Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience, and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos

by Hala Khouri

A holistic approach to easing anxiety without hiding from the world's challenges.

Overwhelming anxiety and stress--most of us experience these feelings at some point. The challenges in our lives threaten to overpower us at times and the struggles we see in the world further add to the burden. Peace from Anxiety helps us understand the deep roots of our suffering so that we can work toward finding more peace--even in chaos. Therapist and yoga teacher Hala Khouri takes us on a journey to investigate our personal habits, understand our lives, and transform what doesn't serve us. Even though the roots of our anxiety, stress, and pain may feel complicated, healing doesn't have to be.

Khouri explores how our brain and nervous system experience stress and discusses how we can begin to get in touch with our body to better understand its signals and how to handle them. She delves deeply into the primary causes of anxiety and offers practical tools for releasing stress and being present with discomfort. Peace from Anxiety discusses topics including trauma, relationships, technology, and working not only for individual healing but also collective healing in our world. Filled with relatable stories and examples, each chapter offers a range of practices and tools to help us find more peace and work for good in our own lives and the lives of others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Mental Health, Health

272 pages, Paperback

Published April 13, 2021

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, to be transparent, I am a colleague and friend of Hala Khouri, and she mentions me in the book. That being said, I can honestly say that if I were not mentioned, and I did not know the author, I would still have the same very positive opinion of this book. I have learned so much from Hala not just because of her expertise, but because her compassion, earnestness and generosity of spirit make her an extraordinary teacher and guide, and all of that shines through in this book.

I learned from Hala most of the tools and practices that she explains in the book, and have used them for quite a few years. As someone who grapples with complex trauma and PTSD, and previously had only a vague awareness of interoception, I have found these exercises to be incredibly helpful. Talk therapy has always been helpful for me, but it is the somatic self-awareness and breathing practices that have helped me get to know my self, and to understand, in a practical and visceral way, how intertwined "mind" and "body" are, and that it's not possible to work on mind-based issues without also attending to physical sensations and reactions. Learning these tools to self-regulate has helped me to feel much more comfortable navigating the world than I ever would have imagined before.

I love that Hala wrote this book, because it is a very informative, easy to read, and comprehensive guide through all the tools and concepts I have learned from her over the years. It makes me happy that her knowledge, expertise and wisdom are now available to anyone who has access to this book. She teaches skills and concepts that, hopefully someday, will be taught as a matter of course to everyone.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of this book is that Hala doesn't limit her teaching and guidance to isolated individuals. She starts there (with a personal, "self-help" scope), but eventually expands out to include the importance of relationship in regards to how we perceive, practice and grow our own well-being. She gradually increases the scope of relationship from the one we have with ourselves, to family and friends, community, and beyond. In this way she nurtures a very organic and accessible understanding of how and why it is not possible to truly achieve peace of mind and well-being if we isolate the scope of our awareness and practice to only ourselves.

While that may sound overwhelming at first, the book is organized in such a way that the reader can easily take on only as much as feels manageable, and get benefit from it. Hala encourages and reminds the reader that there is no "right" way, or amount, of progress to make, and that each reader's journey through the material will look different. One of the important themes weaved throughout the entire book is the importance of each of us learning to be our own authoritative guide, based on knowing ourselves, rather than being told by someone else how to measure "progress". While the scope of the book eventually expands to include global awareness, there is no pressure or expectation for anyone to measure up to any external standard of achievement. The point is to offer tools in an accessible way, and that can be adapted and personalized so that anyone who uses them can benefit from them.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It is written so as to be accessible and understandable regardless of the reader's previous level of exposure to the concepts, and it is also useful as a reference, reminder, encouragement, or refresher for those of us who have already been working with these tools.

[Raffaello Palandri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hala Khouri, MA, is a therapist, yoga teacher, and somatic experiencing practitioner. She is one of the founders of Off the Mat and Into the World, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging yoga and activism, founded in 2007.
She teaches workshops on resilience, anxiety, trauma, and social justice.


Peace from Anxiety by Hala Khouri
I read this book being a Yoga teacher and a holistic coach myself, to learn more about Hala Khouri’s approach. And, I was absolutely amazed by her way to deal with anxiety without hiding from the hard times, the challenges, and the struggles that most of us face in today’s hectic world.

