we recommend you to buy some goods below for comfort, safety and ease of your yoga activities

Image via Flickr user katerha

I haven't had a summer reading list since high school. That could be because that was the last time I had enough free time to sit down with a big stack of books to read for pleasure (Oh wait!, I had to do it for a grade?. Nevermind.)

This year I'm not working full time, so I've found myself with a little more down time. Sure, I'm writing whenever I get assignments, teaching a few yoga classes week, keeping my 2-year-old busy in the sweltering Charleston, SC heat, practicing yoga as much as I can, cooking a lot.... OK, I don't have time to read books now either. But, I am more motivated than ever to learn, grow, find financial freedom, clean up my act, and generally enjoy every moment as much as I possibly can. (If for no other reason, then because I've started to notice my daughter mimicking nearly everything she sees me do--from asking her Daddy to turn down the TV (oops!) to my Downward Facing Dog.) I want her to see me more often with a book in my hands and less with a screen in my face. (And, yes, I do read on a Kindle. It was just a figure of speech, OK?) So, I made my own summer reading list. You'll notice these are not all yoga books--but they all are very relevant to my life as a yoga teacher, mother, freelance writer, woman, etc.

Money: A Love Story. I think all yoga teachers should read this book by Kate Northrup about valuing yourself, spending money on the things you value, seeing sound financial decisions as a form of self-care, and understanding that there are a billion ways to create abundance in this world. This one was the first on my list, and I've already devoured it.. but still need to go back through and do all the journaling exercises.

It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys: The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized.  Kate Northrup mentions this book a couple of times in Money: A Love Story, and I knew it would be the next book I'd dive into. Even the title kind of strikes a nerve with me because I'm the type of person who has a million grand ideas and a ton of ambition and drive, but my life is just too chaotic right now to be as productive as I'd like. Case in point, the e-book I'm "writing" that's been collecting electronic dust in my Google Documents list for two years now... TWO!

Pushback: How Smart Women Ask--And Stand Up For--What They Want. This is another one that I think people in the yoga community have trouble with. Compassion is a part of the practice, and so it's really easy to think, "Yes, I do need to make X amount teaching this yoga class, but I certainly wouldn't want the studio owner to sacrifice what she needs to meet her bottom line... so I'll just take what she offers me." This attitude never helped anybody pay their bills, and settling for less than we deserve doesn't help the thousands of other yoga teachers out there struggling to pay their bills either.

Breathe: A Novel. Sure this sounds like just another fictional story of someone transforming through yoga... But, every now and then, I like to be reminded in a don't-take-yourself-so-serious way that yoga can be fun, healing, and, yes, even entertaining. I'd like to read this one on the beach, with a fruity umbrella-shaded drink in hand.

Miracles Now: 108 Life-Changing Tools for Less Stress, More Flow, and Finding Your True Purpose. I've followed Gabrielle Bernstein online for a long time now--and I have loved her video tips and tricks for using meditation and Kundalini Yoga techniques to deal with everyday life. So I can't wait to dive into this book, which promises to offer 108 simple solutions to combat complicated problems like "stress, burnout, frustration, jealousy, resentment" without spending hours meditating and practicing yoga everyday. We'll see. I'm skeptical of anything that offers quick fixes, but I don't doubt I'll learn at least one or two more things to add to my toolbox.

To keep myself motivated and honest, I'm going to review each of these books when I'm done reading them. Will you join me? What are you reading this summer?

we recommend you to buy some goods below for comfort, safety and ease of your yoga activities

When I was pregnant I thought I'd need a million different things to help me care for my baby--from cribs and co-sleepers to bouncy chairs and Bumbos--my Must Buy List was impressively long. I used all of that stuff a little bit (though, admittedly, there were some gadgets that I barely got out of the packaging before my daughter had outgrown them). But nothing (really, NOTHING!) has turned out to be as useful as my yoga ball (also known as exercise or stability balls). Yoga balls are inexpensive, fun, and, most important, versatile--seriously, they have a million different uses.

For example:

1. Back savers. When I was in my third trimester of pregnancy, there were two things that could ease my low back pain. One was a vibrating lumbar pillow that I used behind my desk and behind the wheel of my car every single day (kind of like this one). The other was squatting in the floor with my back leaded up against my yoga ball.

2. Inducing labor? I heard that bouncing on a yoga ball is a way to start contractions and ultimately induce labor. I'm pretty sure this is a crock of crap (it definitely did not work for me!), but I'm throwing it out there just in case.

3. Laboring at home. Once my labor started, my plan was to stay at home for as long as I possibly could so there would be fewer chances for interventions that I did not want at the hospital. Of course, I ended up rushing to the hospital positive I was going to have a baby any minute, then spent a good 8 more hours in a hospital bed before I finally got to meet my little one. In any case, for the early part of labor it was nice to have a yoga ball ("birthing ball") to help me move into different positions to get as comfortable as possible.

4. Colic calmer. Until my baby was a good 9 or 10 months old there was really only one way to calm her down when she cried--cradling her in my arms while I bounced gently on my yoga ball. I was elated when she finally let me sit in a rocking chair with a nice, solid back to rock her to sleep instead of bouncing. But, honestly, bouncing on a ball was definitely better than, say, walking the halls with her strapped to me in her Moby Wrap.

5. Indoor playground equipment. When my little one had gained good control over her head, she giggled with delight when I put her on her belly on the ball and gently rolled her back and forth. Once she learned to stand on her own, the ball made for an excellent bongo drum!

6. It "tickles" my toddler. Now that my little one is 21 months old, we've been using the ball a lot again. One of her favorite things to do (again!) is to sit on my lap as I bounce up and down on the ball. When she was teeny tiny, my bouncing was to soothe her. Now, the bouncing is strictly for entertainment purposes. There's nothing more gratifying than hearing your toddler laugh and say (in a voice that sounds so grown up it's crazy!), "This is fun, Mommy! This is FUN!"

So there you have it.

If you're a mommy-to-be who I love and adore in real life (as opposed to just online) and you get a yoga ball from me as a gift, please do NOT think for a second I'm interested in encouraging you to "lose the baby weight" after you give birth. Please don't worry about that at all. You have your whole life to think about how you look in a bikini, but these precious moments with your little one will be over in the blink of an eye. Your body is amazing! It grew a person! I digress.

A yoga ball (exercise ball, stability ball, birthing ball, whatever you want to call it) was one of the best things I had as a new mama. If you've got one in your house already, I hope this post will give you some ideas about how to use it with your little one. If not... Buy one immediately! :) Here's a link to the the one I have.

we recommend you to buy some goods below for comfort, safety and ease of your yoga activities

There are many reasons a new mom needs a good yoga mat--the most obvious (and most important!) one being that when that little cherub of yours is sleeping soundly, you're going to need something you can do in the house to maintain your sanity (and laundry isn't going to be much help, trust me!). It's also a great idea to let your little one see that you take care of yourself. In the almost two years my daughter has been in this world, I've found there a few other practical uses for yoga mats than actually practicing yoga when you have a baby. I'll share them below.

we recommend you to buy some goods below for comfort, safety and ease of your yoga activities