From Publishers Weekly
For everyday folks who don't know how to relax, here's a collection of suggestions from professional spa owners, therapists, chefs and others who provide services to Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie and other celebrities. The authors, a mother/daughter team of "Hollywood insiders" (Laurel's the West Coast editor of Fit magazine; Sharon is a publicist), examine how celebrities and their gurus transform their homes into the perfect places to soak in bathtubs, perform or receive spa treatments such as facials, practice yoga, meditate, cook healthy food, make art and crafts, knit, garden and exercise. Thankfully, readers need not own a Beverly Hills mansion (or boast a Tinseltown pocketbook) to follow their recommendations. For example, spa and pool designer Tag Galyean, who has created oases at some top American luxury spa resorts, contributes simple and inexpensive recipes for morning and nighttime baths requiring basic oils like rosemary and lavender. Manhattan's Glow Spa, where Ivana Trump is a regular, provides formulas for a Virgin Gorda Mango Body Polish and Chocolate Fondue Facial Mask. Readers seeking to hear celebrities' direct thoughts on stress-reducing techniques will be disappointed; the authors mainly just list stars who indulge in various relaxing practices. But the guru advice is so detailed and practical, it makes up for the lack of actual celebrity input. B&w photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Jenna von Oy
"What a wonderful reminder that every woman’s soul needs a pick-me-up from time to time."
Marla Maples
"A wonderful collection of helpful ideas to discover ways to bring inner peace, balance, and creative fun..."
Kathy Kaehler, Today show fitness expert and celebrity trainer
"Reading this book has helped me recognize the importance of creating time just for me."
Anna Getty
"The Gurus' Guide to Serenity is a must read for piece of mind, body and soul."
Shape
"Filled with stress-reducing ideas, [it] will leave you feeling refreshed for holiday fetes and photo ops."
Parenting Magazine
"Instant relaxer. Feeling tense? Massage your eyebrows! It’ll relax your scrunched-up forehead and calm tension."
Book Description
The midlife crisis, the family crisis, the career crisis, the relationship crisis -- nowadays everything seems to be a crisis. We are often too overwhelmed to enjoy the simplest things that make us truly happy. But now the professionals who bring contentment to the world's most famous people show you how to blissfully pamper yourself in this beautifully designed, fully illustrated guide to the sumptuous pleasures that should be a part of everyone's daily lives.
The Guru's Guide to Serenity
Cooking, baths, facials, painting, gardening, and deep breathing may very well be the saviors of our sanity. Celebrities have the means to find these pleasures, and mother-daughter team and Hollywood insiders Sharon and Laurel House have culled the secrets of the world's most exclusive experts, trainers, chefs, spas, and resorts to show readers how to create the kind of soothing treatments superstars love. Some of the gurus' remedies you will discover in this beautiful, comforting book include: Irresistible at-home massage techniques from Michelle Kluck, massage therapist to Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd. Fitness tips from Kathy Kaehler, celebrity trainer and the Today show's exercise expert. Recipes for soothing spa treatments like Chocolate Fondue Facial Mask from Manhattan's elite Glow Skin Spa.
Instead of buying dozens of self-help books and magazines, you can find anything and everything you need to help you de-stress, create your own personal oasis of inner peace, and feel like a celebrity in The Gurus' Guide to Serenity.
The Gurus' Guide to Serenity: A Me-Time Menu of Celebrity Stress Reducers FROM THE PUBLISHER
The midlife crisis, the family crisis, the career crisis, the relationship crisis—nowadays everything seems to be a crisis. We are often too overwhelmed to enjoy the simplest things that make us truly happy. But now the professionals who bring contentment to the world's most famous people show you how to blissfully pamper yourself in this beautifully designed, fully illustrated guide to the sumptuous pleasures that should be a part of everyone's daily lives.
The Guru's Guide to Serenity
Cooking, baths, facials, painting, gardening, and deep breathing may very well be the saviors of our sanity. Celebrities have the means to find these pleasures, and mother-daughter team and Hollywood insiders Sharon and Laurel House have culled the secrets of the world's most exclusive experts, trainers, chefs, spas, and resorts to show readers how to create the kind of soothing treatments superstars love. Some of the gurus' remedies you will discover in this beautiful, comforting book include: Irresistible at-home massage techniques from Michelle Kluck, massage therapist to Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd. Fitness tips from Kathy Kaehler, celebrity trainer and the Today show's exercise expert. Recipes for soothing spa treatments like Chocolate Fondue Facial Mask from Manhattan's elite Glow Skin Spa.
Instead of buying dozens of self-help books and magazines, you can find anything and everything you need to help you de-stress, create your own personal oasis of inner peace, and feel like a celebrity in The Gurus' Guide to Serenity.
About the Author:
Laurel House is the West Coast editor ofFit Magazine and Fit Yoga Magazine. She has written for numerous publications, including Spa, First for Women, Healing Lifestyles and Spas, Men's Journal, Elite Traveler, and Playboy. She and her husband live in Los Angeles.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
For everyday folks who don't know how to relax, here's a collection of suggestions from professional spa owners, therapists, chefs and others who provide services to Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Richie and other celebrities. The authors, a mother/daughter team of "Hollywood insiders" (Laurel's the West Coast editor of Fit magazine; Sharon is a publicist), examine how celebrities and their gurus transform their homes into the perfect places to soak in bathtubs, perform or receive spa treatments such as facials, practice yoga, meditate, cook healthy food, make art and crafts, knit, garden and exercise. Thankfully, readers need not own a Beverly Hills mansion (or boast a Tinseltown pocketbook) to follow their recommendations. For example, spa and pool designer Tag Galyean, who has created oases at some top American luxury spa resorts, contributes simple and inexpensive recipes for morning and nighttime baths requiring basic oils like rosemary and lavender. Manhattan's Glow Spa, where Ivana Trump is a regular, provides formulas for a Virgin Gorda Mango Body Polish and Chocolate Fondue Facial Mask. Readers seeking to hear celebrities' direct thoughts on stress-reducing techniques will be disappointed; the authors mainly just list stars who indulge in various relaxing practices. But the guru advice is so detailed and practical, it makes up for the lack of actual celebrity input. B&w photos. Agent, Matthew Guma. (On sale Dec. 14) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Daughter and mother Laurel and Sharon House, West Coast editor of Fit magazine and a partner at a Los Angeles PR firm, respectively, have collected the de-stressors of B-list celebs like Vanna White, Melissa Rivers, and Susan Lucci. Most are elementary and simple (e.g., scented candles, massage) and feel more often like product placements than advice. The book's raison d' tre-that American women lack "me-time"-is arguable, as is the notion that celebrities are "in desperate need of a little coddling." The biggest strength here is that most of the home spa treatments are described clearly and sound doable and fun (e.g., peeled, grated potato temporarily lightens those dark circles under the eyes), but these ideas can be found in more affordable and down-to-earth books like Laura DuPriest's Natural Beauty: Pamper Yourself with Salon Secrets at Home. Pass. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
Book Info
