October Reads

I absolutely love to read. As a child, going to the library filled me with the same excitement as going to the candy shop. I’d leave with piles of books and a big smile on my face. I can clearly remember renting the same books over and over again. Some of my favorites growing up were the Disney Family Cookbook, a book on hair braiding, the Nutcracker, the BoxCar Children, Goosebumps, Hatchet, and any MaryKate and Ashley selection. Libraries have always been a place of peace and comfort for me. When I was lonely or homesick living in Wellington, I’d head to the library and get lost in the pages of books and warmth of a tucked away nook. Living in Austin is no different; one of my favorite things to do by myself is roam the halls of the many libraries here. I continue to read a lot, but I usually forget majority of a book once I’m on to the next. So I figured blogging about my favorite points can help me to remember and perhaps spark some interest for whomever is reading this. HI :)

This month these have had my attention.

Yoga for Pain Relief.

Being a yoga teacher I am constantly striving to learn as much as I can about the body, mind, and spirit so that I can better serve the people who walk into my classes. Lately a lot of my students have been mentioning pain and imbalances in their body. I absolutely love this book by Lee Albert who is a neuromuscular therapist & yoga teacher. His writing is very clear and easy to understand. I find for me most anatomy books are overwhelming and I tend to get bored or lost quickly. No joke, I read this book in two days because it was SO GOOD! Lee shares from his 25 years of experience healing people with pain. He discusses the five most common imbalances in the body, which most of us have at least one to some degree. He shares easy ways to test and identify these imbalances, followed by ways to strengthen and stretch the correct muscles to bring the body back into balance. Reading this book helped me to better understand the western body and learn valuable tools that I’ve already started applying to my class sequences. I highly recommend for body workers, yoga teachers, and anyone experiencing pain in their body!

Thank & Grow Rich.

I love love love this book on the power of gratitude by Pam Grout. When I picked up this book I was drawn to the title. I had heard of the book Think & Grow Rich, but I liked this title a lot better. Being a firm believer in gratitude, I already know the transformative power it can have over our lives. Diving into this book I am even more of a believer on living in a constant state of love and gratitude. One of my favorite things about this book is a view that Pam shares towards the end. She says that most self help books start by identifying a problem: your lack of abundance, your anxiety or depression, your accumulation of stress or clutter, etc., then they tell you exactly what you need to do to overcome the problem they just convinced you that you have. This book is different because it does the OPPOSITE. She insists that it is our mind that identifies and believes we have a problem and then by working SO SO hard to make that problem go away we make it SEEM real. What happens when you choose to focus on all that you do have? When you wake up and declare, something amazingly awesome is going to happen to me today? When you are constantly thanking the Divine for everything that comes your way? Yoga philosophy has taught me to steer clear from opposites like “good” and “bad”. To try to see everything that comes as a blessing. This book has definitely helped to clear away some of the societal conditioning that has formed a lot of my mental habits. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to transform their life or bring in more love and abundance.

Magnolia Table.

While strolling through Marshall’s I came across this cookbook for half off! As I held it in my hands flipping through the beautiful pages, I knew it was coming home with me. As we head into autumn and winter here in Austin I have an urge to spend more time indoors, reading and COOKING. Something about cookbooks makes me so happy and inspired to get my hands working. I love how Joanna writes stories throughout the book on her marriage, family, and food. I feel connected to their story as I read this book and try out the recipes. Today I am baking chocolate chip cookies! Although this isn’t the “healthy” recipe book I’d normally go for, her perspectives on meals and family make me feel GOOD. And in the end isn’t that what health is all about, being happy and whole. I can’t wait to test out these recipes and share with those I love :)

I hope you enjoyed this blog! Thanks for reading!