A Book We Love: Spirit Junkie
Today’s post is part of FBG’s Back to Basics Week that features the best beginner fitness and beginner nutrition posts that help you to be a little healthier and—in theme with the week—a little smarter. We’ve decided to include this book review because it hones in on the more mental side of health and wellness, and shows that real fitness comes from the inside out!
Over the years, as my own personal fitness and wellness journey has evolved, I’ve learned that fitness isn’t just physical. To both get in shape and stay in shape, you can’t just mindlessly hit the gym, hoping to get results. Nor can you even begin to imagine what your physical body can actually do when you put your—wait for it—mind and soul into it. Part of the reason we started FBG back in 2008 was to let people in on this secret: Taking the time to take care of yourself and love yourself with regular workouts and eating right can actually totally open your life up to be about 1,000 times better than you expected. Yes, we want fit bottoms, but it’s never been just about that. It’s been about more, much more.
But sometimes you have to put the cart before the horse. Sometimes, instead of using fitness as a means to get to self-love and confidence, you need a little something else to get you to feel good about you—so that you then want to work out and take care of yourself. And when you need that little aha moment to get you going on the right (aka healthier and happier path), we recommend a cheery little blonde by the name of Gabby Bernstein. We reviewed her first book back in spring of last year, and really, really liked it. And Gabby’s second book, Spirit Junkie? Well, it’s more of the same awesome—plus more.
Part self-help and part-memoir, Gabby tells her full story in Spirit Junkie. She details her journey of overcoming a fast-paced and somewhat vapid life filled with drugs, partying and unhealthy relationships to find a deeper, true and fulfilling happiness full of self love and miracles. Definitely a hippity-dippity read that’s based on the other book A Course in Miracles, it’s basically a guide of how Gabby overcame her inner demons that were preventing her to be happy and how you can do the same by changing up your thinking, forgiving yourself, praying and meditating.
While there’s not a lot of fitness in the book per se—like I said, it’s very hippity-dippity (with a fun, young tone)—this book can definitely be a game changer for your mind and body. If you’re stuck with your weight loss, keep sabotaging yourself and your goals by overeating or choosing unhealthy foods, can’t find the motivation to workout, overwork yourself or simply just seem to have too much darn stress in your life or chatter in your head, this book can do wonders. I seriously had about 10 aha moments when reading it, and scribbled down five Post-its of quotes, sayings and little tidbits that spoke to me so much that I just HAD TO WRITE THEM DOWN. (And capitalize my doing so, apparently.)
If you feel stuck or simply want to be just a little bit (or a lot) happier, you can’t go wrong with Spirit Junkie. If you really give it a shot and follow even some of Gabby’s advice, I almost guarantee you’ll begin to see your world in a healthier way.
Want to learn more about this book and the author? Check out our Q&A with Spirit Junkie author Gabby Bernstein here! —Jenn