enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Recipes, philosophy, yoga poses, compassion, pineapple cutting lessons, and practical tips about diet and health. (Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy)

Recipes, philosophy, yoga poses, compassion, pineapple cutting lessons, and practical tips about diet and health. (Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy)

Product Description

An absorbing, entertaining diet memoir with humor, empathy, and yoga.

Meet your new best yoga-and-healthy-eating friend in this smart, accessible, and funny memoir of dieting and discovery.

For years, Jessica struggled with fluctuating weight and bouts of unhappiness. Like many of us, she found comfort in food and craved cigarettes and self-confidence. Then one day Jessica took her first yoga class in Katmandu. She lost 40 pounds and changed her life forever.

In enLIGHTened, Jessica shares the core principles of yoga philosophy—not the poses and postures, but the ancient system of ideas that lies behind them, drawn from a 2000-year-old text called the Yoga Sutras. The inspiration for this memoir-driven diet and health book is studied by devout yoga students and teachers, and offers answers to eating smartly, living right, and losing weight.

Jessica goes beyond yoga's merge into mainstream—beyond trendy diets, unsustainable exercise routines, and the quest for the perfect figure. Using spiritual philosophy, and personal stories everyone can relate to, she sets the reader on a journey to self-acceptance, personal peace, and long-term health.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing; 1 edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602396396
• ISBN-13: 978-1602396395
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, helpful, hopeful!, June 1, 2009

By	K. Levin (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is like a pep talk from a friend about taking responsibility for your body, your mind and your choices in your life -- it tells you things you may already know, probably have thought about repeatedly, have made failed resolutions to attempt, but for whatever reason, you haven't actually been able to JUST DO IT already! Jessica Berger's words are encouraging and hopeful, and this is the kind of book you can read and continue to come back to when you need someone to set you back on track. The chili recipe was my favorite and is already in heavy rotation at our house!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very engrossing and informative, June 28, 2009

By	www.bookshipper.blogspot.com/ "www.bookshippe... (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I discovered the joys of yoga and pilates a year ago. I love it, although I am not as flexible as I would like to be (Jessica actually talks about this in her book). So, of course, this book hit me and I had to read it.

It is extremely well written, with honesty and I love that Jessica was completely opened about her weight issues, as well as some of her relationship issues with her parents. This book feels like a girlfriend and I talking -

I love the subject matter and Jessica touches on Ayuverda which is something that I have developed an interest in as well. Its almost as if Jessica was reading my mind.

I even love the quick and healthy recipes that are in the book. I have to say though, that, at times, Jessica makes the whole overeating thing a little too simplistic. As someone with an eating disorder (binge eating( its not always quite enough to talk to yourself or go for a long walk - but Jessica is right about trying to get to the root of the problems.

One of the things that I felt a little off about was the fact that Jessica always seems to have the time AND money to do all the things she wants to do. ALthough she and her hubby sounded as though they were not necessarily stable in the finance dept, especially since he was looking for another job - she goes ahead and becomes a yoga teacher and from the rest of the book, I did not get the feeling as though Jessica really ever had a full time job other than that of teaching yoga. Yet, she seems to be able to benefit from everything from Kripalu retreats to invitro, etc. I felt a disconnect there - what about the rest of us who have to hold down full time jobs, juggle kids and are just making ends meet???

I know that Jessica claims that you don't need a lot of $$$ to be healthy, etc. - she does not really lead by example on that particular subject. Yet, this is her story, so I guess she is just telling us what she lives.

I know, from experience, that if you want to get totally healthy and eat all these nutritious meals and enjoy walking, yoga and other various activities as suggested, you had better have a gift for making time for yourself AND a nice little amount of money to do it with.

Still, this book is hearwarming and encouraging and i loved it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, April 28, 2009

By	K. Brennan - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really loved this book! EnLIGHTened is a perfect mix of the practical and inspirational. It is written in a very user-friendly manner. The descriptions and pictures of the yoga poses are clear and helpful. Ms. Gross also highlights important take-aways in each section that can serve as great references. But in addition to being useful, Ms. Gross' story is motivating, candid, funny, and touching. As I read it I felt as if I was talking to a girlfriend. Her journey to wellness can serve as a motivation for all of us.