The Seven Circles
Indigenous Teachings for Living Well
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In this revolutionary self-help guide, two beloved Native American wellness activists offer wisdom for achieving spiritual, physical, and emotional wellbeing rooted in Indigenous ancestral knowledge.
When wellness teachers and husband-wife duo Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins founded their Indigenous wellness initiative, Well for Culture, they extended an invitation to all to honor their whole self through Native wellness philosophies and practices. In reclaiming this ancient wisdom for health and wellbeing—drawing from traditions spanning multiple tribes—they developed the Seven Circles, a holistic model for modern living rooted in timeless teachings from their ancestors. Luger and Collins have introduced this universally adaptable template for living well to Ivy league universities and corporations like Nike, Adidas, and Google, and now make it available to everyone in this wise guide.
The Seven Circles model comprises interconnected circles that keep all aspects of our lives in balance, functioning in harmony with one another. They are:
Food
Movement
Sleep
Ceremony
Sacred Space
Land
Community
In The Seven Circles, Luger and Collins share intimate stories from their life journeys growing up in tribal communities, from the Indigenous tradition of staying active and spiritually centered through running and dance, to the universal Indigenous emphasis on a light-filled, minimalist home to create sacred space. Along the way, Luger and Collins invite readers to both adapt these teachings to their lives as well as do so without appropriating and erasing the original context, representing a critical new ethos for the wellness space. Each chapter closes with practical advice on how to engage with the teachings, as well as wisdom for keeping that particular circle in harmony with the others.
With warmth and generosity—and 75 atmospheric photographs by Collins throughout—The Seven Circles teaches us how to connect with nature, with our community, and with ourselves, and to integrate ancient Indigenous philosophies of health and wellbeing into our own lives to find healing and balance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Luger and Collins, founders of the health website Well for Culture, outline an approach to wellness rooted in Native American ancestral practices. The husband-and-wife duo draw on their Indigenous heritage to detail a lifestyle model called the "Seven Circles of Wellness"—consisting of ceremony, community, food, land, movement, sacred space, and sleep—geared toward helping readers "build strength" and "honor your whole self through Indigenous wellness philosophies and practices." The authors explain how to incorporate each principle into daily life, suggesting, for example, that readers can prioritize movement by walking around during work calls and keeping exercise equipment in one's living area for quick workouts. Noting that spending time outdoors boosts the immune system and reduces stress, Luger and Collins recommend connecting with the land by exercising outside and reading up on local flora and fauna. The authors share how they weave the principles into their own lives, such as when Luger writes that she embraces rest by limiting her social media use to get "closer to living how my ancestors lived." The authors' intimate look at how they have adapted ancestral traditions for modern practice illuminates, and they offer a thoughtful discussion of how readers who are not Native American can adopt these principles without appropriating the culture. Wisdom abounds in this stimulating offering.
Customer Reviews
Healing
Truly gives an insight on the many indigenous teachings you grew up with to help center your spirit soul and mind once again.