The Kindle Version Has Arrived

Woo Hoo!

The Kindle version of Creating A Joyful Life: The Lessons I Learned From Yoga and My Mom is finally here!

If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited you can read the book for FREE!

(Kindle Unlimited pays authors for the number of pages read in a Kindle Unlimited book. So please, actually read the book - or at least flip the pages -  if you download it for free!)

If you are one of the many readers I am forever grateful to who bought the paperback version, you can download the Kindle version for only $1.99. Why would you want the Kindle version if you already have the paperback version you ask? Well, because the Kindle version is new and improved! A few corrections and updated info have been added.

I don't know if all the fabulous reviews so many of you have posted on the paperback edition will transfer to the Kindle edition as well. But, as always, I am so appreciative of everyone who takes the time to review the book on both Amazon and GoodReads.com .

It's been a year since Creating A Joyful Life: The Lessons I Learned From Yoga and My Mom was released. Having it out on Kindle now is just as exciting!

National Book Lovers Day

It's National Book Lovers Day!

Shout out to all of us who truly love books! And the rest of you, well I can't even begin to understand someone who tells me they don't love books.

I am the geeky girl who thinks a wild night out is a couple hours alone in a book store. I love the touch of books. I love to crack open a book and smell the new pages. And the sound the book makes as you open the spine for the first time. Pure bliss.

I've been in love with books longer than any man, any food or anything else in my life.

So when I wrote my own book it was very important to me that it be an actual book. Not just a Kindle version. Not that there is anything wrong with that, in fact a Kindle version should be coming out soon of Creating A Joyful Life: The Lessons I Learned From Yoga and My Mom, but I wanted actual physical copies of my book to be available.

I wanted to see a copy of my book on my bookshelf. I wanted to see a copy of my book sitting on the shelf in a bookstore.

Yes I love my children and they are my greatest joy (obligatory mom comment), but honestly, I felt such joy and pride last year looking at my book in the bookstore. A couple months later I went back to the bookstore to check on my book and ... it was gone!

I was crushed. Devastated. It wasn't on the shelf anymore.

But then it took one of my children (who really do bring me joy and pride as well), to point out that if the book wasn't there that means someone bought it!

Yes! My book was sitting on someone else's bookshelf!

I do most of my writing propped up on my bed. To my left is a three level high bookshelf. It has mostly yoga books and training manuals on it. Straight in front of me is one very long bookshelf that has a blend of fiction and nonfiction books. And to my right, on my nightstand, is the book I am currently reading (Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton), the book I just finished (From Darkness To Light by Lindsey Lewis) and two other books in line to begin reading.

In recent years I've drifted away from books and more to my Kindle. I love the ease of being able to download any book I want directly on to the Kindle in just seconds. But, it's just not the same as books.

Earlier this summer our "kid computer" died for good and since I don't allow the kids to use my laptop, Kid 5 asked to borrow my iPad. Well he borrowed it three months ago and I still don't have it back.

But thats OK, because I've returned to my love of physical books.

In fact, I think I'll be planning a trip to the bookstore sometime very soon.

Yep, that's me pointing to my book. That just happened to be 

right next to Rachel Brathen's new book! (She's like a yoga goddess 

for those who don't know.) And my book is right next to hers!

Head Over Heels - For Good Summer Reading

My latest Elephant Journal post is up!

Head Over Heels: A Book Review

It is, if you couldn't tell, a book review of the second in a series of books set in a Los Angeles yoga studio. It's a fun, easy read. The perfect book to pack for your summer vacation when you just want to relax and laugh a bit.

Please also check out my other Elephant Journal posts.

Yoga Cures by Tara Stiles

A few weeks ago I received an email from Crown Publishing Group asking if I'd like a review copy of Tara Stiles new book Yoga Cures.

Would I? Absolutely!

Tara Stiles is the owner of Strala Yoga in New York City (one of the studios to visit on my yoga bucket list), author of Slim Calm Sexy Yoga and star of yoga DVD's and YouTube videos. Ms. Stiles has gotten some flack from the snarky yoga snobs for being just another "yoga star" - and to those people I say Get Over Yourself.  Stiles approachable style has allowed many, many people to find yoga who otherwise would never think of walking into a studio.

Yoga Cures is a series of yoga routines anyone can do anywhere to remedy a list of ailments most of us will face at one time or another including anxiety, insomnia, PMS, shin splints, tension, broken heart, thyroid imbalance and many others. Each practice consists of written instructions as well as a picture of each of the poses, making it super easy to follow along.

My favorite part of Yoga Cures is Stiles doesn't just emphasize the asanas - physical postures. Most of her routines include the importance of beginning each practice with time for meditation. Stiles says meditation is nothing more than "calming the mind by watching the breath... The more we do it the more we realize that everything we need is right there inside."  Like she says,  we just have to do the work and the yoga will work for us.

The beginning chapters include some basic yoga info, a brief description yoga benefits, the Eight Limbs of Yoga, and the scientific evidence that yoga works. Everything is written in a light and easy to understand way - no fancy terms or scientific jargon.

