Thursday, April 30, 2015

Blogger Book Club - April - Make Your Own Rules!

It’s the end of April and that means we’re already one quarter through 2015 and the Blogger Book Club. This month bloggers read a “Healthy Living Book.” To be honest I had this book picked out in February when I walked into Starbucks and saw that iTunes had a code to redeem Tara Stiles’ newest book for free.



Her book is called the “Make Your Own Rules Diet.” If you know anything about Tara Stiles you would know that right away this would be a book true to her personality.




Personally, I’m a huge fan. She is the owner of Strala yoga, an incredible yogi, and designs Reebok’s yoga line (I definitely have some cloud leggings and a cloud tank top). I follow her on Instagram and love everything she posts. I knew that if this book was anything like what she puts out on social media that I would love it.


It’s a really easy book to get through. I took my iPad to the gym with me and read it while walking on a treadmill for my cool-downs. She has lots of graphics and all of her chapters are separated into sub-headings and lists making it even easier to follow.



She begins by telling her own stories of healthy living and not-so-healthy living throughout her life, then Tara lays out her rules for herself. Some of Tara’s rules include:


Breathe Deep
Pay Attention (Self-observation)
Stay Connected
Hug People
Check In


She also shares yoga practices and recipes she likes. Sometimes I read “healthy” cookbooks or “healthy” recipes online, and they just don’t look that appealing. Tara’s are easy and simple, with few ingredients, and resemble things I’d be likely to whip up on my own.


One of my favourite things Tara writes is how you should not feel like you need to push yourself extremely hard while working out, you shouldn’t feel like you absolutely have to sweat or “feel the burn” unless that this is something you truly enjoy. I seriously cannot express how much I love this sentiment. As someone that has been nearing extreme thoughts and practices towards eating right and exercising I had only just come to terms with this idea on my own. After feeling like I had to do lots of cardio, lots of weights, and lots of everything to an extreme degree, I’ve created a schedule based on what I truly enjoy doing. This schedule of various things is the first thing to stick with me in a long time.

This is one of my favourite sentiments:



While not as deep as Tara’s are, I do have some rules for myself:


Always carry a bottle of water (I have strong feelings about being well-hydrated).
Rest days are necessary, not lazy (I can't train for a marathon by running every day).
Listen to your body's signals (Eat if you're hungry, drink if you're thirsty, rest if you're tired). 
Say yes to new experiences (You might stumble upon something you absolutely love).
Change your scenery (Even if it's from my room to the couch, at least I haven't been in bed all day).


What did you read this month? Do you have any rules to live by?

1 comment:

  1. I did a yoga session at IDEA Fit last summer with Tara. It was a huge crowd, but I can see how she has such a big following. I do love her statement that nothing is wrong with us. I really think people need to be more positive about themselves. We need to spend more time pumping each other up and stop tearing each other (and ourselves) down.

    So glad to have someone else in the link up this month... such a quiet group all of a sudden.

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