Blessed Health or The Beginners Guide to Yoga

Blessed Health: The African-American Woman's Guide to Physical and Spiritual Well-Being

Author: Dr Melody McCloud

Blessed Health offers African-American women the medical information and inspirational motivation they need to achieve total health—a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

Many black women will go to church all day every Sunday but won't take one day out of the year to get a Pap test and mammogram done. Yet that yearly doctor's visit could help save lives. Often the first people to pray when a serious illness strikes, black women may be the last to seek timely medical care. As a result, they are suffering with, and dying from, manageable illnesses such as heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes more than any other group in the United States.

It doesn't have to be that way. Don't wait until a health emergency happens before turning to your faith and your physician. You can achieve optimal health by arming yourself with medical knowledge and a strong spiritual base. Research has proven that a well-nurtured spiritual self can help to replenish, rejuvenate, and safeguard your physical self.

Written by a prominent African-American OB/GYN and a highly respected journalist, Blessed Health is a personal health and spirituality guide for every stage of a black woman's life. Included here is important information on:

• How your body works, and what can be done to prevent or help solve common health problems, including pelvic infections and fibroid tumors
• How to find a doctor that ministers to your physical and emotional needs
• How to successfully cope with illness, from a faith perspective
• How spiritual wisdom and prayer can decrease the harmful effects of stress
• How best to take care of your breasts and reproductive organs, anddecrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer

and much, much more, including the latest on managing menopause.

Table of Contents:

	Introduction	xi
1	What Makes Sisters Unique?	1
	Health Concerns	3
	Distrust of Health Care Professionals	5
	Poverty and Lack of Insurance	6
	Lack of Knowledge	8
	Family Traditions	9
	The Health Care System Itself	9
	It's Time for a Change	10
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	11
2	Understanding Your Body and Soul	17
	A Brief Overview of the Female Reproductive System	18
	The Brain/Body Connection	22
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	25
3	Take Time to Take Stock	32
	Get in Touch with You--A Health Inventory	35
	Assessing Your Answers	43
	Checkups and Tests	51
	Age-by-Age Test Guide	59
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	60
4	The Doctor's Office	73
	Are All Doctors Alike?	78
	Finding the Right Doctor	82
	Getting the Most from Doctor Visits	86
	Understanding Insurance	91
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	94
5	Common Illnesses, Simple Cures	97
	Vaginitis	98
	Bladder Infections	102
	Other Minor Conditions	103
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	106
6	A Woman's Body--Dealing with Serious Illness	111
	Fibroids	113
	Endometriosis	121
	Adenomyosis	125
	Pelvic Congestion Syndrome	127
	Adnexal Mass	128
	Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP)	131
	Pelvic Relaxation	138
	Menstrual Disorders	144
	Uterine Anomalies	150
	Sexually Transmitted Diseases	150
	HIV and AIDS	163
	Cancer	172
	Rare Gynecologic Cancers	180
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	181
7	If You Need Surgery	184
	Knowledge Is Power	185
	Common Surgeries	186
	Before You Consent--Seven Important Questions to Ask Your Doctor	197
	Do You Really Need a Second Opinion?	201
	Caring for the Incision	202
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	202
8	Back to Basics--Nutrition and Exercise	208
	Work That Body	211
	Walking the Walk	214
	Pump It Up	217
	You Are What You Eat	218
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	228
9	Caring for Your Breasts	231
	The ABCs of Breasts	232
	From Buds to Breasts	234
	A Little TLC	235
	Breast Basics	243
	Could It Be Cancer?	254
	The Facts About Cosmetic Surgery	258
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	261
10	The ABCs of Pregnancy	267
	A Good Start--Preparing for Pregnancy	269
	The Expectant Mother	275
	The Anatomy of Pregnancy	278
	Testing, Testing	278
	How Your Body Changes	285
	Staying Fit	287
	Complications of Pregnancy	291
	Labor and Delivery	301
	Pregnancy after Age 35	305
	Infertility	308
	Preventing Pregnancy	312
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	332
11	Managing Menopause	337
	Demystifying Menopause	339
	Signs of Menopause	341
	Raising the Stakes--The More Serious Effects of Menopause	343
	Osteoporosis--The Brittle Bone Disease	344
	The Menopause/Heart Disease Connection	347
	Managing Menopause--Is Estrogen the Solution?	348
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	354
12	Not for Men Only--Diseases That Strike Sisters, Too	358
	Cardiovascular Disease	360
	Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)	362
	Coronary Artery Disease	368
	Stroke	368
	Diabetes	371
	Lung Cancer	373
	Colon Cancer	374
	Rx: A Prescription for Your Soul	377
Appendix A	The Prescription Center	385
Appendix B	Glossary	393
Appendix C	Resources	400
Appendix D	Sources	412
	Index	418

Go to: Leah Chase or Food for Thought

The Beginner's Guide to Yoga

Author: Liz Lark

This attractive book’s title notwithstanding, The Beginner’s Guide to Yoga can also be used profitably by intermediate practitioners and by those seeking a brush-up yoga course after being away from it for a lengthy period. The author presents illustrated instructions on achieving asanas (positions), and provides charts to help readers measure their progress on a week-by-week basis. He also gives guidelines for making adjustments in diet and lifestyle, which are necessary for the successful practice of yoga. Central to this book is a description of the full range of asanas, starting with positions for the beginner and progressing through intermediate to advanced stages. The author also discusses meditation, stressing that yoga without meditation is not really yoga. His final chapters touch on the philosophy of yoga in daily life and yoga’s ultimate purpose, which is to lead its practitioner toward transcendence and unity with the cosmic consciousness. More than 150 color photos.

Claire Rosser - KLIATT

This is a beautifully designed book, showing various positions clearly and describing the history and practice of yoga. It is hard to imagine a beginner just getting this book and starting to practice yoga daily by looking at the pictures; almost surely, a beginner should start with a teacher and a class. At that point, however, this book could be helpful. With some familiarity with yoga by observing and copying the movements of a teacher, a beginner could then use this book to understand the principles of yoga, meditation, and specific positions more thoroughly, and to refer to the illustrations when attempting yoga alone. KLIATT Codes: JSA-Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Barron's, 96p. illus. index., Ages 12 to adult.