“Happiness” gets 5 stars in the San Francisco Book Review!
It's always awesome to get a 5 star review from a renowned review source, but this one's extra special. The reason? It's reviewed by my target audience - a 6…
The “Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands” Event at Indigo Books!
Tamara Levitt visited the Kids’ section of Indigo Bay/Bloor for a story-time event on Saturday August 3 at 11:30 am. She read from her newly launched book Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands.
Interview with Tamara on “One Writers Journey”
Penny Lockwood interviews Tamara on “One Writers Journey”, where she discusses her recently published book, and personal writing process.
Tell me a little about your book.
Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands is a picture book about a girl named leela who dreams of doing headstands. However, no matter how hard she tries, she’s unable to achieve her goal. She’s devastated by this as we usually are when faced with defeat, but through discovering that having a failure doesn’t mean that “she” is failure, she is ultimately able to find happiness.
This story offers an alternative to the “little engine that could” message that practice makes perfect and that if we just keep trying, we eventually reach a goal. The reality is, no matter how hard we try, we’re sometimes still unable to succeed in life. This book encourages cultivating self-acceptance, compassion and resilience in order to accept, learn and grow from defeat.
What gave you the idea for this particular story?
The story was in part inspired by my own struggle with perfectionism, which I’ve had since childhood and lead to a lack of self-acceptance or self-compassion. These were qualities I’ve had to learn as an adult and continue to practice as best as I can.
The beliefs we learn as children become our core beliefs as adults, so my intention through the work I create is to inspire healthy and empowering belief systems in children from the start, to help them become high functioning, happy, adults.
Wisdom Quarterly American Buddhist Journal offers “Happiness” a plug!
One of my fave Buddhist Blogs encourages it’s audience to check out Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands!
The Morning Show on Global with Author Tamara Levitt
Tamara Levitt joins hosts Liza Fromer, Dave Gerry, Kris Reyes, and Rosey Edeh on The Morning Show to discuss the message of her book, and why parents need to be offering children the room to fail in our achievement oriented world.
What to Do When You Can’t Get It Right (Life, Love Or That Damn Yoga Pose)
As a “recovering” perfectionist, failure has always been difficult for me. Be it a job interview, a relationship or getting into those skinny jeans, I’ve often struggled with getting “okay” with what I can’t get right.
I began doing yoga 20 years ago. I fell in love with it immediately. After spending my teenage years enduring the Jane Fonda workout and doing hardcore aerobics that wrecked my knees, Yoga was bliss for my body.
At that time, there was only one yoga studio in the city; that small warehouse space was my haven. Aside from loving the dance and meditation of Ashtanga practice, there was something else I liked: I was good at it. I was the one in the front row who could achieve every pose with ease.
Then, life happened. I got busy and didn’t have time to get to class, so I did my asana practice at home. And by the time I returned to studio classes (at which point they had opened on just about every corner) I had acquired injuries that had affected my practice and was far less flexible. Oh, the joy of aging.
Suddenly, I was not the one in the front and center. I was closer to the back and kind of off to the side. And to boot, everyone in class seemed to be able to do that damn Sirsha-asana (headstand) pose except for me. Cause Yoga is a competition, don’tchya know?
Beautifully Organic for Life Interview with Tamara Levitt About her Book and Purpose
Tamara, please tell us about your wonderful company Begin within Productions and how your latest project, the children’s book ~ Happiness Doesn’t come from Headstands~ has been born out of this creation?
My intention in creating Begin Within was to create a space in which to share the tools, techniques, and teachings that have assisted and continue to assist me on own personal path.
I have been writing, illustrating and producing books in which to support others to find the calm within the chaos – at times, a difficult feat. I’ve primarily been developing properties designed to nurture children’s growth, enhancing their emotional intelligence. Children today face daily challenges as they navigate a rapidly changing world. Begin Within offers the support and education to children and educators to inspire their inner transformation.
Happiness Doesn’t come from Headstands is a modern day story about the search for happiness, and one girl’s discovery that even in the face of failure, peace can be found. It’s the first book in a series called Lyle and Leela that was designed to help kids navigate the complex world of today.
Your business message is how to find the calm within the chaos. What does this mean to you and how might we achieve this day to day?
In my own life, I’ve worked hard to deepen my own self-awareness and equanimity as a woman.
To me, finding the calm within the chaos involves deepening awareness and cultivating equanimity. It’s about enhancing self-acceptance, self-compassion and honoring ones limitations and experiences. These are some of the ways to find peace in this roller coaster of a world that we live in and some of the themes of Happiness Doesn’t come from Headstands.
Muse In The Valley – Author Of The Week Interview With Tamara Levitt
The first time I watched the “Happiness Doesn’t Come From Headstands“ video, as it was referred to me by my good online friend David , I thought: ”What an amazing message this book has for children!” I immediately contacted Tamara for an interview the next day. Poised, professional and very kind, Tamara took a fair amount of her time to answer my questions. I am very pleased today, to introduce you to a very inspiring woman.
Don’t forget to visit the Kickstarter page when you are done reading this fabulous interview 🙂 Only 4 days left in the campaign!
The Interview
When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing as long as I can remember – Be it through music or stories, it’s always been a way for me to help navigate this roller coaster of a world that we live in. Life is tricky. Expressing myself through music or on paper have been ways to express and make sense of it all.
Tell us about the ‘Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands’ campaign:
I’ll quickly describe the premise of the book first: Happiness Doesn’t Come From Headstands is a modern day story about the search for happiness, and one girl’s discovery that even in the face of failure, peace can be found.
