, but I think the culture of most of those places are framed by a male-dominated attitude, which is more comfortable blocking out ‘gym time’ in their schedule,” says Perkins, who recently released a home-exercise system designed specifically for women called baladea (www.baladea.com), with regimens she developed to fuse fitness and wellness exercises.

“I believe a woman’s attitude craves a more holistic approach, one in which overall well-being is factored into a how-to lifestyle program.”

Perkins describes what works for women in a fitness program.

•  Fun. “No pain, no gain” is definitely a man’s attitude. As women, we are not afraid of a healthy muscle burn, sweating and commitment – we’re designed to carry babies for nine months, and then deliver them, after all. However, we are much more relationship-oriented, and we thrive in positive feelings. The way to a woman’s heart in fitness is fun.

•  Purpose. For men who workout, the activity is almost a purpose in itself. There is a sense of accomplishment in lifting heavy weights and “gettin’ it done.” Women want to shine; we want to look and feel like we never felt possible. We want to be in touch with who we are, and fitness synergized with overall well-being can do that.

•  Steps. It’s good for anyone starting a fitness program to have a blueprint for what they’d like to achieve, and steps for improvement along the way. For those who are inexperienced, an introduction and detailed plan enables time for the mind to ease into the process. Confusion or uncertainty is a waste of energy, and implementing new workout phases allows women to maximize our effort.

•  Synergy. If you think women don’t need weights, think again. Resistance band training increases your power and revs your body’s fat-burning engine. We also want to be lithe, supple and physically elegant. Yoga helps us reshape trouble zones, and something I call “flow” optimizes flexibility and beautifies posture. And, when we are done, we can enjoy a calm that reinforces our motive for inner and outer beauty, leaving us with an energizing relaxation.

About Holly Perkins

Holly Perkins is a national fitness expert and developer of baladea (www.baladea.com), a customizable fitness and wellness system for women. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. She believes that making fitness a fun lifestyle is the best way to achieve true change. As one of the nation’s leading weight-loss experts and a highly sought-after celebrity trainer, she has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and on national TV shows.

Book Review: Stay Fit Seniors Saving Seniors Baby Boomers and America’s Healthcare Costs

Stay Fit Seniors Saving Seniors Baby Boomers
and America’s Healthcare Costs

 by Dr. Roger Russo & Dr. Anthony Lauro

Empowering Seniors

Dr. Russo uses his own life experiences to explain how he and his friend and business partner Dr. Lauro came up with the plan for Stay Fit Seniors; his explanation really made an impact on me when he talked of his own parents’ early demise – We have to take responsibility for our own health and not expect others to do it for us. There is a team approach which includes Self care, Help care and Crisis care; Self care and Help care are preventative, what you can do for yourself and a medical/professional team which includes regular medical care, nutritionists, therapists, chiropractors, trainers and life coaches.

Russo and Lauro have created a program which addresses the specific needs of seniors and baby boomers. they emphasize the need for movement, building bone and muscle mass, getting enough sleep and following a wise nutritional plan. The Senior Fit Circuit Training Centers offer stations which  help participants improve circulation and exercises one to two muscle groups each. Movement is critical to help maintain health and youth. The book is inspiring and educational and the program is encouraging and fulfilling.

