In This Issue:

• Where Sexual Fear and Fantasy Collide

  Sexuality that is simultaneously forbidden and commanded both terrifies and titillates. These dynamics are not just fiction. Our collective sexuality is replete with confused sex acts that should never have occurred.

• Surfing for a Healthy Pregnancy

  For a pregnant woman, California’s cool ocean waters are a welcome relief from heightened body temperature, anxiety and fluctuating hormones, and the buoyancy of salt water lightens the extra weight you’re carrying. But there are health benefits as well.

• Book—Consolations

  Midway through Sister Bridget’s story, I began to wonder if there could possibly be a satisfying end to the book, and indeed, that is symptomatic of this nun’s dilemma.

• Book—The Warrior’s Path

  This insightful work can serve as a guide for the practicing yogi in rethinking ways of putting time-honored precepts into practice, in yoga and in life.

• Book—One Spirit Medicine

  One Spirit Medicine offers readers a multi-layered wellness guide for the 21st century in the form of an easy-to-understand synthesis of ancient wisdom and recent research.

• Book—Black Smoke

  To journey through the Ecuadorian jungle with composer and former Bard College music professor Margaret De Wys is to embark upon a first-rate adventure worthy of Indiana Jones.

• Drowning in Plastic

  Few issues are more concerning than the growth of plastic marine pollution. Surprisingly little is actually known about it, or its impact. Why?

• The Gadarene Swine

  The pièce de résistance here is a 12-course tasting menu that is Chef Lee’s culinary playground.

• Book—Parenting with Presence

  Stiffelman helps parents shine a light on the roots of their own reactionary outbursts, and suggests new ways to communicate so that everyone feels heard, respected and connected.

• Coconut Oil Lowers Blood Pressure

  While coconut oil and exercise independently lowered blood pressure, only the combination returned blood pressure levels to normal.