Everyone is facing stress and anxiety, yet for some of us, the struggle is overwhelming to the point where one can no longer get out of those negative feelings and emotions. This means that some are bringing on their shoulders the heavy burden of unresolved issues, which increases anxiety, in a vicious cycle.

Suffering is the reality that many people face today, in a society that is demanding, pressing, and even pushing us toward our boundaries.

Peace from Anxiety makes an excellent job of helping the reader find the roots of the issue and understand the underlying mechanism so that one could start working to break the negative cycle.

Hala Khouri shows the readers, also those who are not Yoga practitioners, how to get rid of negative habits, mindsets, and attitudes so as to transform one’s life. She proposes an easy, effective, regenerating route to healing.

The author explores the nervous and biological roots of stress and the effect of anxiety on our bodies and minds. She reminds the reader about the need of listening to our body so as to become aware of the negative effects of stress and anxiety.
The book is packed with practical tools for releasing stress while being mindfully present during what causes discomfort. This also means talking about difficulties, trauma, relationships, and dealing with the working world’s pressing requests.

This is one of those books that can help one to rediscover our holistic nature, our being all different in being all equal, our being all connected, and that we share the same universal energy. Our bodies, minds, and souls are connected and interdepend with the world we live in, and we have to become aware of that to heal.

What I appreciated most in this book is the idea, which I fully support, having been sharing it for more than 25 years, that there is a social commitment towards a holistic well-being and healing that we have to take, in order to create a better society for all of us.

I definitely recommend this book!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. As a yoga teacher and a health care provider - there was so much good information - it took me a long time to read ut because I wanted to absorb all the important information. I especially like the breakdown of the areas of the nervous system that help us stay balanced, and the wonderful reminders about being socially responsible.

Hala if you read this review-I would love to share this book with my yogis if you share extra copies. My copy is from the library but I have already read excerpts in my class. Many thanks!

[K Hue · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding! trauma, yoga, critical consciousness, social justice, healing vs cure, shifting limiting beliefs, resourcing, intergenerational trauma, collective anxiety (not individual anxiety) requires collective healing and liberation, the process of re-membering (not dismembering), connecting with something bigger, conflict transformation, and so much more. packed into such a tight, succinct volume. great.

[KD · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the first time ever, I'm choosing to DNF a book. Normally I can deal with powering through, but I just wasn't connection to this book and dreaded picking it up each time. I made it to page 75, and everything was stuff I already knew. I found the client stories to be filler. There was nothing to drive me to wanting to keep reading. Hopefully it helps others though! 🙏🏻

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hala Khouri is a trauma survivor, trauma therapist, and trauma-informed yoga teacher. In Peace from Anxiety, she provides an excellent discussion of trauma and anxiety based on her own personal experience as well as her experience as a practitioner. She writes in a friendly, conversational tone that is easy to understand. She also writes with great sensitivity and inclusive stories and examples.

I thought this book offered a particularly good discussion of trauma and nervous system dysregulation. I was already familiar with most of the concepts discussed, yet I felt like I gained a better understanding of how I have been affected by trauma and why I react the way I do at times. Even more importantly, helpful exercises and questions for reflection are scattered throughout the text so you can actually practice calming your nervous system and healing from trauma.

I loved how the author discusses the potential gifts of trauma, such as post-traumatic growth, building resilience, and developing compassion, as well as the difficulties. I also appreciated how she explores different types of trauma, including shock, developmental, systemic, and inherited trauma. I was intrigued by her argument that healing must happen in connection with others.

The book includes endnotes and a selected bibliography.

These are stressful times, and most people could probably benefit from the tools this book provides. Those with an activist bent may especially appreciate the discussion of staying grounded while working toward social change.

