The objective of HEAL Yourself: Mind Body Spirit is to give you, the reader, common sense guidelines and practical tools to enhance the quality of your life and minimize the potential for the degenerative conditions facing us in this new century. To do this, you must take responsibility for your own health. That means you must become knowledgeable and self-sufficient in understanding how your body works and what to do to maintain optimum health.
Understanding health and disease is not difficult. They both follow direct and logical laws of nature. Though our bodies are the most remarkable and complex machine ever invented, nature has laid a clear path for their welfare and upkeep. The laws demonstrate a rational interplay between body structure, function, nutrition and thought patterns and sound mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. This book allows you to follow that natural approach to health and healing.
We get into trouble when we deviate from nature’s path through poor diet, structural misalignment, emotional upheaval and negative thought processes, or because of accident or things beyond our control. You usually have instinctive insight into your own health concerns. The wise doctor is attentive to your observations and this book will promote meaningful dialogue with your health provider.
"How innovative! This book is truly unique because it is one of the only books I have read that addresses the link between structure and your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. - Ann Louise Gittleman, Author of The New York Times bestsellers,The Fat Flush Plan and Before the Change
"An integrative, practical guide for rebuilding and enhancing your health and vitality.” - Jeremy E. Kaslow, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.A.I
"Dr. Kamph's superb knowledge of the human body and its functions has inspired me and many others to eat healthfully and care for ourselves properly for decades. We thank this woman of integrity for all she has done for us and for our good health!" - Harvey Schecter Honored as UC Santa Barbara Distinguished Alumnus Author of Publications in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times
"In this ever-growing, dynamic field of 'healthcare,' no area is as important as that of preventive care for the maintenance of physical and mental health. Dr. Kamph's book is right on target as a brilliant guide for creating and sustaining good health." - Art Aviles, Art Aviles & Associates Business Development Chairman Emeritus, Hospital Board of Trustees
"Challenges for executives to maintain their physical, emotional, and mental health are greater than ever given their escalating workloads, hours, stress, and extensive travel requirements. Dr. Kamph provides invaluable assistance for maintaining and rebuilding health. Every executive should keep this excellent resource close at hand." - Leslie L. Kossoff, Principal, Kossoff Management Consulting Author of Executive Thinking: The Dream, The Vision, The Mission Achieved And Managing for Quality
"Dr. Kamph's book is a gem of practical and informative ways to optimize one's health. She has summarized and synthesized vast amounts of complicated data and concepts into clear, concise, and meaningful language. Her obvious compassion for us encourages us to take this journey toward balanced health and experience real joy!" - Mona Coates, Ph.D. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Professor of Sociology/Human Sexuality, and Clinical Hypnotherapist
"Dr. Kamph outlines an effective 'prescription' for healthy and enjoyable living. As a practitioner for thirty years, I have seen patients who have adapted the way of life as described in this book. They enjoy life as I believe it was designed to be lived. People who need a template to direct them on the path toward a healthy lifestyle will find this book most beneficial. I appreciate reviewing it and will share it with my patients." - R. Lloyd Friesen, D.C. (Chiropractor) Past President California Chiropractic Association Delegate American Chiropractic Association
Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (12/06)
The premise of this book is a simple one. If you take to heart the advice within its pages and apply the techniques described to your body and your life, you will not only be a healthier individual but a happier one as well. This is such a simple sentence, but one that packs a lot of promise into its structure. And so it is with this book as well. Within its 122 pages (including Bibliography and index), this book puts into simple language the difficult task of making one's life a healthier one. Broken into four sections, "Heal Yourself: Mind Body Spirit," the reader is taken through the various problems that plague the average person and in turn is given advice from Chiropractor/author Marcia Kamph on how to simplify one's life and become a better person for it. Section one gets off to a great start, mentioning the "mind-body-emotion connection" and how all three of these areas affect each of us in different ways. It also explains, through examples and easy-to-understand language, how a problem in any one of these sections can affect the