Fierce Woman: Wake up your Badass Self

Tantric yoga instructor Shapiro’s empowering debut urges women to unlearn the societal standards that limit them and to reclaim their natural power. Shapiro borrows from Buddhism and Hinduism to discuss meditation and energy in the form of Shakti and chakras, which she structures around four foundations: mind, body, heart, and spirit. She addresses expectations which she believes “don’t account for the true, innate and authentic power of a woman” and provides “power exercises” meant to establish a meditative and mindful practice. However, there are also some questionable claims, such as that thoughts can “magnetize certain frequencies to us” and a belief in an overarching “law of attraction” that guides people. Shapiro also discusses menstruation and menopause, considering these times of “ultimate wisdom and evolution” for a woman. While the book uses gendered language to discuss connection to various body parts such as breasts and wombs, there are exercises for trans women or women who may have lost these parts of their body to injury or illness. Shapiro ends with a call for sisterhood and rails against the “myth of division” that asks women to value themselves only through comparison. By exploring the history of cultural expectation and suggesting attentive practices to support self-love, Shapiro’s work will speak to women wishing to connect with and nourish their feminine side. (Aug.)