MEDIA REVIEWS
Dancing in the Unknown/book
Edited by Betsy Chasse
BC Books
The cover of this inspiring book features
Betsy Chasse as a vibrant, be-dazzled, ethereal
figure leaning back into.... well, the unknown.
She represents everyone who ever took a leap
of faith, even if they had no clue where they
would land.
Chasse is a prolific author and filmmaker,
best known for the iconic What the Bleep Do
We Know?! This compilation of true stories
features writers who talk about the moments
when they asked the question, “What happens
when we jump off the ledge?”
Chasse sets the stage on which she ushers
readers to vicariously dance with the con-
tributing authors. She breaks down the word
knowledge into its component parts know and
ledge, inviting readers to acknowledge that
when we seek to know, we teeter precariously
at the edge. It can be frightening or enlighten-
ing, un-nerving or invigorating.
The collection’s articulate authors range
from attorneys to coaches, sales managers to
producers, teachers to business owners, and
from photographers to therapists. Each of
them shares their steps in the process of actu-
ally making that jump. The chapters cover a
multitude of topics, including: how the ego can
be used to elevate and not separate us, how
our children can become our teachers, ways
that commitment in the face of uncertainty
reaps rewards, and taming the inner dragon.
Dancing in the Unknown concludes with
Chasse’s invitation to become a mover and
shaker in your own life, as you immerse your-
self in the music that only you can hear and
the drumbeat/heartbeat that is unique to you.
Reviewed by Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW, a creative
journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, radio
host, and the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To
Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary,
among other work: opti-mystical.com
Yoga for Diabetes/bookby Rachel Zinman
Monkfish PublishingI wish I had this book when I was diag-
nosed with type one diabetes 25 years ago. My
journey with yoga and Ayurveda as a path to
self-healing is in line with the teachings offered
in Yoga for Diabetes by learned yogini Rachel
Zinman. Yoga has been a life-saver for me,
emotionally, physically and as a consistent
way to connect to spirit daily.
Reading this will make it easy for you too,
to live better, healthier and longer with a more
gentle, loving and compassionate attitude.
Whether you are living with diabetes or you
are a caregiver, this is a sweet book (no pun
intended).
What does one do when faced with a
lifelong illness that will need to be managed
rather than cured? Rachel tells it like it is. She
describes what it is like to live with diabetes
and how to integrate a daily yoga and medita-
tion practice as well as targeted Ayurvedic
lifestyle suggestions. Rachel reminds us that
even people with a similar diagnosis need to
understand their unique approach to managing
moods, diet, and connection to spirit through
food, postures, mantras, breath, lifestyle hab-
its, and meditations.
I loved the inviting color photos of the
three different yoga practitioners set in three
breathtaking nature settings in Australia. The
A-Z guide to asana offers instructions on how
to move in and out of poses safely.
The stress of living with a chronic condi-
tion requires you to dig deep and keep some
self-care tools handy. Use them. Your nervous
system will thank you, and your physical
response to insulin, food intake, and glandular
balance will co-operate too.Reviewed by Sarah Tomlinson, who works with the
Ancient Art of Yantras and Ayurvedic Astrology
and is the author of the Yantra Bliss Oracle Deck,
Nine Designs for Inner Peace, and the newly released
Coloring Yantras: sarahyantra.comHow to Survive Your Childhood
Now That You’re an Adult/bookby Ira Israel
New World LibraryHow to Survive Your Childhood Now
That You’re an Adult is both scholarly and
accessible. Ira Israel is a prolific and accom-
plished psychotherapist, meditation teacher,
and author. He graduated from University of
Pennsylvania and subsequently studied for 25
years in Paris, India, Los Angeles, Connecticut,
and Santa Barbara. Israel earned graduate de-
grees in philosophy, psychology, and religious
studies (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Kabbalah).
He has also studied and sat with a long list
of spiritual masters like Fred Luskin, Jack
Kornfield, Rodney Yee, and Richard Rosen, to
name just a few.
Ira Israel has spent his adult life traveling
freely between the worlds of academia and
spirituality, which explains how he is able to
deliver this work. Driven by the breadth of his
education and experience, Israel lays down a
comprehensive and well-argued analysis of the
suffering (resentment, addiction, neurosis, et
cetera) around our inherent longing for uncon-
ditional love. He adeptly deconstructs the many
layers of influence—from human nature to a
system of complex structures and customs—
that cause us to drift from authenticity. Leaning
into his deep knowledge of Eastern spirituality,
he then offers a path to wholeness by redefining
authenticity in terms of five tenets: attachment,
at-onement, attunement, presence, and congru-
ence. The uniqueness of Israel’s approach does
not lie solely in his content, but also in the
way in which he delivers it. You can add to his
credentials a firm grasp of popular culture and
idiom that make his style relevant, relatable,
and irresistibly personal.Reviewed by Zoë Kors, a writer, speaker, and coach:
zoekors.com.