RETOX: Yoga*Food*Attitude Healthy Solutions for Real Life

by Lauren Imparato

Practical health and wellness strategies for real life from Lauren Imparato, creator of the I.AM.YOU. lifestyle brand and yoga studio.

Rest to rage. Meditate to work. Cleanse to get dirty.

Enough preaching about self-deprivation.  No more striving for bodily purity. Who has the patience—or the time!—for strict dietary restrictions and hours of meditation? Let’s get real. These tactics just don’t work—at least not for long.  But that doesn’t mean health and happiness are unobtainable.

Most often you just need an anxiety buster you can do while running down the street. Or a yoga pose you can do at your desk. Or a way to debloat what feels like an alien baby in your abdomen. Retox isn’t about changing who you are or denying life’s pleasures. It’s about tailoring sensible, scientifically-based health practices to the life you already live. It’s about working hard, playing harder, and renewing your balance and energy so you can do it all again.

In Retox , health expert Lauren Imparato strips yoga down to its anatomical principles, offering practical tips for fast relief. Then, drawing from a variety of disciplines—from psychology to nutrition to Tibetan philosophy—she designs no-nonsense strategies and delicious recipes to combat the most common challenges of modern

• Stress and anxiety
• Low energy
• Back pain and headaches
• Hangovers
• PMS
• Sleep Deprivation
• And much more...

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help

384 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2015

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hace unos años me enamoré del yoga y al poco tiempo adquirí este libro. Entre que me lesioné y otras cosas de la vida lo he acabado dejando de lado hasta ahora que he retomado un poco el ejercicio y pensé: "que mejor para motivarme que empezar este libro de Yoga".

A ver, no es mal libro, pero esperaba más de él. Cuenta mucho su experiencia en diversos ámbitos y no solo en yoga, como por ejemplo la alimentación. Y está claro que pretende animar a los demás siendo ella misma ejemplo. Pero creo que por ello acaba causando el efecto contrario.

Algunos ejercicios para hacer en "la oficina" los veo muy interesantes, e incluso para encima de una esterilla, pero ya que tiene un canal de youtube habría visto aún mejor que pudieses verlos a la vez que leyendo la explicación —sí, es un libro y no puedes esperar otra cosa pero habría sumado puntos ya que hay cientos de clases por internet—.

Y el tema de alimentación... no digo que no tenga conocimientos, seguramente hasta sepa hasta más que yo, pero no considero que debas recomendar mucho si no eres un profesional o supervisado por uno (que no lo sé si está o no). Aún así ofrece bastante recetas la mar de interesantes para diversos momentos en los que te encuentres.

En definitiva, es un poco un libro de consulta para ciertos momentos —reconozco que he ido saltándome partes, su lectura muy amena no es— pero no lo veo como un imprescindible ni mucho menos.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always keen to read anything to do with Yoga so I was pretty interested in reading this when I spotted it at the library. Anyway, this book is about the method of using Yoga, food and meditation to live a more awesome life and feel better about yourself. I thought the Yoga aspects were really interesting but in one part she talked about how she had done a lot of research and discovered that some poses were really dangerous so she won't even teach them anymore. It would have been nice to know what the poses were and what it was that makes them dangerous but that was not this book. When the food aspect was introduced the author talked about how people should eat what they like and that food is food. However, every section after that was much more heavily restrictive about what foods should be eaten and what should be avoided at all costs. The nourish element was also really good and well explained too. Overall, I thought this book was pretty good in the information that it gave but given that the author made a lot of points about how she did a lot of research and came to a bunch of conclusions, I thought it would have been nice for a bit more explanation of why certain things were good or bad rather than just the author saying, I did research and so this is what you should do. That being said, I will flick through to various sections on certain ailments and give them a try. The desk yoga exercises seem to be really good so far.

[Pres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contrary to most diet books advising you to cut down food intakes, this book ask you to add, in a healthy way. It is not about those fake add-on items such as two bowls of veggies, which basically does not have any calories impact. The book does not even mention about watching out calories intake. It is from an yoga perspective to take care of your body. Even chapter finishes with some yoga movements. I especially love those movement that can be simply done on an office chair.

[Lindzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the attitude of this book although I think there could have been improvements to make it better. I like the special poses for different "problems". I missed an explanation of why a pose was good or what happened physically etc doing a pose. Too bad the photos did not come in color. The food recipes could have been so much more inspiring now they only feel dead.

[Anna W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rating

Definitely a good book to review if you're tired of being demonized for not eating all paleo, not becoming a vegan, or for thinking keto is bad for you. This book pushes readers to understand that life is about balance, including lifestyle, diet, and stress regulation.

The recipes are easy, albeit some without much spice or flavor, and the yoga is accessible to all readers (unless hindered by injury, ability, or pregnancy of course).

The only aspect of this book I did not like was its main audience will be middle to upper class, but there's no way around that. The recipes and yoga poses are available to all, but the background and skill set of the author is privileged, which limits her credibility with some readers. Obviously she cannot change her background and experiences, but there certainly could have been more understanding built into her book to expand her readers' interests.

Overall a nice read, and a welcome shift from the diet/lifestyle fads of late.

[Cara Lembo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Lauren is a well-educated Princeton graduate who truly has a way with her words. She makes choices to change her life, despite her financial successes and shares them freely with the world in this book, mostly about attitude changes. Her recipes are simple and her mind boggling approach to managing a new career is inspiring. I would recommend this to even the best of YOGI's who might need more information rather than meditation. Joking of course. Good book, don't count it out this holiday break!

Others I know have already read it and agree!

[Whitney Stanfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some good information but it lacked the delivery. The author should have presented her research along with her findings instead of slipping into a more opinion-based approach. Also, the lack of color photos and fonts was confusing since the back cover of the book is in color! I feel like this book would benefit from a visual makeover especially since it deals with yoga and food. Black and white photos do not do the recipes or poses justice and actually distracts from the visual design.

[Roseanne S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. I found it empowering in the beginning, but a bit "I have all the answers" toward the middle.
Her method is good, but I feel more explanation rather then opinion would have helped.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff. Different ideas. I wish she had a better format for her yoga portion.

[Sofia Teixeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro prático, sem merdas e eficaz. Brevemente a opinião completa.

[Jenny Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s about 2.5 stars.. I honestly could not finish it. I jumped around. It’s got good stuff in it but it don’t do it for me

[Erich · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was certainly some useful information, but it isn't really applicable to everyone.

[J.Bayze · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man. I was really excited about this book. I was really excited about the premise of no dieting, no stress, simply learning easily accessible ways to get rid of stress, hangovers, poochy tummy (she calls it Alien Baby), etc.

What I got was a book full of fairly restrictive dieting advice, pictures of the author in a bikini (we get it, you have a fab body), and pretty self-righteous/ egocentric writing. Trust me, this lady is a BIG FAN of herself and she's got the pictures of herself teaching yoga to prove it.

Super disappointed. I feel misled by the description. Get this book if you're looking for yet another strict protocol to follow in order to become the "best you."

[Bookerina Lovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! As someone who has always been interested in yoga but has never had the time or drive to really do anything about it, I found this book to be a good introduction into the practice.

[Terri Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a common sense scientifically based holistic approach to health. This is the first book I've read in a long time that makes sense and doesn't make me feel like a total loser (at life not weight loss)!

[Shmanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I expected to.

[Teri Temme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great ideas! Favorite quote: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." ~Gandhi