Whether you are a yogi or not, enLIGHTend by Jessica Berger Gross is the quintessential inspirational read. By taking the ancient practice of yoga and making it applicable to the present day, Jessica Berger Gross breaks the notion that yoga is outdated, unobtainable and filled with complicated "pretzel poses." I read enLIGHTENend this past summer when I was up at our lake house in Michigan, and ended up having to pace myself in order to savior my own "enlightenment." It honestly is one of those books you get excited to read because I was able to find comfort within the text.
I struggle a lot with my relationship with food--it's a love/hate relationship without a doubt--and Jessica chronicles a similar rocky relationship of overeating, overexercising, not eating, and everything in between used to [negatively] remedy life's obstacles. enLIGHTend was that book that put me another step (more-so leap) in the direction of accepting my body and building a better relationship with food. Here's a little synopsis quoted from the book to give you a taste (no pun intended) of enLIGHTened:
"Eventually, my life changed, and my world--my heart--opened up. Yours can, too. This is the story of how studying yoga--not just the physical poses, but the philosophy behind them--helped me lose forty pounds, overcome my battle with depression, and change my life for good. In the coming chapters I'll share with you the basic principles of everyday living, eating, and moving that a decade of practicing yoga (and teaching it on and off) has taught me. Integrating these lessons into your life can lead you down the path of weight loss, help you find a sense of inner peace and contentment, and even--just maybe--a little bit of enlightenment."
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This is truly random, but I felt like I should let you know and thank you for how I'm currently vegan.
Although I have a mother that is 5'1 and weighs 103 pounds, my father is 6'0 and 230 pounds. Thus, I inherited his metabolism and appetite and have been struggling to lose weight since I was in 3rd grade. I've successfully lost 30 pounds a couple times doing weight watchers, but I still wasn't happy and the weight would never stay off. I came to realize that my problem is my love of food, and that more than anything I love to cook delicious food for friends and family, which is something hard to do while following a strict diet. I realized I needed to make a lifestyle change where I love what I'm eating and don't have to go to bed hungry, but can still be eating healthy and working towards weight loss.
One day I saw you posted a link to a new blog entry about enLIGHTened and how it helped your relationship with food. It made me want to read the book, or any book for that matter, that could change my perception of food and how and what I eat. Although I couldn't find a copy, I ended up picking up skinny bitch instead. And truly the book has changed my life. Before I was even halfway through I began cutting out meat. And once I had been a vegetarian for about a month I decided to make the plunge to vegan lifestyle. I've cracked once and have accidentally eaten a couple things with milk products, but overall I've stuck to it and have never felt better. Despite feeling more energetic and lighter, I'm also still able to cook delicious foods my friends and family can love. I cam still have a love relationship with what I'm eating without putting shit in my body (although I do realize it's very important to refrain from overeating).
So basically I sent you this because I felt like if it wasn't for looking at your blog I might have never been inspired to become vegan. I think you have a great passion for your lifestyle, and I definitely think you have the power to help motivate and change lives! My next mission is to become involved in yoga, but I don't really know where to start. So thanks again! And as soon as I can locate it I plan on reading enLIGHTened!
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