08/29/2022
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. (Oct.)
“A life-changing holistic guide to wellness rooted in empowerment, resiliency, and ‘good medicine.’ This book is for any human being searching for wellness solutions in a chaotic world, a true antidote to colonization.” — Vina Brown, Indigenous Scholar, Entrepreneur, Artist, and Professor of Indigenous Studies at Northwest Indian College
“The Seven Circles is a true innovation in Indigenous thought; it brings our shared heritage and traditional teachings to life. Truly inspiring. Readers will find their journey to be a motivating guide for self-transformation.” — Taiaiake Alfred, Mohawk Philosopher
“This is an essential guide for anyone who feels excluded from wellness as it’s defined today, and anyone who wants to inject meaning back into practices that have come to be primarily about looking well rather than feeling well.” — Oprah Daily
“While the term ‘wellness’ has been co-opted and diluted by (primarily white) social media influencers in recent years, Luger and Collins are recentering the conversation around how to use Indigenous cultural values, foods, and modalities of movement as tools for spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional healing.” — Vanity Fair
“[Two of the] faces in the health and wellness scene that are pushing for inclusivity, justice, and kindness, toppling old conventions to make their own…Luger and Collins rewrite modern narratives regarding Native health while addressing complex histories and ongoing disparities.” — Outside magazine
“Spellbinding. This may be the first book I’ve ever read that made me stop and decide, “I’m making this change now!” Seven Circles opened my eyes to a way of life that is tested by time, guided by nature, and urgently needed today." — Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run, Natural Born Heroes, and Running with Sherman
“Wisdom abounds in this stimulating offering.” — Publishers Weekly
“Luger and Collins provide a range of sensible, informed, accessible guidance for both small- and large-scale lifestyle changes. An appealing manual for healing the self through Indigenous traditions.” — Kirkus Reviews
10/01/2022
Wellness advocates and founders of Well for Culture, Luger (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) and her husband Collins (Native Wellness Institute Board; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Land Board) designed a visual healing tool inspired by intertribal ancestral wisdom and their own Indigenous heritage. She is a descendant of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; he is On Akimel O'odham, Seneca-Cayuga, and Osage. The tool categorizes seven circles of wellness: Movement, Land, Community, Ceremony, Sacred Space, Sleep, and Food. The intent was to make this tool all-inclusive and adaptable, while offering guidance with traditional and spiritual advice that centers on wellness, not fitness. They say this enables a state of preparedness for the inevitable hardships in life. Colonization that began centuries ago in the United States deteriorated a once peaceful ecological system. The authors' comprehensive wellness tool helps to reestablish unity among humans, plants, and animals in a dynamic way. They excel in allowing readers to grasp the content with their simplified "Learn," "Engage," and "Optimize" sections. VERDICT Many self-help readers, especially fans of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and James Clear's Atomic Habits, will likely want to implement Luger and Collins's guidance into their own lives.—Jazmin Franco-Farraj
2022-08-17
How Indigenous traditions can shape a healthy lifestyle.
Wellness advocate Luger is Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and photographer Collins is On Akimel O'odham, Seneca-Cayuga, and Osage. “The teachings in this book represent a diverse swath of Indian Country,” they write, “which reflects the makeup of our family.” Drawing on both Western and Indigenous insights into healthy behaviors and mindsets, the authors focus on seven circles, or interdependent topics: movement, land, community, ceremony, sacred space, sleep, and food. Luger and Collins rightly point out that Indigenous wellness practices are not widely known in America, and they argue convincingly that these practices “indeed have something to teach the world in the way of conjuring resilience.” The authors frame each chapter with eloquent commentary on their own spiritual growth, which illustrates the benefits, as well as challenges, of adopting and adapting specific traditions. These sections consistently defy stereotypes about Indigeneity, particularly regarding the all-too-common expectation that Indigenous peoples must eschew all Western influences in order to be “authentic.” The chapters devoted to movement and sacred space are particularly compelling, and they suggest dimensions to well-being that are typically overlooked in similar guides—e.g., the importance of integrating self-help practices into everyday life rather than thinking of them as separate activities with discrete ends. Perhaps the book’s most important contribution to the genre, however, is the emphasis on communal modes of healing and the importance of sustaining networks of personal bonds rather than, as is more typical in Western self-help, cultivating a concern for the self as responsible only for and to itself alone. A few of the authors’ generalizations about Indigenous practices are idealized, and their advice is sometimes marred by clichés. Nevertheless, Luger and Collins provide a range of sensible, informed, accessible guidance for both small- and large-scale lifestyle changes. The book also features a nice selection of bright photographs.
An appealing short manual for healing the self through Indigenous traditions.
Luger and Collins rewrite modern narratives regarding Native health while addressing complex histories and ongoing disparities.”