whole body and throw the whole of a person into turmoil. One chapter of special interest is that of Chapter 4, which addresses the "spine, spinal nerves and symptoms" and how they work to keep our bodies in check, as well as how when one of these 3 areas is "out of alignment" the whole of the body suffers. This was interesting to this reviewer in that I have had experience in this area with migraines and have discovered that when my spine is out of alignment, the headaches are more severe and actually longer lasting than when I make a point of keeping my body aligned. The author does a wonderful job in this chapter explaining the spine and its part in the wellness of the body; and in my opinion, this is by far one of the best chapters in the book. That said I must also be honest when I say that although I agree with the author when she maintains a healthier diet can help alleviate a number of negative situations with our bodies, I have a problem with her in that the diet described within the pages of this book seems to be a difficult one to maintain. Though the author is very thorough in her description of why each item is important, I have a hard time believing that the average reader will have the time or the resources available to maintain the diet suggested. The section on "food combining" and "pulse test," while interesting, are also questionable as to whether many readers will be dedicated enough to follow through on the advice within at least after the first few days. All in all, this is an interesting book. It covers a myriad of problems and offers solutions which vary in their applications and difficulty level to achieve. Although I may not agree with all the stringent rules and suggestions within its pages in regards to diet, I still find this book to be a worthwhile read for the common sense and eye-opening information about the body presented by the author. I would suggest that the reader determine what his/her needs are and whether he/she is open to new information, ideas and applications before purchasing "Heal Yourself: Mind Body Spirit." If the reader is willing to make significant changes, then by all means purchase this book and dive into its pages. It holds many new ideas, insights and suggestions; and given a chance, it can educate the reader and show the path to new ways of becoming a happier healthier person....perhaps sooner than you ever imagined.
Informative, Enlightening, and Motivating, September 21, 2006
Dr. Kamph has compiled a complex subject in an easy to understand readable style for the lay reader. The book is divided into five sections, and describes how structure and function, emotional and mental health affect each other. Each chapter begins with a case study from "the doctor's diary." These studies include the symptoms, the prescribed treatment, and the results. The material reported in the case study is then examined for cause of the symptoms, the reasons for the prescribed treatment as it relates to the bodies system, and why the treatment was successful. Topics like understanding stress, the nervous and muscular systems, the spine, spinal nerves, the cells, the cardiovascular, lymph and immune systems are all covered in depth. The digestive and the excretory systems are illustrated and detailed. I found the information on diet and nutrition of special interest and extremely helpful. Dr. Kamph is well known for her educational workshops, her informative articles, and for her earlier book, "Prescription of Robust Health." She has been a presenter at The Power of Healing conferences, and often appeared as a featured guest on radio and TV. "Heal Yourself" is an excellent guidebook for making informed choices for reversing illness and regaining emotional, mental, and physical well being.
I just finished reading Dr. Kamph's excellent book. It gave me a good understanding of how my body works - as a total unit, and how emotions effect the functioning of my body. It is written in easy to understand, laymen terms. I recommend this book to any one and every one. It is just full of good information and recommendations. William L. Glass, VP ST&I Inc.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marcia Kamph, D.C., M.S., a former English/history instructor, has worked in the field of natural healing arts since 1975. As a chiropractor, nutritional consultant with a Masters of Science degree, author, lecturer and health counselor, she integrates into her work the holistic approach to wellness. She has published many articles and written two books, Prescription for Robust Health and Heal Yourself: MindBody Spirit, both designed to bring basic principles of health to the general public. An education advocate, she hosted her own television series Feeling Great Now! in 1991 and has been featured on numerous radio and TV shows over the past thirty years, including Fox Television's, the Jack London Show in Las Vegas. She facilitates workshops and lectures at colleges, schools, community and professional organizations. Visit her on her website: www.marciasplace.net.
"If you feel well, you think well; if you think well, you behave well."- Marcia Kamph, D.
Education for a new path, December 23, 2006
