We have divided the material into four main sections, loosely structured to guide you from the basics to more advanced considerations within the field of wellness. Move at whatever pace feels right to you.

Part I, Starting Points, will orient you for the journey ahead by helping you bring what you already know into conscious awareness and by encouraging you to set goals for the results you want to achieve. This section will supply you with a handful of essential tools you can use along the way, such as ways to handle stress and strong emotions. You will learn the art of inhabiting your body, developing self awareness and self appreciation so you can become your own best friend, teacher, and healer.

Part II is called Loosening Up and is designed to help you gently and gradually stretch into your new choice for a wellness lifestyle. You will be invited and encouraged to lighten up through laughter, therapeutic touch, meditation, and other soft exercises. Good health need not be a grim proposition, but rather can be nurtured and maintained with simple and enjoyable approaches.

In Part III, we get down to the business of Taking Action. By now you will be limbered up and ready to take initiative in areas that require a bit more energy or a stronger commitment - like starting an exercise program, restructuring your relationship to food, building a support system, or changing your job. Not everything in this section will be useful to everyone, but there is surely something for everybody.

Part IV is called One Step Beyond. It provides a more complete understanding of wellbeing. Have you ever considered the powerful effects of sound or silence in structuring a healthy environment, the healing power of forgiveness, or the value of living with death as a friend and advisor? This section presents you with possibilities for enhancing your spiritual life. Because the journey to wellness is an integrated process, you’ll notice cross-references in the margins that lead you from one chapter to other chapters. If a subject we’re discussing in chapter three is discussed in more detail or in a slightly different manner in chapters seven, ten, and twenty-three, we want you to be able to find those discussions easily. Still want more? For those who wish to pursue this subject of wellness further, the resources section will give you ways to find more in-depth information.

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