Aveda Rituals
A Daily Guide To Natural Health & Beauty

by Horst Rechelbacher
Founder of Aveda

Horst Rechelbacher was the founder of Aveda, a company that was famous for manufacturing pure and natural hair, skin and body care products based on the traditional herbal wisdom of native cultures from around the globe.  In addition Horst founded Intelligent Nutrients.  He has gained worldwide recognition as an environmentalist and activist who promote human rights, organic farming and other issues.

Although this is classified as a health and beauty book, it is not a book about hair care.  At first this seemed a little ironic to me since I have also related Aveda to hair care.  There are 10 pages about very general hair care in the Good Hair Care chapter.  For the most part though this book is more about building a life that is designed to create and maintain balance for the mind and body.  It is aimed at educating in the areas of Ayurveda, aromatherapy and other balance oriented traditions.

A good way to summarize this book is to say that it is a book that touches on environmental and activist issues in the health and overall beauty worlds.  It presents a daily regimen of nurturing rituals that promote health, happiness and beauty both for the individual and for the world around them.

While I enjoyed the general tips in the Good Hair Care section, I have to say that my favorite chapter was the Herbal Renewal chapter which talks about aromatherapy and what a major impact it can have on our lives.

I am a big believer in the power of aromatherapy and enjoyed all the new insights that this chapter provided.  This chapter has a wonderful table of essential oil properties that can be utilized to snap you out of a lethargic daze.  I have actually kept little bottles of peppermint essence in my own office to keep my alert and energized.  So I was pleased to see that peppermint is one of many aromas that is recommended to provide a great wake-up call.

Contents Of The Book

Listed below are all the sections and chapters in the book:

The AVEDA Mission
Acknowledgements
Introduction:  Becoming Connected:  You, The Community, The Earth

Part One - The Basics

Relativity
The ABCs of TLC:  A Nurturing, Conscious Approach to Self-Health Care
Ayurveda's Individual Incentives
Good Vibrations:  The Chakras or Vibrational Zones

Part Two - The Daily Rituals

A Day In The Life:  A Sample Day of Practices
Oh What A Beautiful Morning
Welcoming Every New Day
Healing Touch:  Techniques For Self-Massage
Graceful Motion
Skin Deep
Good Hair Days
Midday Live:  Refocusing and Refreshing Throughout The Day
Nourished by Nature:  Balance, Organics, Supplements
Herbal Renewal:  What Pure Aromatherapy Really Is
Day Is Done: Evening Relaxation
Clean and Simple:  Cleansing Body and Mind
To Love, Honor, Cherish, and Massage
Reflections:  Mirroring and Meditation

Part Three - Special Care For Special Days

Restoring Balance:  Energy Healing
Seasonal Beauty and Celebration:  Health and Beauty Trhough the Seasons
Glossary of Essential Oils
Resources
index

Do I recommend this book?  While I personally enjoyed this book, I am not sure that it is right for everyone.  It is certainly a great book for anyone who loves everything about Aveda, who is a firm believer in finding harmony and balance.  

While it is not your traditional beauty book, it does have lots of general beauty suggestions and ideas.  If you are interested in aromatherapy, herbs and balance in your life for mind, body and spirit you will definitely enjoy this book.

Buy The Book

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Owl Books (October 15, 1999)
ISBN: 0805058001