A Free Book from Richy K. Chandler and Singing Dragon

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During these troubling times, our mental health remains just as key as our physical well-being. Therefore, Singing Dragon is pleased to share the full contents of the latest book by Richy K. Chandler: What the Hell Just Happened?! – Comfort and Wisdom for When Your World Falls Apart.

This inspirational book helps readers overcome troubling times in their lives through vivid illustrations and positive affirmations. The book shows how you can face your past and embrace your future, and provides thoughtful tips to remind you of what you can be at your emotionally strongest and smartest. Continue reading →

Meet the Singing Dragon Author: David Hartmann

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As part of our Meet The Singing Dragon Author series, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced, and whom they would recommend their books. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using #MeetTheSDAuthor.

David Hartmann, author of The Principles and Practical Application of Acupuncture Point Combinations

How did you become interested in acupuncture?

I was originally going to be a physiotherapist or nurse, but life has a funny way of making sure you go in the direction you are supposed to. Three events ensured I became an acupuncturist instead. 1) In year 11 at school I had acupuncture for migraines and have not had a migraine since. 2) In year 12 I got great relief from stress with acupuncture. 3) In 1993 Mum was driving her car near Coffs Harbour (New South Wales, Australia) and her windscreen smashed. During the repairs she stumbled upon a brochure at a coffee shop for the Australian College of Natural Medicine (now Endeavour). We went for an interview and fell in love with the college. During my first semester as a student I went to the out-patient clinic for weekly treatment for severe depression. Acupuncture brought me out of the black pit and the rest is history. Continue reading →

Supporting Survivors Of Sexual Abuse – The Story Behind the Book

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Kicki Hansard is a certified birth and postnatal doula with experience in all aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting. Since 2002, she has been preparing couples for the arrival of their baby and supported many of them through the birth and postnatal period. Kicki is also a doula course facilitator and has trained over 850 aspiring doulas. Her new book, Supporting Survivors of Sexual Abuse Through Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Guide for Midwives, Doulas and Other Healthcare Professionals is published by Singing Dragon, and is out now.

How was the book born?

I guess the reason why I wanted to write this book was because I wanted to make a difference to survivors and to give them a way of putting into words what the maternity experience can be like for them.  It all happened quite by chance when Claire Wilson called me from Singing Dragon, asking if I knew anyone who would write a book about supporting survivors. She’d come across my name though a social media post following a talk I had given at a recent study day. I tried to think of a few midwives that I knew were focusing on this very topic and then Claire asked me if I would be interested in writing the book myself.  I came off the phone, having promised Claire I’d send her a proposal and that is how this book was born. Continue reading →

The Self-Care Guide to Surgery: An Interview with Noah Karrasch

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Singing Dragon speaks to Noah Karrasch, author of the brand new book, The Self-Care Guide to Surgery – a guide for people who have undergone (or who are about to undergo) surgery and what to do to aid recovery.

In the interview, we speak about preventing surgery and why we should be thinking about posture. Noah shares bodywork techniques to help our daily lives and advice for those facing imminent procedure.

Noah Karrasch is a licensed deep tissue massage therapist and holds a teaching degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He teaches CORE bodywork skills around the world. He is also author of: ‘BodyMindCORE Work for the Movement Therapist’, ‘Meet Your Body’, ‘Getting Better at Getting People Better’, and ‘Freeing Emotions and Energy Through Myofascial Release’.

Buy Noah’s books here

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Angela Walker Introduces: Case Studies in Personalized Nutrition

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 Angela Walker MSc NutMed, editor of Case Studies in Personalized Nutrition,  is an experienced nutritional therapist including 7 years with the award-winning Optimum Health Clinic. She has lectured and mentored at BSc level and has developed practitioner programmes on the clinical application of functional laboratory testing.

In this video, she introduces her newly published edited collection, a practical reference and teaching book of case studies for nutrition practitioners and other healthcare professionals, demonstrating how to apply the latest evidence-informed principles.

 

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The Self-Care Guide to Surgery: Mindful Movement for the New Year

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Mindful Movement, Where You Are

Most of us make those New Year’s resolutions: I’ll lose fifteen pounds, I’ll work out regularly, I’ll settle the old score, I’ll make more money, etc., etc. Too many of us don’t seem to get those resolutions to resolve into something new and better. In my head, one of the reasons for that is we set goals too ambitious, instead of setting smaller and more achievable ones. To that end, I’d like you to think about your expenditure of energy in terms of movement during the day. It seems to me that most of us don’t move nearly enough, and that when we finally do move we effort a bit too much in our desire to fix everything quickly. Neither of these ‘fixes’ will fix anything, and in fact, just may make things worse.

Let’s start with that second idea first: it’s a new year, and we’re going to trim off the fifteen holiday (or before) pounds, then we’re going to get the new wardrobe, then the new job, etc., etc. We set very lofty goals, then stop fairly quickly when we feel defeated by the goals we’ve set, and we begin to feel like a failure. How to change this? It’s simple, really. We merely set smaller and more achievable goals instead of lofty grand ones. Instead of forcing ourselves to lose fifteen pounds, why not focus on eating a bit healthier with more of the good foods – vegetables, fruits, fiber and more water in the diet? Without going kamikaze and feeling the need to monitor everything that goes through the lips, we can simply start being a bit mindful of the things we ingest, and mindfully and gratefully absorbing them and their nutrients. Continue reading →

A Podcast with Yoga Student Handbook Contributors

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L-R: Alison Leighton, Tarik Dervish, Sian O’Neill, Wendy Teasdill, Graham Burns

We recently met with contributors to the new Yoga Student Handbook, including Sian O’Neill, editor of the book and host of the discussion, as well as Tarik Dervish, Alison Leighton, Wendy Teasdill and Graham Burns. In this podcast, they share ideas and tips for the budding yoga student as well as seasoned yogis and yoga professionals.

