Book Review - Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi by Brian Leaf

Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal My Colitis, Calm My ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness
Brian Leaf

Paperback: 264 pages 
Publisher: New World Library (October 9, 2012) 
ISBN-10: 160868136X 
ISBN-13: 978-1608681365

This is the way this delightful book is described on Amazon: "As a college freshman business major suffering from a variety of anxiety-related maladies, Brian Leaf stumbled into an elective: yoga. It was 1989. All his classmates were female. And men did not yet generally “cry, hug, or do yoga.” But yoga soothed and calmed Leaf as nothing else had. As his hilarious and wise tale shows, Leaf embarked on a quest for health and happiness — visiting yoga studios around the country and consulting Ayurvedic physicians, swamis, and even (accidentally) a prostitute."

My personal jury is out on whether the visit to the prostitute was an accident. Anyone who scarfs food from the free breakfast at Best Western when they are not a guest is suspect in my eyes. (smile)

Seriously, though. This is a wonderful book that I enjoyed immensely, and I even learned a few things - like there is more than one form of Yoga. I did not know that. I thought what I do now and then was about it.

I also learned that now and then does not have the benefits that daily practice of Yoga does. I highly recommend the book for anyone who is looking for a way to cope with the stress of our busy lifestyles, as well as have a book that will make you laugh out loud in places. Laughter is also a good stress release.

I will host Brian on Wednesday as my guest, so please come by and see what he has to say about getting naked in front of his therapist. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer for his book and consider making a video and entering the contest Brian is hosting.

The book trailer 

Since I live in Texas, I had to share this picture of Brian coming to our fair state

  Brian Leaf, M.A., is the author of eleven books, including Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi, Name That Movie!, Defining Twilight, and McGraw-Hill's Top 50 Skills for a Top Score. He is the only man alive to have written both a yoga memoir and multiple test-prep guides. He is not sure if this is a noble or dubious distinction.

Brian is Director of the New Leaf Learning Center in Massachusetts, where he has helped thousands of students from throughout the United States manage ADD and overcome test and math phobias.