The cures chapters include anecdotes from her students of how yoga helped has helped them and medical proof where applicable of how yoga can help with medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and fibromyalgia. Most of the cures routines are three to five poses and easily doable on a daily basis.

For those looking for a longer practice, the third section of the book is a series of 'At Home Yoga Retreats', both active and restorative for morning and evening time.

Crown Publishing has generously offered to send a copy of Yoga Cures by Tara Stiles to one reader of this blog. Simply leave me a comment describing how yoga has helped you with an issue you have dealt with and I will randomly select one person to receive your own copy of Yoga Cures!

I Actually Won Something! The Perfect Prize For Me: A Yoga Book

I've never won the Powerball. I've never won a free vacation. I don't think I've ever won a gift basket.

So when author Meryl Davids Landau announced a giveaway of her new book Downward Dog Upward Fog I really had no expectations of ever hearing about it again.

Not only did I win a free copy of the book, it was a prize way better than any gift basket!

Downward Dog Upward Fog is what I call chick lit for women with a brain. Don't insult my intelligence with Harlequin romance type stories of a woman finding herself only when she finds the perfect man. Give me the story of a woman on her own path finding her own way.

This story delivers just that. The heroine of the story Lorna is a special events coordinator at an ice cream company (does a cool job that like that really exist? And if so where do I apply?), with a difficult mother, perfect but not-perfect-for-her boyfriend and an older more spiritually enlightened sister.

Lorna's yoga practice leads her to a weekend silent retreat (again, where do I apply?) and onto a spiritual path where she practices daily meditation and kindness.  She soon discovers that it's easy to be spiritual while secluded on a retreat, but her inner peace is tested daily with difficult coworkers, neighbors, family and life's daily drama.

There are a few times in the book that it all seems a little too easy. Things seem to work out too perfectly with just a minimum of effort. A couple times I wondered if Lorna would be so dedicated to hour long meditations if she had a bunch of kids and laundry to attend to. But she doesn't, so I don't begrudge her time spent sitting and focusing inward. In fact, I envy it.

Unlike a lot of the other yoga books out there now, Downward Dog Upward Fog doesn't require a trip to India or radical life altering decisions. Rather, it emphasizes we have the choice in how to react, we have the choice to respond with kindness, and we have the choice to pursue whatever path we feel led to. It's a great book when you are looking for something yoga and/or spiritual to read, but also want something light and enjoyable.

Thank you Meryl Davids Landau for sending me the book, and for the great read!

Yoga Book Club

I've written a few posts on here about my Twitter Yoga Book Club, #YOBC. I've met the most interesting people who all are reading the same book and I've been very fortunate to have corresponded with a few of the authors as well.

Out little #YOBC is growing with more and more members with each book we read. We have no joining requirements, you just comment on what you are reading when you feel like it. People will quote their favorite parts, discuss the authors point of view, or share similar experiences.

Yes, it's social media, but like I wrote in Not Your Momma's Book Club, it's a new era of book clubs. But I guarantee we get just as much, if not more, from this new technology. When in the days of living room book clubs would I have been able to speak directly to the author?

If you are on Twitter and want to join us, jump in anytime. Comment using #YOBC. Even if you aren't on Twitter, I think you'll enjoy these yoga books:

1. Yoga School Dropout - Lucy Edge
2. Poser, My Life In 23 Yoga Poses - Claire Dederer 
3. Holy Coy - Sarah MacDonald (read my review here)
4. A Life Worth Breathing - Max Strom ( read my review here)
5. Yoga Bitch - Suzanne Morrison - review to be posted soon

Have a book you think our #YOBC would really like? Please put the title and author in the comments section. I'm always looking for good books to read. And yes, I also read lots of non-yoga books too!

It's Not Geeky, It's a Book Club Kula

It's back - the return of Twitter Yoga Book Club!

I've written lots of posts about my love of and for yoga. And there have been more than a few posts about my love of reading and books. So how great that I get to combine those two passions in one great book club.

This is not the stereotypical, stuffy, meet in the living room kind of book club. No, we are a cool kula of yogi's and book nerds who take advantage of social media and tweet our discussion using #YOBC. By using Twitter, I get to share the books with people from literally all over the world. And, sometimes the author even joins our Twitter discussion which takes it to an all new level.

The group had taken an unofficial summer break, but with some prompting from me and the need for a new good read from Meredith LeBlanc, we will begin reading again August 20 with the release of the much awaited Yoga Bitch by Suzanne Morrison.

And.. I tweeted Ms. Morrison and she said she will definitely be a part of our discussion group!

So, if you are looking for a good book to read, or a cool group of yogi book geeks, check us out on Twitter. There's no timeline for reading and you can tweet your thoughts at any time.

Update: The book is officially released August 16. But you can pre-order now on Amazon and it will delivered either to your door or your Kindle on that day. But even if you don't get it right away, just join in the discussion when you can!