Aroma is the primary language of trees. They talk with molecules, conspiring with one another, beckoning fungi, scolding insects and whispering to microbes. An olfactory journey which reboots our aromatic memory and reminds us of how our lives are intertwined with the wonder of trees. Each chapter summons a new aroma - leaf litter and wood smoke, pine resin and tannin, quinine and bay leaf - with a witty and erudite companion leading us through the woods and the world. The 13 essays explore the evocative scent of trees, from the smell of a book just printed as you open its first pages to the calming scent of Linden blossom and to the ingredients of a particularly good gin and tonic. The spikey, herbal odour of European juniper berries; a tang of lime juice from a tree descended from wild progenitors in the foothills of the Himalayas; bitter quinine from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, take a sip and feel the aroma and taste of three continents. Slow down, breathe in and experience a smell and allow your sensory awareness to activate and blossom. Sit under the boughs of a ponderosa pine. Roll a laurel leaf between your fingers or rest your hands upon the bark of your favourite tree. Inhale and share the story. 192pp, satin pagemarker.

Real-life stories of heartbreak and hope, direct from the very frontline of the NHS. London born Lysa left school to join a travelling circus, working in Europe for four years as an acrobat and ring-mistress. In a slight change of direction, she qualified first as a nurse and then as a paramedic and finally an emergency care practitioner, spending over 20 years saving lives in the UK. Today she is happiest in the mountains of Tuscany but still works shifts in a London Urgent Care Centre. A teenage boy lies on the pavement, bleeding from a stab wound. A distraught mum watches in mute shock as her daughter suffers a terrifying fatal asthma attack. A young girl is gang-raped and her stricken boyfriend takes an overdose. A disturbed young man flings himself in front of a speeding train at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Few people can imagine living in a world where such situations are part of everyday life. Yet for veteran paramedic Lysa Walder these and thousands of other emergency call outs are part of a day's work - scenes of tragedy, heroism, loss and horror, but also stories of triumph and humour. Working for over 20 years in the London Ambulance Service, the world's biggest and busiest free service for much of that time, she reveals what it's really like to work face-to-face with death and destiny every day. 282 page paperback.

'50 Signs, Symbols and Practices from the Natural World to Bring Inner Peace, Protection and Good Fortune', from a feather to a fallen leaf or a pebble on the beach, we are all drawn to collect natural charms. It is a living symbol of your wishes and this book is an invitation to collect and create your own natural charms for protection, personal insight, good fortune and healing. From a herb sprig or a fallen twiglet or shell, the book features folklore, symbology and practical rituals, alongside ancient crafts and modern techniques and how to use the gifts to make charms, talismans, amulets, altars and natural mandalas. Work with plants, trees, herbs, feathers, shells and stones, and for each there is a beautiful colour or line artwork and fact boxes for techniques such as making a altar to the sea, pressing seaweed and finding the significance of the crow for wisdom, the shadow self, courage, transformation and magic or the robin, a sign from a loved one in spirit. Exquisitely designed, full of colour and colourful pages, 240 natural pages full of wishes and blessings.

It seems that snoring is a voluntary habit and although you may not consciously have chosen to start it, you can certainly make the choice to stop. We are blissfully unaware of the real dangers of snoring and the consuming effects it has on every aspect of one's life. This book presents a targeted summary of the threats and a simple daily exercise routine to stop snoring altogether. It has an easy-to-follow action point plan which yield great results quickly with a five minute routine to life-hack yourself back into deep, restful sleep at night, and into a healthy, energetic and happy life every day. Looks at the risks of sleep apnoea, loss of concentration, impotence, poor memory, diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure and heart attacks. Snoring is no joke. 78 page paperback.

There are many styles of yoga today, but this slow and therapeutic approach at your own pace may help alleviate many serious illnesses, eye pressure issues, back pain or injury, a detached retina, heart problems, serious skeletal injuries, lymphedema and more. Simple practices to help relieve anxiety and depression, this is an excellent self help guide to cultivate the intelligence of both your body and mind. The habitual postures and movements of anxiety and depression can be corrected through the practices described here leading to dramatically improved mood states. 'They are close to miraculous and everyone can do them.' Psychologist and yoga teacher Bo presents a mind-body approach to healing, anxiety and chronic stress showing simple ways to understand your emotional patterns, the three main obstacles to emotional well-being. There are five tools for building emotional balance, restorative yoga sequences, breath and body-centred exercises to calm your mind and energise your body. Restorative yoga introduces meditation, active postures and breathing, slowing your heart rate and calming your nervous system and decreasing your worrying. Most are as simple as a reclining twist onto a big bolster and many use blankets under the neck and require little more than a wall or a soft blanket to lie on. 236pp in large softback.

Books about yoga tend to be modelled by people with perfect, slender bodies, but in fact yoga is for everyone and this inspiring book brings standard techniques within the range of people who may not be physically perfect specimens - that is, almost everybody. As Dianne Bondy points out in an introductory chapter, most people do not recognise themselves in the thin, flexible, white models who are the result of a carefully crafted aspirational image. The authors of this book firmly believe that all bodies are yoga bodies. Teachers should look at the language they use in relation to people's bodies, and learn how to adapt yoga poses to fit different shapes and sizes. For instance, the downward facing dog pose can be done with hands on the floor as the body raises to make a V, but the hands can also be supported with a yoga block, or you can reduce the bend further with hands on a chair. The Plank, another sun salutation, may be done with similar variations. Conversely, the Warrior Pose can be adapted to more challenging load-bearing stretches. The Lunge With Thigh Stretch is an intense pose for breath and endurance, and can be done against a wall or with a chair. The Head To Knee pose need not be done to its fullest extent, or may be modified with a bolster. Backbends are a good example of a movement which is difficult or impossible for some body shapes, but with yoga blocks supporting the thoracic spine the pressure on the back is relieved. Also challenging is the Bow Pose, with hands on the heels behind the downward facing body, and this can be modified by doing it only on one side or using straps. The Handstand and its many variations are among the most challenging moves, together with poses such as the Rock Star with a Kick or the Firefly, but there are ways of making it easier. The final sections include meditation practices using mantras, body appreciation meditation, and templates for creating sequences for your own practice. 254pp, softback, colour photos.

