Welcome to today’s stop on the Mother-Talk blog book tour for Healthy Mother, Healthy Child by Elizabeth Irvine.

Beth is a mother, a nurse and a yoga instructor (and apparently a Catholic, which seems a little out of place in this book, but whatever) and she integrates her experience in all of those areas to bring us Healthy Mother, Healthy Child. The subtitle of the book is ‘Creating Balance in Everyday Life’ and really, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Two months pregnant and parenting a barely one year old, having to go back to work full time to earn a maternity leave (25% of my salary, but anything helps), running several websites, having a dad with cancer, a husband who doesn’t cook (but does everything else – bless him) I’m in serious need of a little balance around here.

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).

It’s really a how-to guide to creating health & well-being using a multi-pronged approach. I really liked the way she took the principles of yoga and made them accessible to moms – including easy ways to include your children in your practice and teach them to meditate, appreciate silence and start creating a healthy life while they’re young. For anyone interested in learning how to share the benefits of yoga with kids and also explore the “granola lifestyle,” you’d like this book. If you’re not Catholic, just take that part with a grain of salt.

Check out Beth’s website and blog.

Thanks to Beth, I’ve got a copy of Healthy Mother, Healthy Child to send to one lucky reader. Email me through this link and a winner will be selected randomly! Congratulations Sheena!