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At FITgear, we believe fitness is more than just the physical body. That’s why we’re taking the time to share our most important books to help expand your mind and think more about the human condition and your place in the world. First, it’s important to know we’ve read each of these books and selected them because they drastically changed how we think about ourselves in relation to the broader human experience. Second, we have no affiliation to these authors nor are we being “paid” to talk about these books. They are simply publications we found helpful to encourage your mental health. Even if you can’t make time to sit down and “read” in the traditional sense. Maybe give audiobooks a try. Audible.com is a great option and maybe keep a notebook or a notes on your phone to refer back to your favorite quotes. Maybe ask a friend, partner or spouse to read along with you and run a shared “notes” page on your phone. This is a great way to generate discussion.
The first book we’re sharing is “Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.. This book literally blew our minds. Bessel is most definitely the Godfather of understanding the mind/body connection. And more specifically how the trauma of our past is carried and expressed in our bodies when left unaddressed. Bessel covers the range of traumatic experiences (big and small) and how they manifest in our physical body’s. Bessel is less interested in the specific type of trauma and more about it’s impact on the brain, immune system, digestion and a host of other impacts. He talks about the most extreme impacts of untreated trauma and why pharmaceuticals isn’t necessarily the end all answer. DISCLAIMER: We are not doctors at FITgear and this is not medical advice. However, we do see value in understanding your options. And in any event physical fitness and awareness is never a bad thing in addition to other medical treatments. Dr. Van Der Kolk takes the time to detail the various Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) studies and the most appropriate treatment methods. Long story short, he talks about movement as a solid treatment supplement with therapy as beneficial for PTSD. There is never a bad time to slowly start working through your tension with your physical Fitness. We plan to do another post on the benefits of yoga for your mind and body. One thing to note about this book, we found it’s more digestible in small chunks. Some of the topics are deep so take your time. For now, head on over to our yoga apparel. For dude’s we’re recommending our soft, sleeveless tank to keep you cool during your workout. For ladies, we suggest our cozy camo joggers paired with a black sports bra.
The second book we’re talking about, the absolutely brilliant Brené Brown, “The Gifts of Imperfection”. Let’s face it, every dang thing Brené writes is pure magic. We read her books and think “ah, finally someone understands the human experience and put it into words right before our eyes!”Perhaps the best thing about Brené’s books is she writes based on research. This book is entirely about the 10 “guideposts”, as she calls them, for life. This book is great food for thought to consider how you interact with other relationships, how do you show up as your authentic self, and how do you embrace the little imperfections in life which allows for a richer and deeper human experience. The more you can accept yourself, the more you can live in the present and Brené is a great bridge to learning how to get there.
The next book we’re talking about is by the incomparable Pastor Mike Todd. If you haven’t heard Pastor Mike preach, do yourself a favour and get over to Tik Tok, search Mike Todd, and find yourself spending hours entrenched in his memorable and thoughtful ministry. This man can Preach- with a capital P! He doesn’t shy away from the hard spiritual topics like sex, marriage, and dating. He brilliantly weaves the modern-day struggles with the lessons of the bible. The particular writing we’re loving right now is “Crazy Faith”. He talks about the crazy amount of faith that comes from unusual, and sometimes hard, circumstances. He talks about how we can use our circumstances to understand what God has for our life. If we can trust Him and what he has set before us (yes, that’s him with a capital H!). We can trust our journey in life. Pastor Mike reminds us to look to the Lord sometimes during moments of question, sadness, joy, abundance- in all things look back to our faith in Him. Finally, one of the best things about Pastor Mike is his ability to take biblical lessons and quickly make them relatable (daresay comical) in order to apply them to our everyday life. This book is a readable masterpiece to understand how we can place our faith in our daily experience.
The next book we’d like to encourage is the philosophical and meaningful work by Jordan Peterson. This is another guy, if you haven’t heard him speak, get over to Tik Tok and prepare to lose hours entrenched in his, sometimes over-the-top, brilliance. In all honesty, sometimes this guy’s genius is on another level but what you’re left with is the feeling of “wow, I never really thought about life that way but he’s right.”His life lessons are those of the greatest wisdom only
a person who has truly lived a deep, sometimes traumatic, experience. The book we’re loving from Dr. Peterson is “12 Rules for Life”.
We love this infographic that summarizes Dr. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life.
We created these philosophical tees that we think Dr. Peterson would appreciate.
Finally, the last book we’re loving right now is the latest from Daniel Pink. He recently published his book “The Power of Regret”. It’s another one of those that makes you realize, your regrets may not be all that unique but there’s something you can do about it. Here’s a great YouTube video that really speaks to the summary of this book – just don’t cheat yourself out of experiencing the entire book. This is one of those books that comes with heavy topics that force deep reflection- it’s best to read it in short chunks. The good thing is, as always, Daniel takes his complex research and much like our friend Brené, breaks down his results into meaningful themes. They even did a podcast together about it! With the themes in Dan’s book, we learn we’re not alone in our regrets and there is applicable lessons to draw from all of our regrets.
So that’s it. Those are all of the compelling and brilliant thinkers that will draw you into considering how you interact with the human experience, show up as your authentic self, and reclaim your mental wellness. We’d love to hear what you think after you’ve made it through a few chapters. Keep us posted!
