Review: Easy to read and put in use RIGHT AWAY (and for ladies of a certain age...)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 6, 2013
When someone recommended this book, knowing of my interest in alternative therapies as well as a desire to 'put my best face forward' as time marches on (across my face!), my fingers nearly burned up the keyboard to order it.This book could also be titled 'Chinese Medicine for Beginners'. Not only does it give a brief historical overview that is fascinating, but it's written in a style that is totally unpretentious and easy to read.There are 15 chapters,1.History of Chinese Medicine2.Qi3.Yin and Yang4.Meridians5.Tongue Diagnosis (you will race to the mirror reading this one!)6.The Five Elements7.Colors and Seasons8.Chinese Herbal Medicine9.Chinese Herbs10.Tastes11.Acupuncture12.Facial Acupuncture13.Qigong14.Facial Acupressure Massage15.Cleansing Soups (and Misc. soups)While that may give a tease as to what's waiting for you in this book, be prepared to be educated, astounded, and more pro-active about your health than ever before.Chicago, my hometown, has a thriving Chinatown. I used to go to a (long closed) store that had a small room in the back. An ancient man would peer at your eyes and examine your tongue, then scribble on a pad. Then you would take the 'prescription' to a clerk who would go to a wall lined with wooden drawers, and I mean the ENTIRE WALL. He would pull all sorts of seeds, herbs, bark, even horn and bone...and give you a paper bag with the oddities to be boiled into a tea at home. No one spoke a word of English.Since it closed, my only option was to seek out a D.O.M. and lets just say that where I live now, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine is not exactly on every corner.This book fills the gap!I've had a hard time with some of the other books I've read on Eastern health, reading them, absorbing very little, and never picking them up again. This one will have you making a shopping list and examining your face in a mirror. Trust me, you'll want a mirror handy as you read, because you'll be following along as she guides you through a facial massage you'd pay a fortune for at a spa.Yes, I'm talking WRINKLES and AGING, kids! For women of a certain age, like myself, lets cut to the chase, let me at the good stuff! (only half kidding here)Dr. Michelle O'Shaughnessy does cosmetic acupuncture. This book explains the how and why. And shows you, step by step, how to give yourself an uplifting (pun intended) facial.And I haven't even started to talk about why you'll be making a shopping list. Perhaps 'Lung and Spleen-Pancreas Soup' doesn't sound appetizing, how about Cauliflower soup with fresh ginger and lime? Same thing! Easy to follow recipes are included, even a soup for post surgery.The author is clearly passionate about health and beauty.Lucky for us, she is also generous. The spa 'secrets' are not only demystified, but shared.