An empowering, gentle, and compassionate handbook to help teenage women find body acceptance, self-love, confidence, and connection through the tools that yoga and meditation offer.
When Alex Mazerolle was a teenager, she struggled with the things that so many young people deal with: complicated friendships, parents who just don't understand, crushes and heartbreaks, and, even, a negative body image. A competitive dancer, how Alex looked was something she was constantly aware of. And no matter how hard she trained or how often she worked out, or how much she restricted what she ate, it was never enough, and she found herself in a dark cycle of disordered eating, self-hatred, and low self-esteem.
Then, in the middle of a difficult period, Alex went to a yoga class. As she moved through a flow and slowed her breath, something changed.
Born out of retreats that Alex began holding for teenage, self-identified women aged 12-19, Girlvana is the culmination of decades of work. It is a call to action for the self-a handbook to face, overcome, and embrace the challenges that come with the teenage years. In it, Alex honors the ancient traditions of yoga, pranayama (breath work), and meditation, but reinterprets them for our world today. Through six chapters, and in a compassionate and supportive voice, Alex encourages readers to explore and understand-through yoga, breath work, meditation, and building community-their feelings, their mental health, their bodies, and their relationships. She offers advice for having tough conversations, for working through low self-esteem moments, for seeking help for depression and anxiety, for being a better ally, and for using your privilege for good and for others.
Raw, heartfelt, and, Girlvana is the essential book for every teenage girl.
