Let this H&IS reading list help you make a fresh start to 2025
Embrace all the possibilities of the year ahead with our reading list, made up of books that will revive the spirit.
1. The Yoga Happy Year
There’s no denying the restorative effect yoga can have on the mind and body – if it’s done right. Hannah Barrett will show you the way. She is a qualified yoga teacher who trains other instructors and has a thriving online following thanks to the success of her two previous books, Yoga Anywhere and Yoga Happy. With this new publication, a practical guide that’s broken down into digestible chunks, you can work month-to-month on your practice; scan the QR code and you’ll also have access to videos where you can join in with Hannah as she demonstrates flows and explains technique and form. The idea is that by the end of the year you’ll have gained a deeper yoga understanding, as well as some useful new skills in meditation and breathwork.
2. Mindful Places to Stay: sublime destinations for yoga and meditation
Just leafing through the pages of this sumptuously photographed book should lull you into a restful state. It’s full of sublime places, chosen for their obvious beauty and serene ambience, that encompass all that a peaceful retreat might mean – lush garden, beachfront idyll, treetop escape. All are destinations for finding inner peace and giving yourself a chance to reset. We drop in at the Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech, the Yandara Yoga Institute in Mexico, the Suenyo Eco Retreat in Bali, The Newt in Somerset and many more, all of which have their own story so you get the lowdown before you set off on your trip. Armchair travellers, meanwhile, will feel just as rested whiling away the afternoon day-dreaming of far-flung places. Transformative either way.
3. 150 Spas You Need to Visit Before You Die
If self-care is a way of life for you rather than a hasty afterthought on the to-do list, this is the guide for you. It’s a weighty, comprehensive tome by travel journalist Devorah Lev-Tov that picks out the very best spas on every continent. There are the classics, such as the magnificent Friedrichsbad in Germany (pictured opposite), but also plenty of others that might not be so familiar – the guide considers design, facilities, location and expertise, so all bases are covered. The book also highlights the cultural and historical links to some of the spa traditions around the world, with a lot of interesting background information on hammams, thermal springs, Ayurvedic principles, Chinese medicine and more.
4. The Wellness Bucket List
Everyone has one: a list of places, should you win the lottery, that you’d jet off to immediately. It might be somewhere far-flung, promising a cultural adventure, or a luxury destination you’d normally only see in the movies. Once there, you’ll want to indulge in a spa retreat, which is where this guide comes in. Travel writer Nana Luckham’s majestic manual contains more than a thousand places to consider, whether you are seeking a wellness cruise (Vietnam is your destination) or to learn about gut health and gastronomy (head to California). The book is arranged geographically but is further categorised into six sections: renew and recharge; relax and indulge; explore and thrive; reflect and connect; savour and nourish; heal and balance. Get dreaming.
5. Detox At Home: edible science to promote healthy ageing
Would treating eating as the ultimate act of self-care change the way we think about food? After all, fuelling our bodies is an everyday task that, done properly, can provide an improved sense of wellbeing. Dominique Chenot developed a plant-based diet that activates the body’s fasting mode while providing sufficient nourishment; Detox at Home follows this approach with recipes that are designed to support the body’s natural detoxification processes and provide a metabolic and hormonal reset. The amazing thing is that these dishes do all that – and still taste delicious. Compiled by chefs and nutritional scientists with the aim of boosting wellness and preventing disease, this is a cookbook that relies on ‘edible science’.
6. Food for Menopause
It would be remiss of us to devote this edition of the magazine to wellness and not discuss menopause. The discourse around this stage in a woman’s life has opened up significantly in the last few years, and produced a flurry of new literature, some of which should be taken with a pinch of (low-sodium) salt. This book by Dr Linia Patel, however, is informative, comforting, practical and authoritative. A leading nutritionist and dietician, she has put together a cookbook-cum-instruction manual on how to navigate a tricky period in life when body and mind can feel out of kilter. There are straightforward explanations of the science, easy-to-follow recipes that are designed to work with the changes that are going on in the body, and a toolkit for better sleep and exercise. Enlightening.
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