Spring Fitness Spring off the couch! Start Stretching New & Noteworthy 2005 Bestsellers Recent Praise Spring Fitness Jump out of the winter blues by reinvigorating your exercise routine At North Atlantic Books / Frog Ltd. / Blue Snake Books we're committed to publishing books that promote physical, spiritual and psychological health. In this issue of our newsletter, we're focused on physical fitness and in helping you shake up or add to your normal routine. We're dedicated to offering the most innovative and stimulating modes of exercise, for all levels of fitness - from beginners to the advanced. The following books represent a varied selection from our list, some offering complete techniques for martial arts, and others helping you improve on activities you might already do. We hope these books inspire you and bring you to new levels of fitness. Let these books inspire you to get out of your winter slump, and into great physical shape for the upcoming summer! Our featured fitness titles will be at a special 20% discount when you order online through April 1. Western medical studies demonstrate that Tai Chi - "the perfect exercise," according to Time magazine - combats immune deficiencies, mitigates arthritis, improves circulation, and helps the elderly regain physical balance. Tai Chi: Health for Life gives readers the inspiration to use the practice as a preventative healthcare routine and to regain control of their health. Capoeira Conditioning is an illustrated guide to whole-body training based on this increasingly popular Brazilian martial art. Designed for all ages and all levels of experience, the book is a step-by-step training manual with photographs that guide users through every movement and sequence. Muay Thai, also referred to as Thai boxing, combines fitness training, self-defense, and competitive sport. In this hands-on guide, renowned trainer Christoph Delp presents the sport's history, development, rules, and equipment. Suitable as both a self-training guide and a supplement to club training, Muay Thai Basics offers authoritative instruction for Thai boxers and other martial arts enthusiasts. In Running with the Whole Body, Feldenkrais practitioner Jack Heggie proposes a thirty-day exercise program that will not only prevent injury, but also enable you to become a smoother and more powerful runner. These exercises isolate the workings of the various parts of the body to show how each part of the body balances and works in concert with the others. The Rosen Method of Movement describes preventative excercises Marion Rosen has taught since 1956. Her system of bodywork connects breathing, emotional responses, and body functioning. The excercises detailed in this book help prevent aches and pains so that physical therapy treatments can be avoided. Long Life, Good Health traces the historical and philosophical development of Tai-Chi Chuan within the context of the sister martial arts from which it was created. Though intended for beginners, Long Life, Good Health should fascinate more advanced students who want to research and compare ancient forms and lineages of Tai-Chi Chuan. And for those of you who have strains and injuries to overcome, here are two recommended books to help you become pain-free. Release Your Pain presents ART (Active Release Techniques) as a new approach to addressing such common repetitive strain injuries as carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, knee and shoulder injuries, and back pain. Based on case studies, the book shows how ART locates and breaks down scar tissue and adhesions that cause pain, stiffness, weakness, numbness, and physical dysfunctions associated with repetitive strain injuries. In Sports and Exercise Injuries Dr. Subotnick presents an integrative approach to foot health and to sports medicine that is truly a model for the modern physician. The comprehensive nature of the book and the practical information that it provides makes it accessible to All Health & Healing professionals as well as for the general public. Start Stretching The popularity of capoeira continues to rise as more people discover how useful -- and fun -- it can be for increasing agility and flexibility, as well as strength and endurance. Designed for all ages and levels of experience, the book is a step-by-step training manual with photographs that guide users through every movement and sequence. This sample stretch from the hot-selling title Capoeira Conditioning by Gerard Taylor is a great start to healthier fitness habits. Accompanying text gives special pointers and describes the fitness benefits of each individual technique. Capoeira Conditioning offers no-frills advice about nutrition, regularity of training, capoeira in relation to other sports, and capoeira conditioning for children, along with a simple Q&A section. Now start stretching! COCORINHA (STATIONARY) Flexibility-stretch. Movement Stand with your feet shoulder-width (at least 15 to 20 inches) apart. Bend your knees and drop down into a squat position with your hands in front of you, crossed at the wrist. Breathing Breathe deeply. Try nasal breathing, inhaling and exhaling only through your nose. Exhale until you feel you have expelled every last breath of air from your lungs, and as you exhale, visualize your lower spine (sacroiliac joint) relaxing farther toward the floor. Hold the cocorinha position for at least eight breaths. Pointers If you have stiff ankles, squat in the same way, but with your heels raised on a couple of thin books, weight-training plates, or even a rolled-up towel. Health and Fitness Benefits This is very beneficial for the sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis and base of the spine. It releases pressure on your lower back, lowers the sacrum between the hip joints, and gives the ankles a powerful stretch.

New & Noteworthy

The Healthy Jewish Cookbook 100 delicious recipes from around the world Michael van Straten Spring 2006, $21.95, ISBN: 1-58394-150-9, Cooking / Jewish Traditionally associated with the heavy, fat-laden foods of Europe -- deep-fried latkes, chicken fat, and achingly sweet desserts -- Jewish food is, in fact, far more varied. Jews who migrated to other parts of the world developed cuisines unique to their new countries, yet still flavored with the tastes of the Middle East and the strict requirements of Jewish dietary laws. This beautifully illustrated book takes readers on a fascinating journey around the world, showing how Jewish cookery adapted and why it offers so many health benefits. There is the light, flavorful Mediterranean diet of Greek Jews and the Moorish-influenced food of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, both of which are rich in natural antioxidants, as well as the grain-based dishes of North Africa and the fragrant salads of the Middle East. With recipes like Egg and Onion with Cilantro, Nutty Spinach with Raisins, Schmaltz Herrings, Roast Duck with Cherries, and Ginger Hazelnut Cookies, this cookbook is a treasure trove of delicious, nutritious recipes for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.