In their discussion, the contributors touched on the history and philosophy of yoga, where to begin your yoga practice if you’re a beginner yogi, how to develop your home practice and when to consider teacher training. Although they’ve all contributed to the book, some of them have never met in person. This was a great opportunity for them to meet, get to know each other and exchange ideas.

Click below to listen to the discussion.

 

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Meet the Singing Dragon Author: Z’ev Rosenberg

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As part of our Meet The Singing Dragon Author series, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced, and who they would recommend their books to. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using #MeetTheSDAuthor.

Z’ev Rosenberg, author of Ripples in the Flow: Reflections on Vessel Dynamics in the Nàn Jing

How did you become interested in Chinese medicine and acupuncture?

My interest in Chinese medicine began in my teen years, when I started practicing yoga and macrobiotics at seventeen years old in New York, to which I continue to practice both disciplines today. This was in part to the “sixties revolution” where consciousness and ecology came in on the boot heels of the Beatle’s personal explorations. I took classes in shiatsu with Shizuko Yamamoto in New York and Boston, and opened macrobiotic centers in Boulder, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico after a stint in the natural food business in the early 1970’s. Continue reading →

Yoga Student Handbook: Yoga Journeys – Liz Lark

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Believing in its transformational power, Sian O’Neill has been practising yoga for over 15 years. The first book she edited for Singing Dragon, Yoga Teaching Handbook (Singing Dragon, 2017), was a great success – and with the publication of Yoga Student Handbook, Sian and the contributors share their tips and advice for yoga students and teacher trainees. In the second of three instalments about yoga journeys, Sian talks with Liz Lark, who has been teaching yoga for almost 25 years and has been a Board Member of Yogacampus since its inception in 2003.

We meet in Liz’s garden in Sussex. The garden is characterful and charming, with Turkish tiles above a pond, plentiful plants and artistic touches. Liz is as generous with her time as she is in her yoga classes, interspersing our conversation with many anecdotes and inspiring quotes (Liz’s memory for quotes from all sources is amazing).

How did you become interested in yoga?

A naturally sporty person, Liz Lark attended a yoga class as a teenager, where a teacher remarked (favourably) on how slowly she performed a simple movement of raising arms overhead – she was in the flow and enjoyed the coordination of movement and breath. Liz regularly returns to basics, although clearly an extremely proficient yoga practitioner, having taught yoga for over 20 years – ‘can I live in the present?’ She sees yoga ‘as a vehicle to explore creative expression, connect with the transcendent function with curiosity, without dogma, enjoying creative expression through ritual, singing, scent’. Continue reading →

Yoga Student Handbook: Yoga Journeys – Katy Appleton

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Believing in its transformational power, Sian O’Neill has been practising yoga for over 15 years. The first book she edited for Singing Dragon, Yoga Teaching Handbook (Singing Dragon, 2017), was a great success – and with the publication of Yoga Student Handbook, Sian and the contributors share their tips and advice for yoga students and teacher trainees. 

In the first of three instalments about yoga journeys, Sian talks with Katy Appleton, founder of appleyoga.

appleyoga is probably one of the better known brands in the yoga world in the UK today. Founder Katy Appleton, self-described as a ‘lover of life’ and ‘recovering control freak’, was a former professional ballet dancer with the English National Ballet. Running in the family, Katy’s mum practised yoga while pregnant, and Katy remembers being a new student and attending yoga classes with her mum as a very little girl. Yoga arrived in her life as an adult to counterbalance the extremities of performance while a professional dancer, and she would practise breath work and tools to help her rebalance and sleep after a performance.

As a student, Katy’s first teacher training was in Ibiza in the Sivananda tradition. Other key yoga influences in her life include well-known yoga teacher, Shiva Rea, whom Katy credits with broadening her understanding of yoga and in particular, vinyāsa krama (which can be interpreted as meaning ‘step by step progresion’). Katy became Shiva’s assistant, travelling with her and then becoming a mentor on Shiva’s teacher training. She has also dabbled with Ashtanga with David Swenson, and mentions other yoga friends/influences including Annie Carpenter and Tiffany Cruikshank.

Why did you decide to teach?

Katy describes her decision to teach as a calling. Indeed, that is a common theme in the chapter by Katy and co-author Natasha Moutran on building a yoga business in Yoga Teaching Handbook that it is important to know the ‘why’ behind starting your yoga business. Katy has clear values underlying appleyoga including honesty and humility. She believes in holding a safe space for people and quotes Maya Angelou: ‘People remember how you make them feel’. For Katy, yoga offers a space that is ‘tangible and palpable that is touched when practising yoga’. She describes yoga as a ‘homecoming’ which offers a chance for the nervous system to relax, a place beyond the internet and understanding from books. She believes yoga can offer an anchor from which to move around in life. Continue reading →