"Healing Moves: How to Cure, Relieve and Prevent Common Ailments with Exercise," offers easy, practical advice on using “movement as medicine” and features nine unique programs to treat more than 20 disorders. Even small steps offer big health benefits, note the Krucoffs, who explain how simple strategies--such as taking a daily walk--can help some diabetics come off insulin and some hypertensives quit their high-blood pressure medication. Regular exercise can lower cholesterol, ease arthritis pain, lift depression, relieve anxiety and help asthmatics breathe more easily. It can slow the aging process and boost both the length and quality of life.

Grounded in solid, Western science, but embracing Eastern concepts of healing, this authoritative guide explains the underlying mechanism of each ailment and offers specific, detailed exercise prescriptions tailored to relieving symptoms, combating the cause and activating the bodies’ own defenses.

Since technology has engineered movement out of our lives, it's essential to add some physical activity back into our days, say the Krucoffs, who note that the average American adult now expends about 800 fewer calories per day than his or her parents did--the equivalent of 4 glazed donuts. Our society's "push-button, drive-through, remote-control mentality" is one reason why we're experiencing an epidemic of inactivity-related diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and geriatric frailty, they write. As evidence, they cite a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which says our country's "epidemic of inactivity" is responsible for an estimated 250,000 deaths per year. The sad fact is that, although most Americans know physical activity is good for them, less than 25 percent of adults (and an alarmingly low percentage of children) exercises regularly, and only about 30 percent of physicians effectively counsel patients about getting regular physical activity.

RESTORE RECESS: A recurring theme in HEALING MOVES is the importance of taking the "work" out of workout and recapturing the joy of movement we felt as children, when recess was our favorite subject. "Physical activity is much more than a health responsibility, like brushing our teeth," the Krucoffs write. "It’s a pleasurable, precious gift that people can give themselves." In our stress-filled world, "taking 30 minutes each day to be present in your body, to breathe deeply, and to propel yourself through space is one of life's great joys, enriching body, mind and spirit." Exercise is a potent form of medicine, they write, "and it's something only you can do for yourself."

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Carol Krucoff, R.Y.T., is an award-winning journalist and fitness expert. The founding editor of the Health Section of The Washington Post, she is a frequent contributor to national magazines such as Reader’s Digest, Prevention and Yoga Journal. Her syndicated column, “Bodyworks,” ran in newspapers around the nation for 12 years, and she practices what she preaches. A registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, Carol teaches yoga in a variety of settings, including a class for seniors at the Gero-Fit gerontology rehabilitation program at the Durham, Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham, N.C. She is certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise and serves as a spokesperson for that organization. As a second-degree black belt and Sensei, Carol taught karate for four years.

Mitchell Krucoff, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.C.C.P. is an associate professor of cardiology at Duke University Medical Center and is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in several areas including alternative and complementary therapies in patients with heart disease and computer-assisted heart monitoring. His clinical trials include patients and hospitals in five continents, and he lectures globally on these and related topics. Author of more than 100 publications in the cardiology literature and book chapters in medical texts, Mitchell is Senior Editor of the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine and past Editor-in-Chief of the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. He is lead author of the American College of Cardiology’s new consensus statement on spirituality and healing, and his work in this area has received international academic and media attention--including articles in “O, The Oprah Magazine,” Talk and Time Magazine, segments on ABC-TV’s “20/20” and A & E’s “Special Report. A member of the Executive Faculty of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Mitchell is Director of the Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) Research Laboratory, Director of Interventional Devices Clinical Trials, and Director of the Ischemia Monitoring Laboratory.

© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com