Chinese Home Remedies – Book Review & Giveaway

19. April 2010 · 93 comments · Categories: Books, Product Review · Tags: , , ,

If you’ve ever looked into Chinese medicine, or perhaps flipped through any TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) books, you have probably been struck by the complexity of this healing art.  While it’s true that professional practitioners take years of study, and in fact make it a lifelong learning commitment, it’s good to note that TCM is even practiced by the average lay people in the most remote of mountain Chinese villages.  The book Chinese Home Remedies: Harnessing Ancient Wisdom For Self-healing is the perfect place to look for the most useful of such home remedies.

Chinese practitioner Lihua Wang learned countless remedies from her grandmother and from people of such remote mountain villages.  They told her how they solved life’s ailments and issues with simple cures, many of which were passed down throughout the generations.  Chinese Home Remedies compiles Lihua Wang’s discoveries.  She used what she learned from the mountain villagers in the Beijing hospital where she practiced, and later in the U.S. where she now resides.

The book is a great reference and makes it easy to grab and flip to an ailment or issue.  Provided are several suggestions which include Chinese herb use, Chinese massage techniques, food therapy, and simple folk remedies.

As you can well imagine, I have a great many books and reference materials.  Because of the large quantity I own, some are organized on not-so-accessible bookshelves in out of the way locations.  Others are on shelves in the midst of our living area, at the ready for whenever I need easy access.  Chinese Home Remedies has already claimed its spot in the “grab it in a hurry” area.  Its usefulness was immediately apparent, and I’ve already found numerous suggestions I intend on using, some of which I already have and with success.

Want to win your own copy?  We’re giving one away!

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit New Page Books and tell me something else you liked or learned there. (***You may enter once a day, but please list a new item you like each time.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, Subscribe and/or Become a Fan on Facebook! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re an FB Fan and/or subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Full Rules for Sweepstakes at dkMommy Spot 

Feel free to do all five to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, to enter.

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan – Book Giveaway

15. September 2009 · 104 comments · Categories: Books, Contest, Tai Chi · Tags: , , ,

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Win a Copy of The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

Win a Copy of The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

 

 

Today’s post is written by dkMommy Spot’s very own T’ai Chi practitioner, Sorin C.  

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan of Freya and Martin Boedicker is the guide that takes one behind the gracious movement of Tai Chi Chuan. To practice the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan can make one a very good athlete. However, by adding the knowledge of the Classics, the practice is imbued with millenia of wisdom. This book gives a brief introductory history lesson to place in time the most important of the Chinese Classics, and then presents each, and his works, relating everything to Tai Chi. It is an important work for the practitioner that wants to understand the inner works of Tai Chi, to “raise the essence and attune the spirit”.

The reader will be introduced to fragments from the Classics and will discover the notions of the Chinese philosophy, Chi, Yin and Yang, Taiji, Wei, Wuwei, Jing, Shen.  Their experience with the art of Tai Chi can be even more explored on line, on their forum at www.wu-taichi.com. The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan is also a good quality rendition by Blue Snake Books and should find a welcome spot in the Philosophy section of your library.

Want to win your own copy?  Blue Snake Books is giving one away to a dkMommy Spot reader!

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit Blue Snake Books and tell me what other book(s) you like there.  (***You may enter once a day, but please list a new item you like each time.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, Subscribe and/or Become a Fan on Facebook! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re an FB Fan and/or subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Feel free to do all five to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, to enter.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Renewable Energy for Your Home – Book Giveaway

26. August 2009 · 78 comments · Categories: Books, Cooking, Product Review · Tags: , , ,

Follow the “In Over My Head Giveaway Week”!

Click Here for Giveaways & Coupon Codes

Learn About Renewable Energy and Save Your Dough!

Learn About Renewable Energy and Save Your Dough!

So you want to reduce your energy consumption.  Perhaps the bills are just too high, or maybe you’re really ambitious and want to live off the grid.  But you don’t really know where to start, aside from making the family sit around in the dark in the evenings.  That’s where The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Renewable Energy for Your Homecomes in.

I’ve reviewed several of the books in The Complete Idiot’s Guide series, and as always, this one is easy to maneuver.  Readers will be able to delve into the nitty gritty or flip through the pages and find straightforward answer to their questions.  Want a windmill?  Then you’ll probably want to know how much it will cost, how long the thing will last, and how long it will take to get your money’s worth out of wind power.  This book will answer those questions.  Perhaps solar heating is your thing.  What kind of system will you require?  How does it all work, and WILL it work in your circumstances?  Yes, this guide will certainly answer those questions for you.  

Personally, I loved learning about geothermal heat, something I’d love to do someday.  It was also helpful learning about other alternatives as well, perhaps figuring out what we can do now as opposed to waiting for a more drastic alteration.

Whether you’re looking for a few simple changes, or you want to take the plunge and get off the grid entirely, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Renewable Energy for Your Homeis a sure way to get you going.  Want to win your own copy?  Of course you do!  Then let’s get going and see if we can save you some dough on those energy costs, shall we?