Reflexology and Associated Aspects of Health A Practitioner's Guide Adrian Seager Fall 2005, $29.94, ISBN: 1-555643-567-3, Health / Alternative Therapies Written in simple language and based on years of private practice experience, Reflexology and Associated Aspects of Health is aimed at reflexologists, complementary therapists, and interested laypersons. Designed as both a practical guide and a reference, the book stresses the importance of health maintenance over disease management. Beginning with a discussion of the limitations of mainstream healthcare, the author then moves into an authoritative analysis of such topics as foot and ankle loosening, dermatology, nutrition, body energy, chakras and meridians, the hows and whys of research, and treatment of stroke patients.

The Concise Book of Trigger Points Simeon Neil-Asher Winter 2006, $29.95, ISBN: 1-55643-536-3, Health & Fitness / Alternative Therapies This practical manual explains how to treat chronic pain through trigger points -- those tender, painful nodules that form in muscle fibers and connective tissues. Organized by muscle groups, the book emphasizes hands-on techniques for bringing immediate relief by stimulating the flow of oxygen to the trigger point. Each two-page spread features detailed color illustrations on one side and straightforward text on the other identifying each muscle's origin, insertion, action, and function. In addition, the author discusses the physiological implications of the trigger points in each muscle, and techniques for treatment.

Calm Birth (CD): Empowering Preparation for Childbirth Text by Robert Newman Voice by Dara Knerr / Music by Michael Mish Spring 2006, $19.95, ISBN: 1-55643-588-6, Childbirth / Health Calm Birth is a safe, noninvasive, and drug-free childbirth method, based on meditation and mind/body medicine, and used in hospitals for more than 10 years. Supported by many highly respected childbirth specialists, including Jeannine Parvati Baker, Ina May Gaskin, and Ruth L. Miller, Calm Birth encourages natural childbirth, but is effective even when medical interventions are necessary, as it helps heal the side effects of medications and invasive procedures. The three narrations on this CD guide mothers-to-be and new mothers through the main relaxation and meditation practices detailed in the book Calm Birth: A New Method for Conscious Childbirth -- the practice of opening, womb breathing, and giving and receiving. An empowering alternative to the "medicalization of birth," the techniques allow women to channel their innate wisdom, ability, and energy, making the birth experience a truly blessed event.

2005 Top 10 Bestsellers

North Atlantic Books

1. Healing With Whole Foods (3e, tr)
   
2. Waking the Tiger
   
3. Quantum Touch (2e)
   
4. Concise Book of Muscles
   
5. Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine
   
6. Deep Tissue Massage
   
7. Spiritual Nutrition
   
8. Conscious Eating
   
9. Raw Food Gourmet
   
10. The Little Capoeira Book
    

Recent Praise

"An engineer, an environmental activist and a writer/editor for Truth Out, Kelpie Wilson brings the requisite knowledge to Primal Tears, her eco-conscious and daring first novel. She extrapolates believably from the possibility that humans and chimpanzees may be as inter-fertile as horses are with donkeys or lions with tigers, and she doesn't shy away from the realities of bonobo sexuality. She handles the controversial aspects of her novel with taste and sensitivity...Wilson's passionate commitment to conservation and her love for the wilderness shine through in passages of lyrical beauty (new high-fantasy authors could do a lot worse than study how Wilson writes about wild places). And she believably develops Sage's alien mind and personality, creating a complex, sympathetic character...she'll be a novelist of considerable power." -Science Fiction Weekly, February 22, 2006

"[Primal Tears] is very forward-looking, is extremely socially-conscious, and looks for a way to a better future....[Kelpie Wilson] writes with a steady and assured hand, with well-crafted prose...and the fusion of message and narrative comes together nicely....This is a book that deals with serious issues and is unwavering in all of its explorations. Top-notch near-future ecological speculation." -Strong Medicine website, February 2006

Pronoia by Rob Brezsny:

"This coffee-table-sized book comes with plenty of fascinating illustrations and strange symbols or mystical glyphs on most pages. Each chapter is a self-contained journey into the world of pronoia, making it easy to open the book and leisurely stroll through the pages. More than an amusing jaunt into the unfathomable psyche of a renegade astrologer, Pronoia might change your life. Here one learns to challenge the limiting paradigm that supports affliction and mayhem and turn toward the more interesting paradigm that creates triumph and liberation." -Horoscope magazine, April 2006

The Power of I Am by John Maxwell Taylor:

"In The Power of I Am, you guide us through a blend of enlightening tools, personal stories and life lessons, to achieve inner strength and deal effectively with verbal and emotional abuse and anti-social behavior." -The Light Connection, February 2006

Scholar Boxer translated by Marnix Wells:

"The search for spirituality remains high on the modern day agenda and that in turn brings one into contact with a whole range of esoteric practices....Scholar Boxer is an illuminating translation of 17th century Chinese texts...a must read for anyone interested in the practical cultivation of chi/internal energy and martial arts fighting techniques....It's fascinating stuff...." -Straight No Chaser magazine, Fall 2005

Questions or comments? Please email us.

To unsubscribe from our newsletter please click the following link. Warning!: Clicking on the link will automatically remove you from the mailing list without requesting further confirmation. %BASIC:UNSUBLINK%