I like yoga. One of my personal challenges is to get into it more this year. That is, I must make time to practice yoga, not just talking about wanting to practice yoga.
A few months ago, I was working at the bookstore and feeling kind of lost. Not the “where is the graphic novel section” lost. The “I’m not quite satisfied with myself, where do I go from here” lost.
Personally, I’m not that big on the Self-Help section of the bookstore. Once in a while I will snoop around to see what’s new. But I very rarely buy something from that section. But on that particular day, walking through the Self-Help aisle, this cover caught my eye:
photo from www.everywomansvoice.com
It wasn’t the photo that really caught my eye. (most of the time, it IS the cover art that lures me in) It was the title.
So I grabbed it off the shelf and read the back cover. It sounded interesting, so I started flipping through the chapters. Even more interesting. So I bought it.
I read it this weekend.
Katrina Repka moved to New York from Canada for something different. She could have stayed back home and gotten married and been a housewife. But it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. The chance to take some classes through an exchange program brought her to New York. She decided to stay.
Breathing Space: Twelve Lessons for the Modern Woman is a look into a year of Ms. Repka’s life as she struggles to put her past behind her, while finding herself and who she is meant to become. It tells the reader of her journey to Alan Finger’s studio where she becomes Alan’s student and learns how one’s breath can release the negativity holding you back.
Each of the twelve chapters gives us a look into Ms. Repka’s life and her personal struggles: Family dynamics, boyfriend issues, stress, etc. At the end of each chapter, Ms. Repka explains the breathing exercise that Alan taught her, step-by-step, and how it’s supposed to change you as you practice it. The reader also learns how the breathing exercise changed the author.
I was intrigued by the breathing exercises at the end of each chapter. However, I know I would find it hard to try them while having to read each step. Not very relaxing or enlightening. Last night, I was chatting online with a friend who runs a yoga studio here in town, and I asked her if she had read the book. She hadn’t, but was immediately interested in borrowing my copy. I told her of my issue with the breathing exercises and following the written instructions. She suggested that when I come by this week, to show her which exercises resonated with me, and she’d work with me on them.
Score!
I’ll keep you posted on what happens…
Before I go, make sure you check out this website for more information on this book, the author, and other books that might interest you. My copy came with a bookmark that included a link to this site, and I found a few other books to add to my TBR pile.
Happy Reading!
*This post originally was made on my old blog. I decided to move it, and few others over here, because these are the books that I have really enjoyed this year.
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