10 Books That Shaped My Mind, Body & Soul Evolution — and Deepen My Practice as a Teacher and Coach
There are books that entertain, and then there are books that transform you—gently, powerfully, and irrevocably. On my journey of personal growth and soul evolution, these ten books have been both companions and catalysts. They’ve taught me to listen inwardly, surrender to life, dismantle ego, heal old patterns, and reclaim wholeness.
But their influence didn’t stop with personal insight. These books now infuse every part of my work—as a yoga teacher, a meditation and breathwork guide, and an integrative nutrition coach. They remind me that healing is a layered experience of mind, body, and spirit.
Here’s how they’ve shaped my path—and the way I support others in theirs.
1. Turning the Mind Into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham
This book reframed my relationship with thought. It taught me to stop battling my mind and instead train it gently through meditation. In every session I guide, I incorporate this principle—helping others see their mind not as a saboteur, but as a friend. This is foundational in my mindfulness teachings.
2. The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
Singer’s life story taught me the power of yielding to the flow. In both yoga and life, resistance creates tension. I often invite students and clients to soften—to trust the intelligence of their body, breath, and the moment itself. This book inspired that surrender-based approach.
3. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
This book helped me embody the role of the observer. In meditation, I bring this into every practice—inviting people to rest in awareness rather than identify with passing thoughts or feelings. In breathwork, it’s especially potent: the breath becomes a vehicle to access the stillness within.
4. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
This book helped me drop the mask—and that vulnerability shaped the way I lead. In my yoga classes, I emphasize self-compassion over performance. In my coaching, we explore how letting go of “shoulds” is essential to nourishing the body with presence, not punishment.
5. I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brené Brown
So many of us carry shame around food, our bodies, or emotional expression. This book equipped me with the language of empathy. I weave its lessons into nutrition coaching—guiding clients through a more loving and less judgmental relationship with themselves and their health goals.
6. Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
A sacred reminder that presence is the only real destination. This book inspires my mindfulness meditation cues and slow flow yoga practices. I often quote Kabat-Zinn in sessions to anchor students in the here and now, especially during transitions, long holds, and stillness.
7. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Tolle's work informs how I approach ego in coaching and teaching. Whether it’s perfectionism on the mat or attachment to labels in nutrition, I help people witness where ego drives their choices—and return to their essence. Yoga, breath, and nourishment become paths back to presence.
8. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
These four principles show up everywhere—in my yoga class intentions, coaching agreements, and even in breathwork mantras. “Don’t take it personally” becomes a powerful tool in nutrition coaching. “Be impeccable with your word” is a call to speak lovingly to the self.
9. The Healing Self by Deepak Chopra & Rudolph Tanzi
This book affirms the science behind what I intuitively know: the body is designed to heal when given the right support. I use these insights to guide clients in anti-inflammatory food choices, nervous system regulation through breathwork, and rituals that promote cellular regeneration.
10. The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo
This daily devotional shaped my spiritual rhythm. It influences the way I theme classes, set intentions, and hold space for emotional release. Whether in meditation or movement, I often draw from Mark’s words to evoke reflection, compassion, and aliveness in my students.
How These Books Show Up in My Practice
These books aren’t just stories on a shelf—they live and breathe within my work. Their wisdom threads through every breath I guide, every class I teach, every coaching session I hold. Each title planted a seed that has since grown into the way I show up for others—with presence, empathy, and a deep reverence for the mind-body-soul connection.
🧘♀️ In My Yoga Teaching
On the mat, the influence of these books is felt in the pauses between poses, the softness of my cues, and the intentionality behind every sequence. The Surrender Experiment taught me to let go of rigid plans and listen to the energy in the room—allowing each class to unfold organically, like a moving meditation.
The Four Agreements reminds me to help students release self-judgment, especially when they feel "not flexible enough" or compare themselves to others.
And The Gifts of Imperfection weaves into my language often—I encourage people to show up fully, messily, and authentically, because that’s where transformation begins.
I see yoga as more than movement—it’s a way back home to the body. These books helped me understand that the real “work” of yoga is in the quiet revelations that come when we finally feel safe enough to listen inward.
🌬️ In Meditation & Breathwork Sessions
My breathwork and meditation practices are steeped in the teachings of The Untethered Soul, Turning the Mind Into an Ally, and Wherever You Go, There You Are. These books reminded me that peace is not something to be earned—it’s something to return to.
When I guide someone through a breath practice, I do so knowing the breath is a portal to presence. These teachings help me hold space for the rawness that sometimes surfaces in stillness—the grief, the truth, the remembering. I often draw from A New Earth to gently guide clients beyond the chatter of ego and into the still awareness beneath.
Breath becomes both teacher and medicine. And through it, people begin to see their mind not as an enemy, but as a sacred landscape to explore.
🥗 In Integrative Nutrition Coaching
My coaching is about nourishment on all levels—not just what’s on your plate, but what’s in your mind, your relationships, your spirit. These books taught me that healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s complex, layered, and deeply personal.
The Healing Self affirmed for me that our biology listens to our thoughts, our emotions, our environment. So when I work with someone, we don’t just talk macros—we talk beliefs, boundaries, and balance.
From I Thought It Was Just Me, I learned how shame often hides in our food stories—and how empathy can disarm it.
And with The Book of Awakening, I was reminded that daily rituals—like blessing a meal, savoring a moment, or reading a line of poetry—can become spiritual nourishment in themselves.
I coach from a place of wholeness, not fixing. These books helped me claim that space—and offer it to others.
Learn how these books show up in my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training and teaching, holistically integrating the language of energy, breath, and presence in my embodied practice.
Final Thoughts: These books are my roots and my wings
They ground my practice and allow it to grow, evolve, and respond. They give me language when I need clarity, and silence when words won’t do. Whether I’m holding space in a room full of yogis, sitting with someone through an emotional breath release, or coaching a client through body image and nourishment blocks, these teachings are there—quietly shaping the way.
This isn’t just a reading list. It’s a lineage of soul teachers. And I am forever grateful for the way their words became part of my own. These books didn’t just inform me—they transformed me. And now, they shape how I hold space for others. They guide the way I teach, coach, breathe, move, and nourish. If you’re walking your own path of soul evolution, perhaps one of these titles will speak to your heart, too.
Have any of these books shifted something in you? I’d love to hear which ones. Our shared stories are part of the awakening. ✨
