Sara Avant Stover sees women in America living fast-paced lives in which they are trying to do everything. To her, thats not good.
You feel as a woman that you can do what you want to, but you have to take care of yourself first, said Stover, a Darien native turned author. You have to put your needs first or you wont be of service to others.
Stover offers this advice and other tips for womens health and well being in her new book, The Way of the Happy Woman. She will visit New Canaan Library at 7:30 p.m. Monday to discuss the book.
Stover, 33, wrote the book after being diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1999. Before that, she was a perfectionist who had graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University. The news, which came before a trip to Africa, changed a lot for her. She eventually took at job in Thailand to teach English literature. She wrote, danced and started researching what would become her book. She started doing yoga, meditating and studying traditional Chinese medication. She stayed in Thailand for nine years and noticed that her body was healing.
Our culture moves very fast, and our culture values constant achieving, said Stover, who lives in Boulder, Colo. We need cycles of rest and activities. Thats how our bodies function and how we dont burn out.
In her trip, Stover said she met with hundreds of women who were suffering from some of the same things she was going through, prompting her to write the book to help women help themselves. I hope the book will contribute to greater awareness and how to honor themselves as women and lead with their femininity, she said.
Though writing the book was one of the most challenging things she has done, she sees an important reason for doing it. I see it as a sacred duty and honor, she said.
Stover will also visit Saraswati's Yoga Joint on Saturday.
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