Synopses & Reviews
In a provocative and practical look at modern stress, Seeking Serenity offers an empowering new message: Stress can serve as a guide to living our happiest and healthiest lives.
In Seeking Serenity, stress columnist Amanda Enayati challenges our long-held assumptions about stress, painting a groundbreaking picture that separates myth from reality when it comes to what is commonly referred to as the plague of modern life. Weaving together stories, research from science, history, philosophy and diverse faiths, and everyday exercises, she crafts a fascinating tale that begins with the behind-the-scenes machinations of corporate villains and ends in the power of our stories to shape our realities.
We are living in an era of dramatic highs and lows, with lives that move at a pace and intensity impossible at any other time in history. These contradictions throw us off-kilter, out of harmony and balance, creating what we perceive as never-ending and destructive cycles of stress. But life itself has always beenand will always bea series of fluctuations: the good days, the bad days, the excruciating days. The key to mastering stress lies in the way we experience it.
Seeking Serenity presents ten revolutionary principles developed from the emerging science of stress and reinforced by literature, philosophy and age-old spiritual wisdom that help us to differentiate between destructive and constructive stress, and to master stress in the everyday by learning how to:
- Shift our perceptions to interpret inevitable challenges in a way that serves us better;
- Embrace a narrative that casts stress as a pathway to adaptation and growth; and
- Commit to breaks, buffers, and protective practices that will minimize and neutralize the adverse impacts of toxic stress.
Drawing on extensive research and remarkable case studies, Seeking Serenity presents a clear and accessible action plan to achieving more joyful and productive lives, stronger communities and a better world.
Review
"[This book] delivers answers to many perennial training questions [and] does a great job of myth-busting some well-established beliefs. It's a great guide for the mindful athlete who wants to gain all the benefits of physical training while minimizing downtime from injury or overtraining."
Review
"There has never been a better time in history to grow stronger, faster and smarter; there has never been a more helpful book than Gretchen Reynolds's
The First 20 Minutes. Smart, clear, and beautifully useful, this is the new fitness bible for the modern age."
Review
"
The First 20 Minutes is packed with interesting tips and insights. Pickle juice for cramps, who would have ever thought! Gretchen Reynolds once again delivers a winner."
Review
“Amanda Enayati takes us to the intersection of science, philosophy, and spirituality in order to create a road map for not only surviving, but thriving in a world fueled by stress and burnout. Her extensive research, years of reporting, and compelling firsthand accounts give Seeking Serenity the power to change the conversation and help us live our lives with less stress and more fulfillment.”—Arianna Huffington,
New York Times Bestselling Author of
Thrive
“Seeking Serenity is a big-picture look at what stress is trying to tell us about how to live better, happier, and healthier lives. Its a much-needed antidote to an increasingly stressful world.”—Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter and New York Times Bestselling Author of The Power of Habit
“Seeking Serenity is an indispensable guide to these difficult times. Amanda Enayatis experiences of exile, illness, and parenthood make it real and essen¬tial. A journalist who stumbled into the field of stress management—she does an inspiring job of teaching us how to calm down and live happily.”—Erica Jong, International Bestselling Author of Fear of Flying
Synopsis
A 2012 Books for a Better Life nominee
A cutting-edge prescription for exercise by the New York Times Phys Ed” columnist
At one point or another, nearly every person who works out wonders: Am I doing this right? Which class is best? Do I work out enough? Answering those questions and more, The First 20 Minutes helps both weekend warriors dedicated to their performance and readers who simply want to get and stay fit gain the most from any workout.
With the latest findings about the mental and physical benefits of exercise, personal stories from scientists and laypeople alike, as well as researched-based prescriptions for readers, Gretchen Reynolds shows what kind of exerciseand how muchis necessary to stay healthy, get fit, and attain a smaller jeans size. Inspired by Reynolds's wildly popular Phys Ed” column for The New York Times, this book explains how exercise affects the body in distinct ways and provides the tools readers need to achieve their fitness goals, whether that's a faster 5K or staying trim.
Synopsis
The
New York Times bestseller that explains how groundbreaking scientific discoveries can help each of us achieve our personal best
Every week, Gretchen Reynolds single-handedly influences how millions of Americans work out. In her popular New York Times column, she debunks myths, spurs conversation, and stirs controversy by questioning widely held beliefs about exercise.
Here, Reynolds consults experts in a range of fields to share paradigm-shifting findings that were previously only available in academic and medical journals, including:
· 20 minutes of cardio is all you need (and sometimes six minutes is enough)
· Stretching before a workout is counterproductive
· Chocolate milk is better than Gatorade for recoveryWhether you’re running ultramarathons or just want to climb the stairs without losing your breath, The First 20 Minutes will show you how to be healthy today and perform better tomorrow.
Synopsis
A quick guide to getting in shape and improving performance from New York Times Phys Ed” columnist and author of the New York Times Bestseller The First 20 Minutes
Do you really know how to get fit and healthy?
Bringing us cutting edge research and science-based prescriptions, Gretchen Reynolds shows us what we do and do not need to do to reach out fitness goals, whether that means running a marathon or just getting off the couch or. Busting popular myths, looking at which supplements actually work, giving us the lowdown on weight training, and singing the praises of just standing up, The First 20 Minutes Personal Trainer is the guide to take wherever you take your workout.
Synopsis
Achieve new levels of peace and mindfulness with this empowering and transformative look at stress.
In Seeking Serenity, CNN Health columnist Amanda Enayati examines life in the modern age of anxiety and outlines ten revolutionary principles for living stress free.
With more demands than ever, most of us are overwhelmed with an unending stream of communication and constant pressure to do more, creating a destructive cycle of stress. In an enlightened new approach, Seeking Serenity shines the twin searchlights of modern science and spirituality on this perennial complaint and delivers the most effective ways to beat stressand in doing so, the best way to live.
Seeking Serenity shows readers how to take control of their lives and their anxiety through ten principles: belong, be happy, be resilient, be creative, be loving, be giving, be uncluttered, be healthy, be free, and be present. These groundbreaking principles connect the dots among a variety of disciplines and cultures, providing the first big-picture view of stress beyond a medical standpoint and including essential spiritual, philosophical, cultural, and personal perspectives.
Drawing on extensive research and remarkable case studies, Seeking Serenity proves to be not just a fascinating journey through stress, but a clear, accessible action plan to achieve lifes most elusive prizes: balance and bliss.
About the Author
Amanda Enayati is a columnist, author and speaker whose essays about stress, happiness, creativity, technology and identity have appeared widely, including on CNN, PBS, NPR, Time Healthland,
The Washington Post, Salon,
Readers Digest. As a contributor for CNN Health, she began examining the quest for well-being and life balance in her column
Seeking Serenity, in 2011. She is also the stress and technology correspondent for PBS MediaShift. She lives with her husband and two children in Los Angeles and San Francisco.