Although it does not arrive until Thursday, June 21st, it sure feels like we've skipped spring and moved directly from winter to summer already! The longer hours generally are accompanied by more time outside, and more vitamin D production which leads to more serotonin and a better mood in general! Whether you're spending time outside at the beach or on your patio, the summer is also the perfect time to pick up a good book (or dozen).

Below (and in no particular order) are several summer reading recommendations from Fusion Yoga. Many are on the lighter side but there are insights to be gained from all. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share in the comments below and happy reading!

Goddess Pose, by Michelle Goldberg. Indra Devi is generally credited as the first woman to bring the asana practice of yoga to the west. This book chronicles both her journey as well as the evolution of yoga from a relatively unknown spiritual practice to what it has become as a primarily posture-based exercise with wide ranging physical and mental health benefits.
Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life, by Judith Lasater. This book will help you understand yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques, and how it can be used to better your everyday life. This is also the current book being discussed in the Fusion Book Club starting June 13th. Click here to learn more.
Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses, by Claire Dederer. Poser is a partial autobiography of Claire's journey into yoga. From a skeptic to devotee and elsewhere, this is a personal look at the love-hate relationships with certain poses and how her yoga practice and life were intertwined.
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, by Jonathan Haidt. Although not a yoga book per se, this book examines ten psychological ideas that have recurred throughout history and discusses what can be learned by applying these ideas to our modern world. From acts of charity, impulse control, casting-off worldly attachments, meditation, decreasing cognitive dissonance - the common thread is a look at what modern cognitive science points to as sources of true and lasting happiness.