“Healthy Mother, Healthy Child” by Elizabeth Irvine
May 7 - May 11
This week, MotherTalk bloggers are talking about Elizabeth Irvine’s book Healthy Mother, Healthy Child. In Healthy Mother, Healthy Child, Beth draws on her personal wisdom as a registered nurse, yoga teacher, and mother of three to teach families practical ways of building healthier lifestyles. Through simple language and gorgeous photographs, Irvine invites her readers to engage in yoga, breathing techniques, meditation, creative expression, wholesome nutrition, and introduces them to complementary therapies such as homeopathy. She then applies these practices to common health problems, both physical and emotional, all the while respecting both conventional western and complementary medicines. Beth has a beautiful website and a blog where you can find out more about the book and about the kind of healthy living ideals she espouses. In the meantime, look for posts throughout the week from bloggers at MUBAR, Baggage and Bug, Mom On A Wire, The Opinionated Parent, and Food For Thought.
May 7: Jen at MUBAR, who freely admits that her positive mood and energy level often have more to do with “the good people at Pfizer” rather than yoga and alternative therapies, finds, in the end, that the book has application in her life with small children. “It has given me some practical tips on more relaxation techniques I can practice and share with my children. It has given me some more information on alternative therapies like biofeedback which have always piqued my interest. And it has given me some ideas for building more ritual and tradition into our day.”
May 8: For Baggage and Bug, this book couldn’t have arrived at a better time. With sick kids, a sick mom, and a stressful week, a little advice about healthy balance was just what the doctor ordered. As an adoptive and foster mother, she wished the book had been more inclusive of her particular experience, but she was inspired by the yoga and the section on natural foods. She writes, “It’s a beautiful book. It is chock full of black and white photographs of children and moms relaxing, meditating, and doing yoga. The author got on my good side right away when she explained that she does rely on medication when the ‘body is in crisis.’ So many books like this are anti-medicine, so it was nice to see a different take.”
May 9: The book also comes at a crucial time for Karli at Mom On A Wire. She writes: “I knew this book was going to be useful to me when I saw the front cover. Under the title is the phrase ‘Creating balance in everyday life.’ And boy, do I need me some balance right now.” Karli was nervous about the yoga, but overall found the book a wonderful and inspiring resource to help herself and her kids through a difficult time. “Since I’ve never tried yoga before, and I quite frankly suck at taking care of my physical self, I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn’t be able to connect with much of what she had to say, but she explained it all is such a simple and gentle way that within the first few pages I was down on the floor attempting my first Cobra Pose. What I appreciated the most about this book was that Elizabeth didn’t stop at teaching you how to try her ideas on your own- she takes it a step further, and guides you through the process of sharing it with your children.”
May 10: Nicole at Much More Than A Mom and The Opinionated Parent is also grateful to have a book about creating balance in your life at a time when her life needs some serious balancing. Nicole really liked how Beth made the principles of yoga accessible to moms and their kids, and she writes, “The book is lovely. It’s full of lovely relaxing photos of mother & children meditating and practicing yoga. It goes through the basics, from the asanas (poses) to breathing to eating and expands into alternative therapies, challenges & ways to express feelings (based on her experiences of severe allergies with her own son).”
May 11: Caroline at Food For Thought rounds out the tour with a thoughtful review of the book drawing on her own personal experiences with yoga. She calls the book “gorgeous,” and says, “Irvine writes with an engaging tone, and peppers her prose with plenty of real-world examples to support her points. ‘We take on board whatever thoughts we feed ourselves,’ she says, pointing out how deflated you can feel, for example, after a well-meaning friend says, ‘You look tired.’ She offers strategies to avoid absorbing everything the world dishes out.” Overall, she writes, “I found the book simple, clear and useful. It reiterated some things I know already and practice, inspired me to try adding a couple more habits to my family life, and taught me a few things I didn’t know. I’m looking forward to adding some of her ideas to our daily routine.”