I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

**ARC**
This is a knowledge book, it’s full of explanations and descriptions. It’s part biography with life examples and easy-to-follow exercises and reflections. It contains reflections, examples, techniques, accounts, and diagrams. The language is simple and easy to understand with no technical terms that may make it difficult to understand where the writer is coming from. The book is laid out with an overall explanation of the chapter before going into different techniques before ending with either an exercise or reflection activity. The author includes a lot of her own life but also the accounts of her clients and students. She even relates some events to her children. It relates to the current problems of the world as it was written during the pandemic. It does need to be read in order and future chapters do refer to the previous chapters in regards to material and techniques. The book does include a small section regarding notes marked in the chapters and the notes section is broken down by chapter, there is also an index and selected bibliography. This book is good for someone wanting to know why but needs real-life examples to relate to the topics.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from Shambhala Publications, Inc. in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I learned a lot from this book especially at the end of each chapter there is a reflection question that executes what you learned into your own personal thoughts. I have read so many peace and anxiety books but none of them in a clear cut manner focused on applying what you learned and that is the whole point of these books. I am really glad Hala Khouri took a clear focus on that which made me want to continue and follow along with her advice and personal stories she had incorporated within the book. I know our patrons are going to find this book very helpful and hopefully create a better life for themselves.

We will consider adding this title to our Self-Help collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

[Amy Holovnia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hala is a brilliant educator. I appreciate her collective approach to healing and wellness drawing from wisdom from other cultures, rather than from a solely western, individualistic approach. Hala explains how our personal peace benefits our entire community and vice versa. She teaches individual techniques such as grounding and centering and also explains the important role of connection on our internal peace and wellbeing. Hala touches on personal, interpersonal, and collective wellness. I loved learning about collective care, a concept that is often rejected by mainstream western culture which views wellness as individual but a concept that makes so much sense when we realize how interdependent we are. This book encourages and gives tools for its readers to improve as individuals, members of our community, and global citizens. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a long time fan of Hala’s work. She breaks down complex information into digestible, understandable and helpful information. Her extensive knowledge of anxiety, depression and trauma inform her effective methods for managing these struggles in an embodied, lasting way.

I read this book a couple years ago and listened to the audio version again recently. I have to say the book is five stars, but the narration in the audio version was two stars for me. The narrator had an overly light, casual tone for the material, reading it in a style appropriate for teenage romance. It wasn’t enough to spoil my second read (listen) through but if the audio version turns you off I highly recommend trying the physical book.

[Geizel Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. This book reminds us of the community part in our life’s and our part in the community. Books like this usually focus on the individual, but this one understand that whole healing can only happen 50% in us and 50% outside of ourselves with others. I believe this. Honestly the most emotionally anxious people are the people who cut themselves from all else which are the same people who live in constant fear. We may think we don’t need each other but our body’s health (mentally and physically) says otherwise.

[The Reading Faerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an amazing book. The practices and reflections are something I use EVERY day!

[Ian Napper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for our time. Lots of useful information and exercises for grounding and self-regulation.

[Anne Phyfe Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, compassionate, and grounded, Khouri shares both of herself and her decades of training to bring forth this highly useable guide to finding peace from anxiety.

[Charlotte Durham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book gives practical advice for dealing with stress and anxiety based mostly on psychology and some Eastern practises like yoga, which was all helpful. This book inspires readers to bow down to the healing process and embrace their anxiety, trauma, and emotions.

Then she gets into deconstructing "rugged individualism" which is no doubt encouraged in Western society. The idea that we have to have everything in order before building relationships is replaced by the idea that building meaningful relationships is what will ultimately increase or happiness, health, and aid our healing journey. This was also helpful.

The second half of the book is all about social justice, broader suffering, and societal issues. While I found most of the ideas she presented to be fine and well, it felt a little self-righteous and condescending at times.

[Chloe Slome · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a lot of good points, I think I just have too much on my mind right now and am too preoccupied to take away the best lessons from the book. I do think the points of having to write and answer questions about ourself, looking at why we may react a certain way to things can be beneficial. I will have to reread at another point.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I REALLY liked parts of this book. At times a 5 and BBC at other times a 3.

[Chin Tin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. What I needed at the moment.

[Jessamine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t what I expected. I loved the first half as it addressed specific ways to address anxiety. But the second half was focused on suffering and social justice.

[Jill Salahub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is timely and incredibly helpful. It places the individual experience of anxiety in the context of community and culture -- identifying exactly what anxiety is, what compounds and triggers it, giving practical strategies for working with it in a truly sustainable way.