Category: Body/Health

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I’ve read this book a bunch of times and my paperback is full of underlining, margin notes and little stars, but when I try to recall the main points of Gretchn Rubin’s the Happiness Project, I come up somewhat empty. It’s a book written in the “one year spent doing x” format, which I happen to like. Rubin and I have similar personalities–we are sticklers for rules, self-monitoring maniacs, lovers of gold stars and atta-girls. A lot of the stuff about her that bugs me is the same stuff that bugs me about myself.

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Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna

I grew up in a windy town on California’s Central Coast that often smelled of broccoli. Later the town became famous for strawberries, and even later for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine grapes, all fragrant and lovely. But when I was young the dark, slightly sulpherous stench of raw broccoli hitched  on the Pacific breeze from the west like a hobo soul escaped from a corner of hell reserved for flatulent failed farmers. Continue reading “Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna”

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris

May you live in interesting times. The old unattributed Chinese curse has a stranglehold on the country and something interesting/disturbing/terrifying has been happening almost every day. The 2016 election, the hurricanes, the shooting in Las Vegas, more hurricanes, more Trump, the wildfires in California, the Russia investigation, the terrorist bike path attack in New York…
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Mornings on Horseback, David McCullough

Theodore Roosevelt is one of my all-time heroes. As a near-sighted asthmatic myself, I love the stories of how he developed the idea of “the strenuous life” to overcome his ailments and went on to become one of the most admired and beloved figures in United States history. His tirelessness physically and mentally and his unwavering morality never fail to inspire. It is shocking to be reminded that he died at 60–his brain, his mouth, his pen or his body was in motion the entire time; no wonder he wore himself out relatively early.
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Hatha Yoga Illustrated, Martin Kirk, Brooke Boon, Daniel DiTuro

Quickly, before I dip into the more daunting Iyengar, I read this book that I don’t remember buying. It’s a nice paperback with a good basic introduction to yoga and a lot of the same information as Swenson’s Ashtanga book Continue reading “Hatha Yoga Illustrated, Martin Kirk, Brooke Boon, Daniel DiTuro”

The Key Muscles of Yoga, Ray Long MD

This is an intense book that I had every intention of reading and studying, but for now all I want to do is look at the pictures. Luckily they are excellent. All the “anterior” “posterior” “agonist” “synergist”and “antagonist” got way too complicated for me, but the drawings of musculature and skeletal systems in yoga postures is amazingly helpful Continue reading “The Key Muscles of Yoga, Ray Long MD”

Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual, David Swenson

I have been obsessed with yoga the last couple months, and an Ashtanga class at Denver’s Samadhi Yoga Uptown Studio last week really “lit” me up. I loved the repetition, the discipline, the lack of music, the challenge—I liked everything except the suggestion that one spend two hours six days a week doing it. Continue reading “Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual, David Swenson”