The Art of Effortless Living by Ingrid Bacci, Ph.D.
The Art of Effortless Living is that rare book that has grown more relevant with time since it was first published nine years ago. The author, Ingrid Bacci, was ahead of the pack in bringing us so many ways to reconcile mind, spirit and body. A close re-read rewards one immediately with a wealth of wisdom and techniques for letting go of stress and regaining mental, spiritual, emotional and physical well being.
Bacci’s story of her own devastating illness and the path she took to regain her health is only the start — the framework for what drove her to radically change her life, retrain as a healer and master a variety of modalities for helping others. The Art of Effortless Living incorporates several methods for achieving health and regaining emotional balance, including the Alexander technique, meditation, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, pressure point work, guided visualizations and more. If all of this sounds complicated, don’t worry — in keeping with the theme of the book, Bacci has made it all easy to understand by offering case studies that are illustrative of common problems that we all face and her innovative methods for solving them.
So why is all of this more relevant than ever? Because one of the key themes in The Art of Effortless Living is the conflict between being vs. doing, and how we live in a culture that discourages inner growth and lauds constant achievement, materialism and external measures of well being. That is as true today as it was nine years ago, but in a time of wide spread job lay-offs, foreclosures and potential impoverishment, all the props — the “crutches” of our self-esteem — are being knocked away. For many, the real crisis is going to be in examining their old assumptions of what defines success, and then identifying all the places in their bodies where they are holding the old attitudes and beliefs that are causing them stress and making them ill.
And that is where Bacci excels. The author makes the case for how our society actually rewards stressful living and asks, “What is it about our culture that simultaneously cultivates stress-based disease, emotional dysfunction, impoverished relationships, limited creativity and spiritual malaise?” And then she answers the question, and gives us a crash course in how to let go of the old assumptions, fears and limiting beliefs — for above all, this book is about letting go — effortlessly.
For more information, please visit www.ingridbacci.com
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