Having 6 books on the go, I shock myself sometimes, but I can’t help it, really!

Different books are for different times of the day, and there is all the knowledge to get. What is a girl to do…

Here is what is going on:

In the morning, as part of my hour long yoga practice, I do yoga for about 45-50 minutes, and read Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews for 10-15 minutes. This book is so eye-opening! I mean, who knew our body’s anatomy was such a perfect machine that takes care of all the necessary details in a beautiful and elegant way. There is a reason and function for the smallest of parts, and it all works in perfect harmony. That is what I am taking from this book every time I sit down with it, and with my mouth wide open too!

My main read these days is Shakespeare’s Henry the Fourth, Part 2. Well, it’s Shakespeare. So even though reading a play is not a ton of reading, but I go slow. And I usually read an act a day. It’s a wonderful focusing exercise, as I need to really dig in to understand the context and references. And then the language and the emotions and the complexity of the characters is mesmerizing. 

My gym audiobook that I am almost finished with is Paris in Ruins by Sebastian Smee. This book is about the French-Prussian war in the 1870s with impressionist artists Edward Manet, Berthe Morisot and Edgar Degas stuck in Paris in the middle of all the action. This book is both political and art history, and very well written. I knew nothing about this time or the war, so learning about it and all the details that came out of it is surprising, entertaining and enlightening.

The self-help book that I pick up in the evenings in my rest time before getting busy with dinner is The Practising Mind by Thomas Sterner. A short motivating book with examples from the author’s life about practicing and finding joy in it to get better at anything. I am reading this slowly, and making a number of notes in my notebook. This book is right in my alley of what makes me excited to go after my passions of the time in my life 🙂

The book on my night stand is Yoga and Psychotherapy: the Evolution of Consciousness by Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballantine and Swami Ajaya. Another book that is helping me further my yoga study. This book is talking about yoga philosophy as it relates to human psychology. And how the practice of yoga in it’s entirety (postures, breathing, meditation) takes us further into being less influenced by outside sources, and being more content and less emotional and reactionary from within. I read aloud bits and pieces to my family if they are around in bed with me, and surprisingly my teenager actually listens and discusses stuff with me. I can only read 5-10 minutes of it both because I get very sleepy very fast when in bed, and also because there is a lot to take in. But it sure is a kind of book and knowledge that I have never picked up before. So I am happy to learn something very new to me.

And when I have a few moments on hand, I pick up the memoir in the bread baking recipe book Breadsong by Kitty Tait and Al Tait. It’s an easy ready, it’s touching, it’s well written. I don’t need to immerse myself deep into it. The story of a 14 year old and her dad getting into baking is just the balm for busy times, and in-between moments of life…definitely better than getting lost in the social media maze!

So there, my list of ongoing books. I read them slowly, but I can’t pick one to read for all the time. They all have their time and place in my life. And the learning happens slowly, hopefully right?!