Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide, Revised and Updated Edition
- ISBN13: 9780609806944
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A decade ago, Deepak Chopra, M.D., wrote Perfect Health, the first practical guide to harnessing the healing power of the mind, which became a national bestseller. The book described how breakthroughs in physics and medicine were underscoring the validity of a 5,000-year-old medical system from ancient India known as Ayurveda (“the knowledge of life span” in Sanskrit). Perfect Health went on to describe how to apply the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda to everyday life. In celebration of this classic
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An Ayurvedic Sampler,
….Deepak Chopra is a prolific and successful author. He also creates great titles–who can resist the offer of “Perfect Health?” I checked it out at the library because I was compelled to see if the book lived up to the title. Chopra introduces us to what he calls the “quantum mechanical human body.” His theory is that “by treating the underlying quantum mechanical body itself, Ayurveda can bring about changes far beyond the reach of conventional medicine, confined as it is to the level of gross physiology.” Sounds good to me. Let’s get to those devils, the details. First we take tests to learn which body type we are, Vata, Pitta, or Kapha, or a combination thereof. We learn that these names also refer to doshas, “metabolic principles.” By implication, we surmise that we must keep these doshas in balance or our health will suffer. We learn about the twenty-five gunas, or fundamental qualities. We learn about the subdoshas. We address How To Balance Your Doshas: diet, exercise, daily routine, seasonal routine. Then we get right to it, Opening the Channels of Healing. This encompasses panchakarma, meditation, primordial sound, pulse diagnosis, marma therapy, bliss technique, aroma therapy and Gandharva music therapy. That’s where my problems with this book began. After convincing me of the value of meditation I learned that “meditation needs to be learned from a qualified instructor, it cannot be learned from a book.” Primordial sound, I read, “is a medical treatment taught by a qualified Ayurvedic doctor after a complete diagnosis of the patient’s condition.” Then “any patient who comes in for a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor is routinely given pulse diagnosis.” “Most Ayurvedic clinics offer a special marma therapy that includes instruction for home treatment.” As for the bliss technique, “Instruction is by a qualified teacher who is also an Ayurvedic physician and takes about an hour; a complete medical evaluation precedes the actual teaching.” Finally, at aroma therapy, we find something we can do for ourselves, but we are pointed to page 317, where we may find sources for oil, aroma pots and diffusers. Ghandharva music also requires no instruction beyond the book, except of course we are told to buy the tapes and CDs “from the sources listed on page 317.” The marketing continues with Ayurvedic herbs, called rasayana. After selling us on the value of same, “You can obtain further information regarding these rasayanas by writing to Quantum . . .” We are also encouraged to drink teas appropriate to our body types–yes, from sources on page 317. My biggest disappointment, though, came in the section on diet. I learned that I should not be eating many of the items that have kept me healthy for sixty-five years, onions, garlic, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, yogurt, cheese and eggs, and that I should be drinking cow’s milk which I’ve not touched in decades, and I should be eating ghee, which is butter with the water cooked out of it. Chopra writes that I should minimize raw foods, which flies in the face of everything I have learned about food over the last many decades.
This book contains some reasonable ideas. The rub is that the book buyer gets only a few ideas they can use and a lot of ideas for which the author tells us we need an Ayurvedic doctor or products. As usual in his books, he provides scientific tidbits, sensational anecdotes and little scientific data.
Ayurvedic theory and practice dates back in India more than 5,000 years. Chopra urges us that Ayurvedic practitioners and practices will give us longevity and perfect health. Ayurveda is “the science of life” or, as Chopra prefers, “the knowledge of life span.” Others say it is the science of longevity. I checked that out. According to The World Health Organization, India ranks 134th of the 191 countries recognized for “healthy life expectancy.” (The USA ranks 24th.) There are other reasons why Indian health statistics are so poor, but it is difficult to take seriously an ancient practice that seems to have failed in its native country. I think that Deepak Chopra is an essentially good person who has been caught up in the American mania for fame and fortune. I suggest that our money is better spent on books that give instructions we can follow without travelling to a doctor’s office or buying exotic foods, herbs and essences.
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|Advertisement or Introduction to Ayurveda?,
I purchased this book in hopes of finding a book that would be an introduction the the science of Ayurveda for the students at my yoga studio who were unfamiliar with the topic. Chopra presented the information in terms a Westerner might easily grasp. He succeded, from my point of wiew, in translating some of the more esoteric ideas and ways of looking at the interplay between nature, our minds and our bodies.
My main frustration with the book was that it seemed to be very much an published advertisement for the Chopra Center in La Jolla, CA. For instance, he would suggest a person of a particuar constitution would benefit from drinking an herbal tea specific to their “type.” But rather than mention the herbal ingredients in the tea, he would suggest it could be purchased from the website listed. As well, suggestions for aromatherapy as a support of health mentioned no specific essential oils, but once again, directs the reader to a website from which they can make apurchase. To my disappointment, this theme continued throughout the book.
If you are looking to simply get an overview of what Ayurveda is in clear consise language, this is a good STARTING point. For more specifics, David Frawley and Vasant Lad have much more to offer in the many books they have authored on the topic.
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|Perfect Health: At What Cost?,
Perfect Health offers a good introduction to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of healing introduced to the larger American audience by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1970′s and popularized by Chopra himself. Chopra presents the ancient healing art in a modern idiom, blending insights from the ancient Ayurvedic sages with modern-day information on quantum physics, diet, and lifestyle. He presents a perfectly accessible tool for any reader who is interested in learning more about Ayurvedic methods for influencing health. A body-type questionnaire in the beginning of the book sets the stage for the information that follows. By following the listed recommendations for your body-type (including exercise and diet) Chopra believes you will improve your health dramatically.
My only concern with this book, and Chopra’s books in general, is the subtle way he blends advertisements for Maharishi Ayurvedic services and products in with the information. He presents the benefits of Transcendental Meditation, for example, without offering any insights on how to perform the meditation. Want to learn? Chopra advises you to call your local Maharishi Ayurveda clinic. It maybe true that TM has to be taught face to face, but Chopra’s veiled advertisements extend to almost every suggested healing exercise in the book, from aromatherapy to primordial sound techniques, to specific herbs that can be mail-ordered from the Maharishi Ayurveda center. To be fair, he does offer helpful diagrams on yoga postures as well as very specific diet techniques, but after reading the inspiring book, Quantum Healing and now Perfect Health, I have to admit: I am a little disappointed in Chopra’s style. But I guess I should have known, perfect health, like most things in life, is not free.
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