Book Review: Pedal, Stretch, Breathe + Giveaway

Pedal, Stretch, Breathe: The Yoga of Bicycling is a guide to the practice & philosophy of integrating cycling & yoga. If you're a cyclist who's curious about yoga, or you just need to loosen your muscles after a commute or recreational ride, this book is for you. If you do yoga & are curious about cycling, this is your book too.

Pedal, Stretch, Breathe actually started out as an issue of Taking The Lane zine. It became the most popular zine they published, so Kelli expanded on it & doubled the content to make it a book. In her friendly, accessible voice, Kelli Refer combines practical information & big picture ideas to provide a compelling new way of relating to both your body & the places you travel every day. Breathing techniques, hamstring stretches, clear diagrams of the anatomy involved in cycling, bike infrastructure, urban gardening, the science of particulate pollution, & the broad philosophical metaphors of yogic teaching all tie together convincingly in ways you wouldn't have expected.

This little 128-page pocket-sized gem includes sections like how to breathe your way up the steepest hills; yoga sequences for relaxing after a ride or stretching your calves at red lights; a flow chart of stretches to ease your achey knees & sore back; a breakdown of yogic philosophy as it applies to situations from road rage to complete streets advocacy. I love the charming drawings that illustrate all the muscles & yoga positions. The index of asanas on the last page is really handy to flip back to the illustrations quickly as needed. Also--it's a very portable little book, easily shoved in a pocked or purse for reference if you wanted to do some bikey yoga at the beach or while travelling.

Pedal, Stretch, Breathe is available from Elly Blue publishing, for $9.95.

About the author:

Kelli Refer is a yoga instructor, bicycle advocate, & daily cyclist in Seattle. She is dedicated to bringing yoga out of the studio & onto the bike path. Refer writes about yoga & bicycling on the blog yogaforbikers.me.

Now that you're convinced this is a great book & you need one, you've got a chance to win a copy of your own Pedal, Stretch, Breathe right here! Open to Canadian residents only, you can enter by as many of the below options in Rafflecopter as you like. Remember--the more you do, the better your chances! If you have any questions, please email me: lisa AT spokesmama DOT com. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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