Books to Live By

8 Weeks to Optimum Heath: 

A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power

 Andrew Weil, M.D.

Do you have books that have made such an impression on you that you keep them by your side and constantly grab for them because you just couldn't get enough? I first read 8 Weeks to Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D. about 10 years ago (man, that makes me feel old) and it's one of those books that I always find myself referring back to. I keep it in my bookshelf right next to my kitchen table, and I'm always skimming through it just to refresh myself.

If you haven't read this book, you should. It's an 8 week program that takes you through steps on ridding your life of toxins and getting you on the right path to natural health. When I first bought the book I did the 8 week program to perfection. I always take the attitude that when you have a program like this, you have to take it to the extreme, and then eventually add back in what you need to make it work for your lifestyle.

What I really like about this book is that it is not a fad diet, and not something that you just jump right into so that you shock your system. He promotes gradual change and learning how to feed your body what it needs to utilize it's natural healing abilities. In other words, like fad diets, he is not telling you this is what you need to do to lose weight and have a perfect body, but he's telling you what you need to incorporate into your life to live long and be healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Every week has a focus and he breaks down each chapter into these categories: projects, diet, supplements, exercise, and mental/spiritual to get you on the right track. Then he goes onto explain each section in detail, and even adds in simple delicious recipes to help get your diet moving forward. A few of his focuses are identifying and removing harmful ingredients in your pantry, learning about the impurities of your drinking water, using a steam bath or sauna, the importance of sleep, breathing techniques, types of fasting, and adding tonics to your life. Throughout the book he also has sections called, Healing Stories, where people tell their inspirational stories about how these methods have brought them from close to death to total health.

This book greatly influenced me because it was the first time that someone opened my eyes up to the pollutants to the world around me, and taught me how to use what we have in nature to nourish and heal our bodies. When I implemented this program into my life I felt 100% better and still continue much of it today. I can't encourage frequent visits to the sauna and practicing yoga enough and explain to you how much it will brighten up each day. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that feels like they want to take the first step in making changes towards their overall health.

Namaste.