Exercise, Health, and Fitness

A Belly Dancer's Slim-Down and Shape-Up Secrets by Lebwa. No review available.

Bellydancing For Fitness: Sexy Art That Tones Your Abs, Butt And Thighs by Rania Bossonis. "Rania Androniki Bossonis is an AFAA Certified Fitness Instructor and Professional Middle East Dance Soloist, Choreographer, and Master Teacher. She currently teaches Middle Eastern Dance for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Rania has over 10 instructional, workout and performance videos currently available in stores and online, including the smash hit "Bellydance Divas" and her fitness series entitled 'Bellydance for Weight Loss.' She travels throughout the world teaching and performing Middle Eastern Dance. Her passion for this unique and beautiful art form is evident in both her instruction and performance."

Canadian funds: Bellydancing For Fitness: Sexy Art That Tones Your Abs, Butt And Thighs

Belly Dancing: For Health & Relaxation by T. Hobin. No review available.

Fitness Guide For Dancers by Vicki Corona. "Low impact/low stress exercises & pampering techniques for professional dancers. No special tools/equipment needed. Fun & healthy!"

Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing by Rosina-Fawzia B. Al-Rawi. "Written by a woman raised in the Middle Eastern culture of Baghdad, the book begins with Rosina's stories of how her grandmother introduced her to dance as a young girl, where dance pervaded their lives. She gives a fascinating multi-cultural history of women's dancing, advocates attaining awareness through dancing (doing any movement), and then describes each movement with its benefits, from head to toe. 'The art of expressing moods, states of mind, and experiences through dancing is based on movements and shapes that are meant to strengthen the body, keep it flexible, and prepare the dancer for life.'"

Canadian funds: Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing

Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as Spiritual Practice by Gabrielle Roth. "Roth begins with a beautiful poetic autobiog-journey about her own body and how she came to be doing her work in trance-dance/movement as spiritual practice. The book then explores her framework of five rhythms, and also delves into her view of archetypes within everyone . . . dual trinities, one male and one female. I didn't quite embrace all of it, but it's provocative."

Canadian funds: Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as Spiritual Practice

A Woman's Book of Balance by Karen Andes. "Tailor-made for a woman's needs and sensibilities, A Woman's Book of Balance uses yoga, strength training, and dance to build the body as a healthy, beautiful and sacred space. With easy, step-by-step instructions, Karen Andes offers full mind-body-spirit exercises that can be done throughout life. The benefits for women are many: Strength training thickens muscles and bones and improves sense of self, Dance quickens the heart rate and unlocks passion, Yoga kneads away tension, improves flexibility and helps achieve hormonal balance, Proper alignment allows energy to flow freely through the body."

A Woman's Book of Power: Using Dance to Cultivate Energy by Karen Andes. "...Karen Andes has reinvented exercise for women by re-introducing dance as a source of both aerobic and spiritual fitness. This easy to understand, step-by-step guide explores the round, soft movements that feel more natural to the female body. By incorporating influences from Middle Eastern dance, other ancient sacred dances, as well as martial arts and yoga, Karen Andes has created a simple approach to movement which draws on our ancient past and serves our modern lives."

Canadian funds: A Woman's Book of Power: Using Dance to Cultivate Energy