Immune System Activation: 2 (English and German Edition)

Outlines a twelve-step method for healing through immune-system stimulation, detailing methods of wholebody breathing, proper nutrition, and spiritual meditation, among others, that can help the body heal itself

Selby ( Finding Each Other ; The Holis tic Guide to Massage ) purports to serve a serious remedial purpose for grave maladies (cancer and AIDS) in this holistic treatment plan that leans heavily for its credibility on the immune system without seeming to understand or value its physiological workings. Asserting that stress and anxiety reduction, good nutrition, carefree lifestyle, meditation and spiritual healing are good for you ("we need to take an honest look at our own relationship with the ongoing present moment"), the author gives no proof that any of the above exert a clear and beneficial effect on the immune system. His dearth of facts is half-hidden by dropped names ("Nobel Prize-winner Rita Levi-Montalcini"; Hans Selye) that lend an unwarranted authority to what is, at best, a hodgepodge of flummery and, at worst, an empty promise to people afflicted with conditions beyond the reach of today's medicine.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Selby, a psychotherapist who has worked with medical practitioners in the area of psychoneuroimmunology, with the help of Luhmann, a specialist in neuropsychological research, offers exercises and other strategies intended to assist a sick person in mobilizing her or his inner resources against illness. Included are breathing exercises, guided imagery programs, and meditation. Aimed at a general audience, this would be suitable for public library collections in New Age medicine or alternative therapies.
- Judith Eannarino, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.