~ Chelle Cordero, Author of Passion & Suspense

~~~~~

from Amazon:

This book will help any senior keep fit, better their diet and avoid life-threatening diabetes, obesity and heart disease. With America’s healthcare system more costly than ever before, purchasing a copy of ‘Stay Fit Seniors: Saving Seniors, Baby Boomers and America’s Healthcare Costs’ could literally save readers’ lives.

It’s a shocking yet unsurprising fact; the United States spends more of its GDP on healthcare than any other nation in the world. While millions turn to the Government for answers, New York’s Dr. Roger A. Russo and Dr. Anthony Lauro are urging Americans, especially seniors, to point their fingers back at themselves and take responsibility for their poor lifestyle choices. In a bold effort to help older Americans improve their health, longevity and ultimately their country’s healthcare system.

Stay Fit Seniors: Saving Seniors, Baby Boomers and America’s Healthcare Costs’ is the latest addition to Dr.s Russo and Lauro’s famed Stay Fit Seniors® brand…

Chapters cover a myriad of topics including an exposé’ of U.S. healthcare, nutrition and vitamins needed for optimum health, in-depth analysis of popular supplements and drugs, why senior health is a shared responsibility and much, much more.

Dr. Lauro believes that the book has wide and far-reaching appeal.

“It should be a priority read for seniors, baby boomers, caretakers, potential caretakers, healthcare professionals and even insurance companies who want to increase health and lower costs. Its part investigative-style overview of the U.S. healthcare system and part self-help book; the only title of its kind currently on the market,” he adds.

In the book you will learn how the fitness legend Jack LaLanne became the national spokes person for Stay Fit Seniors in it’s start up years. Elaine LaLanne is quoted as saying, “Jack LaLanne always stressed ‘Life is great when you’re in shape.’ That statement is as true today as it was when he coined it over 60 years ago. Drs. Russo and Lauro have advocated his philosophy through their Stay Fit Seniors® Program. Both Jack and I applauded their efforts in the past and I want to wish them continued success.”

@StayFitSeniors

StayFitSeniors.com

Amazon Buy Link

Buy via PayPal

Body Image Issues

Can a Fitness & Wellness Regimen Empower Women?
Celebrity Trainer Explains 3 Reasons Why It Can

From an early age, women have foisted on them images of the “ideal” female body, and self-esteem can plummet when they fail to measure up.
But celebrity trainer Holly Perkins says it’s time women stop buying into those societal pressures.

“There’s this perception that all women need to look like perfect runway models,” says Perkins. “They can feel the anxiety building when they are trying to meet someone else’s expectations. That’s when the effort to lose weight or get fit can add to the stresses of life instead of relieving them.”

Certainly, women should want to improve their health, get fit and look gorgeous all at the same time, says Perkins, who recently released a home-exercise system designed specifically for women called baladea (www.baladea.com), with regimens she developed to fuse fitness and wellness exercises.

But getting in shape needs to be something women want for themselves, and not an effort to mimic some airbrushed image on a magazine cover at the supermarket, she says.

Perkins realized several years ago that her clients met their weight-loss goals faster when she created programs that addressed both their fitness and wellness needs at the same time.

They also felt happier about themselves. So she incorporated yoga and other stress-relieving and relaxation techniques into the baladea program.

Perkins offers three reasons why the right fitness and wellness regimen can empower women and emancipate them from society’s image pressures:

•  Because looking good makes you feel good. That’s especially true when you’re trying to look good to please yourself and not others, Perkins says. “There’s this sense of empowerment when you exercise, eat a healthier diet and lose weight because it’s what you want and not because of peer pressure or societal pressures,” she says.

Self-esteem rises when you improve your image on your terms, she says, and as a result “looking gorgeous never felt better.”

•  Because the science says so. Research shows that stress can keep you from losing weight and might even cause you to add pounds. Even if you eat well and exercise, an excessive amount of stress can counteract all your efforts. That’s why meshing fitness and wellness works so well, Perkins says.

 “Stress reduction and relaxation can significantly improve weight loss,” she says. “That allows you to look and feel your absolute best.”

•  Because while improving your look, you also become healthier. You will feel amazing not just because of elevated self-esteem, but because your body really is functioning better because of the diet and exercise, Perkins says. Your energy level will rise and “you will feel ready for anything,” she says.

“You can look awesome and you can feel happy at the same time,” Perkins says. “It’s all about letting your true self shine.”

About Holly Perkins

Holly Perkins is a national fitness expert and developer of baladea (www.baladea.com), a customizable fitness and wellness system for women. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. She believes that making fitness a fun lifestyle is the best way to achieve true change. As one of the nation’s leading weight-loss experts and a highly sought-after celebrity trainer, she has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and on national TV shows.

Tips for Feeling Better

3 Simple Things You Can Do Today
to Feel Better Tomorrow
Doctor Outlines Easy Changes That Can Vastly
Improve Health, Happiness and Well-Being

“Imagine you’re a spider with just one leg,” says Dr. Frank King.

“You put forth immense effort to try to haul yourself around and not only does it wear you out, it’s frustrating and you don’t get far.” King is a chiropractor and doctor of naturopathy specializing in homeopathic remedies, and author of The Healing Revolution (www.kingbio.com).

“It gets a bit easier with two legs and easier still with four legs. But it’s not till you have all eight legs that you can really dance.”

Dr. King explains that the eight legs represent Eight Essentials we need for optimum mental, physical and spiritual health: Empowering your human spirit; Water; Nutrition; Fitness; Sleep; Nature; Relationships; and Hands On Techniques (touch).

“It would be overwhelming and self-defeating to look at all eight areas and think, ‘I have to make significant changes in every area immediately!” Dr. King says. “You don’t have to and who could? I know from my experience with countless patients and friends, and even in my own life, that you can see immediate results by making a few small changes at a time.”

Dr. King describes three that are easy to make and will have you feeling better quickly.

•  Drink half your body weight in ounces of spring or well water every day.
If you weigh 150 pounds, that’s 75 ounces of water (about 9 cups).

“Many of us walk around dehydrated without realizing it and that can have a significant effect on our health and how we feel,” Dr. King says. Dehydrated bodies trap toxins and encourage water retention – a natural defense against the chronic “drought.”

“Our bodies need the steady flow of pure, spring or well water. If you don’t like the taste, try mixing up to a teaspoon of sea salt into a quart of water,” he says.

A simple test for dehydration: Pinch the skin on the back of your hand and hold for three seconds. When you release, if the ridge from the pinch remains for more than a second, you’re probably dehydrated.

•  Take at least a few minutes every day to connect with nature. Nature brings perpetual revitalization and ongoing renewal, especially when experienced through multiple senses:  the smell of freshly turned earth or evergreens in the woods; the touch of cool stream water on your face or feet; the sight of birds on the wing and budding blooms.

“These are not just pleasant little gifts to experience – we need them for restoration, renewal, revival and rehabilitation,” Dr. King says. “The more disconnected we become from the Earth, the more we inhibit our body’s natural ability to heal.”

•  Take a brisk, 10- to 20-minute walk every day. Walking is the simplest, most natural form of exercise. You might walk a nature trail, walk to the store instead of driving or take your pet for a stroll.

“Three brisk 10-minute walks a day are as effective at lowering blood pressure as one 30-minute walk,” Dr. King says, citing an Arizona State University study.

“Outdoor walking is preferable to walking on a treadmill or other machine, since the uneven surfaces and changing directions of natural walking will engage more muscles and tendons.”

Swing each arm in synchronization with the opposite foot to strengthen your cross-crawl functionality and mind-body balance.

About Dr. Frank King

Dr. Frank King is a chiropractor, doctor of naturopathy, and founder and president of King Bio, an FDA-registered pharmaceutical manufacturing company dedicated to education, research, development, manufacture and distribution of safe and natural homeopathic medicines for people and pets. Dr. King is also the author of, The Healing Revolution: Eight Essentials to Awaken Abundant Life Naturally!(www.kingbio.com). A fourth-generation farmer, Dr. King raises yak, camel, boar, wisent and American bison sold under the Carolina Bison brand. He is a member of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States.