By Karen McCarraher
Breath For The Soul, Self-Care Steps to Wellness, by Dr. Jan Patterson and Phyllis Clark Nichols addresses the issues of stress, anxiety, depression, and grief and provides steps for self-care. Dr. Patterson has also researched the field of integrative medicine which includes complementary and holistic therapies with conventional ones.
The four pillars of self-care are breath, movement, nutrition and spirit. The importance of mindfulness, the practice of being present in the moment and undistracted by what happened yesterday or worries about what will happen later today, is explained. The authors discuss intentional breathing and give instruction on how to accomplish this. They enumerate the harmful effects of stress and give practical advice on attaining peace. They review the adverse effects of anxiety and again provide self care steps to “calm.” Dealing with depression and grief can be overwhelming; but there are self-care steps to enable one to overcome these feelings.
This book is extremely well written and full of useful and practical advice to help us lead calm, peaceful, satisfying lives. Short prayers and relevant bible quotes are interspersed throughout the chapters to echo the advice given. The back of the book even has healthy recipes to help us feed our bodies properly. As far as I am concerned, this book is the whole enchilada.
Phyllis Clark Nichols is a writer with a strong faith and love for nature, art, music and ordinary people. She tells redemptive tales using the imaginative residents of small-town communities. She is the author of eleven books. Phyllis grew up in southern Georgia. In addition to her writing, Phyllis is s seminary graduate, pianist, soprano soloist and cofounder of a national cable network.
Dr. Jan E. Patterson is an integrative medicine and infectious disease physician who has been in academic medical practice for over thirty years. She graduated from McGovern Medical School in Houston, did a residency in internal medicine in Nashville and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Yale University. She and her husband are on the faculty of Long School of Medicine in Texas. She completed a master’s degree in health care at Harvard and has continued to provide care for patients throughout her career. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, two sons and two dogs.
Breath for the Soul is published by Healing Leaves Publishing and available from www.drjanpatterson.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.