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit The Complete Idiot’s Guide’s Official Website and tell me another guide you liked AND WHY. (***You may enter once a day, but please list a new item you like each time.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, Subscribe and/or Become a Fan on Facebook! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re an FB Fan and/or subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Full Rules for Sweepstakes at dkMommy Spot 

Feel free to do all five to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, to enter.

“The Book of Stones” Giveaway

31. July 2009 · 150 comments · Categories: Books, Contest, Product Review · Tags: , ,

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When I was about my son’s age – three – I remember my father telling me something.  We were looking at rocks under the swing-set, something I really enjoyed doing.  He told me no two rocks were ever alike, and once you saw one, you’d never find another like it.  So I suppose my mom can thank my dad for the numerous rocks that made it into our dryer, having been left in my pockets.  From that age on, I was afraid to leave any interesting rock left where I’d found it.  They must all come with me, lest I never see the likes of it again.  I suppose that’s why I had such a desire to review The Book of Stones: Who They Are & What They Teachby Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian.  My love of rocks, stones, and pebbly things never left me. 

A few things about this book make it a whole lot of fun to peruse, as well as giving you a good informational and reference tool.  The format is easy to thumb through; the book is loaded with nice color photos, each stone receiving its own page or so of text.  The text gives you a little background on how the stone is formed, where it’s found, etc.  The following text gives the viewpoints of authors Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian, each sharing their knowledge of the stones when used for their energetic purposes. 

I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not the sort to meditate with stones on my forehead, and although I’ve read some on the subject and find it pretty fascinating stuff, this isn’t my area of expertise by a long shot. But the book is just so much fun to flip through. Our house has little polished stones all over the place as it is, and we’ve been looking them up in the book and proclaiming, “This one helps you with organization!  Who knew?  I feel so bad I misplaced it for so long.”  

So whether you’re a stone healing enthusiast or you just love having polished rocks lined up on your bookshelf, you’re sure to get a real education picking up this book.  Simply getting a handle on one more fascet of nature’s diversity is really worth gaining.  And since rocks, plants, and even people are loaded with energy, electricity, atoms, minerals, and movement who’s to say there isn’t something more to it?  If anything else, stones always made me feel good as a kid.  Finding that special one, that one-and-only, putting it in my pocket and keeping it in an old shoe box in my closet for later study did something to make me feel grounded and connected to the earth, to God, to the universe even.  So when it comes to whether or not there is power of these lovely mineral hunks,  I certainly won’t be the first to cast stones.

Want to win your own copy of The Book of Stones?  One of my favorite book publishers, North Atlantic Books, is giving away one free copy to a dkMommy Spot reader.

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit North Atlantic Books and tell me what other book(s) you like there. (***You may enter once a day.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, and/or Subscribe! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re a subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Feel free to do all four to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Friday, August 7, 2009, to enter.

Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art – Book Giveaway

18. June 2009 · 146 comments · Categories: Books, Contest · Tags: , ,

Click Here for Giveaways & Coupon Codes

Add your giveaways

Aromatherapy.  The first time I heard this word was a few decades ago.  I was young and imagined some flowery woman floating around making people smell apple pie in a bottle so they’d reconnect with their childhood and magically be cured of all their ills.  Now that I’ve worked with essential oils myself, I know this isn’t really the way it works.  And, although I’m not an aromatherapist, I have yet to float around with flowers in my hair whilst working with my collection of essential oils.  Whether you know know enough to enjoy tinkering with oils yourself, or are still unsure about what it all means, you’ll find Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green to be a very intriguing read. 

Aromatherapy gives more than just a brief history and a smattering of aromatic uses.  They have built a fun-to-use manual loaded with information on everything from aromatherapy’s history and how the sense of smell works to essential oil use for health, blending your own perfumes, even chemistry!  I loved learning all the how-to’s for blending different oils and using them therapeutically.  And the history of perfume formulas, including an ancient recipe for anointing oil used by Moses?  Fascinating!

I don’t distill my own essential oils, but someday I’d love to do so, especially if I can use some of the herbs I grow and wildcraft.  Aromatherapy includes a section on extracting essential oils, and even provides the info on how to make a homemade essential oil still.  This can be a rather complicated process, but it’s nice to get an overview of the different methods, perhaps try a little on your own, and decide whether or not you really want to delve into the craft even more.

This fantastic book is great for perusing, or if you want to get more serious, reading straight through.  I found the information to be helpful, insightful, and downright fun to learn.  The publishers of Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art, Crossing Press, are kindly giving away one copy of this fascinating book to one of you!  ($19.95 retail,  3.57 on Amazon.)

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just tell me what you’ve experienced with aromatherapy.  Perhaps you only know a little and want to dig in deeper.  Or maybe you’re considering making a career change and really digging in!  Tell me about it.  (You may enter once a day.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, and/or Subscribe! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  Just leave a separate comment for each, giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re a subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Feel free to do all four to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Thursday, June 25, 2009, to enter.

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