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Review - BODY ECOLOGY: The Book
By Roe
Gallo, M.A.
Book Review by Jennifer Ransom
"I teach a comprehensive approach to total health which
emphasizes personal awareness and independence, and my goal is for all my clients to learn
to reach their maximum potential," states Roe Gallo in "Body Ecology", and
in reading this book, we can reap the same benefits for ourselves. Hers is a prime example
of the healer who has healed herself, as she proves with her own story of her struggle and
victory over chronic ill health. Her methods incorporate nutrition, exercise and positive
mental activity, the basics we all know of, yet Roe's vision of health transcends the
individual to include the earth itself, as she points out the parallels between our human
body and the "body" of our planet. An example is the stress that eating animal
products places on our bodies, and its parallel stress on the environment of the planet,
e.g. the cutting down of the rain forests for cattle grazing. The ultimate goal, as Roe
sees it, is our alignment with nature, resulting in a healthy balance and a new beginning
for us and the Earth. The first step in accomplishing this is our understanding and
connection with our own bodies. The structures and functions of all our bodily systems are
explained in detail, clarifying the need for balance and homeostasis; this is indeed an
ecology of the body. A thorough explanation of exercise physiology further expands the
reader's understanding of the "magnificent machine" that is the body, and lays
the foundation for the chapters on nutrition and physical training. The process of
transitioning to a healthier diet is eased by suggestions on making optimal choices,
pointing the way to a diet consisting of mostly or all fruits and leafy greens. Recipes
are given that make the changeover most appetizing! The chapter on training makes the
point that exercise is something that should be integrated into our lives, not confined to
gym visits: "The principle here is that one's own body is a body gym!" The
advantages of doing isotonic exercises are explained, e.g. as a positive stress-relieving
and body-building measure when stuck in a traffic jam. A series of illustrated yoga and
isotonic exercises are given to get us started working with our own body gyms. In the
final chapter, "The Mind Gym", the techniques of affirmations, visualization,
reframing and rescripting are explored as ways to create powerful self-image and reprogram
the subconscious for success that will grow to create "a continuous positive circle
of self-communication". Here again, Roe presents examples from her experience. This
make the lessons much more real and vivid, assisting us in applying them to our own lives.
Visit Roe
Gallo's web site here! |