'This book confirms a nagging fear that the current cholesterol obsession may be utterly misguided'. Statins are the so-called wonder drugs widely prescribed to lower blood cholesterol levels. They also claim to offer unparalleled protection against heart disease. Believed to be completely safe and capable of preventing a whole series of other conditions, Statins are the most profitable drug in the history of medicine. In this groundbreaking book, GP Malcolm Kendrick exposes the truth behind the hype. He reveals that high cholesterol levels don't cause heart disease, a high fat diet, saturated or otherwise, does not affect blood cholesterol levels and that protection provided by statins is so small as to be not worth bothering about for most men and all women. He claims that statins have many more side effects than have been admitted to and he lambastes a powerful pharmaceutical industry and an unquestioning medical profession who create an atmosphere of stress and anxiety with the madcap concept of 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol when it is stress and anxiety that is the real cause of fatal heart disease. With clarity and wit, the book debunks assumptions on what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and diet and is an appeal to common sense. Controversial, fascinating, highly entertaining. 270pp, paperback with charts and diagrams.

'A Journal for Reflections on Life and Guidance for Settling Your Affairs', here is a step-by-step guide to creating a plan for your last days, and sharing your intentions with loved ones. Whether you have written your Will or not, this comprehensive and compassionate guide on the topic of death and dying will prompt reflection and personal stories, and the journal encourages you to look back and create a legacy of memories and life lessons to share with family. Beautifully designed, it provides space for vital information to manage your personal, financial and business affairs including personal information, key contacts, family, executor, primary care provider, healthcare power of attorney. It looks at who to contact and when, arrangements, obituary, Will, burial plans, readings, music and memorials. It looks at dependents and plans for their care, pets and vets, debts and life insurance, what beneficiaries can expect, where your important documents may be found, utilities and accounts and passwords and email accounts, your home, garden, vehicles, heirlooms, valuables, safes and your personal wishes and who has access to this book. The journal has an envelope for storing additional items and die-cut colourful tabs for ease of navigation like Last Wishes, Funeral Plans, Possessions, Finance, Contacts. 160pp, 19.5 x 25.3cm, colour pages.

From the bestselling author of 'Keto Diet', we explore effective ancient remedied for ADHD, diabetes, hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease and more. Long before the first pharmaceutical companies opened their doors, doctors treated people, not symptoms, and although we have become used to popping pills, many patients have had enough of dangerous side effects, risk of addiction, and over-prescribing. We are desperate for an alternative. Thankfully that alternative has been here all along in the form of ancient treatments used for centuries in traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic and Greek medicine and this book is the very first comprehensive layman's guide to bring together the very best of these time-tested practices. Dr Axe explores the foundational concepts of ancient healing - eating right for your type and living in sync with your circadian clock. Learn how traditional practitioners identified the root cause of each patient's illness, then treated it with medicinal herbs, mushrooms, CBD, essential oils and restorative mind-body practices. We learn to understand the five organ systems of TCM and prescriptions for 70+ conditions which occupy the last one third of the book. There are foods that nourish the neurological and cardiovascular systems like asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, chives, leafy green veg, red bell peppers and spinach and that is just the vegetables. Plus fruits, grains and starches, meat and fish, nuts and seeds, legumes, herbs and spices and other - coffee, dark chocolate and shiitake mushrooms. There are seven day eating plans to heal cardio-neuro (fire) imbalance starting with breakfast on Monday with a chocolate cherry shake, arugula salad with beets and goats cheese for lunch and grass-fed burger with steamed vegetables and tahini for dinner. The A-Z of conditions begin with acid reflux (GERD) with the top 5 ancient prescriptions being liquorice root, ginger, probiotics, apple cider vinegar or baking soda to neutralise stomach acid or fennel to reduce stomach inflammation - take 500mg two or three times daily. Part four is the recipe section with indication of diet types, dairy, gluten free, keto, low carb, paleo, vegan and vegetarian and some of the delicious side dishes include sweet potato and rutabaga fries and rice noodles with miso pesto. Large softback, 408pp, diagrams and line art.

'Go back to nature with the Japanese way of shinrin-yoku' or 'Forest bathing'. The term was coined in Japan in the 1980s and means to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the forest. Trees hold a place in so many people's hearts. We instinctively know that we feel better in nature. Japanese Professor Miyazaki offers a guide to the practice of forest bathing and the science behind it which reveals the healing power of trees and the benefits of going for a gentle walk in the woods, from strengthening the immune system, to immeasurably reducing stress levels and improving mood. Today we are over stimulated and stressed by our man-made world which makes our bodies more susceptible to disease. It is not surprising that attention is turning to shinrin-yoku as an example of a natural and low cost way to alleviate this problem and provide preventative medical effects that makes falling ill less likely. The author says 'I also remember wondering why my body felt so relaxed when I came into contact with soil, flowers and trees' and William Blake said 'The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way... But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.' Here is a practice that involves all the senses as you gently walk and breathe deeply, the essential oils of the trees absorbed by the body having an extraordinary effect on positive feelings, stress hormone levels, parasympathetic nervous activity, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity. A wonderful book by the leading expert in the field where science meets nature. 192 page illustrated paperback.