This is a gentle guide to help your nervous system and body find rest and peace. It is full of wisdom that will help the reader gain tools to live a more calm and full life. This is one I will return to again. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Yamasaki’s Protect Your Energy is an essential read for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, burned out, or drained by the constant demands of modern life. This isn't just another book on boundaries; it's a compassionate and deeply insightful guide that helps you tune into your own nervous system to understand what you truly need. Yamasaki masterfully integrates Polyvagal Theory and yogic philosophy with personal experience, making complex concepts accessible and practical.

What I found most profound was her emphasis on doing less instead of more. In a culture that glorifies hustle and burnout, this gentle and powerful reframing felt like a revolutionary act of self-care. She provides tangible, restorative practices that taught me how to listen to my body, set meaningful boundaries, and cultivate genuine rest without guilt. Reading this book was like having a wise, kind friend guide me back to myself. If you are tired of your energy being drained and are ready to reclaim your peace, this book is a must-have.

It's a rare moment when you find something written in such a way that it reflects your own experiences back at you. While the introduction of the book is essential for a contextual understanding of the author, it didn't initially hook me in - as someone not heavily into yoga, which is mentioned a fair bit in the opening pages. However, chapter one put some of my concerns to rest, and I continued on reading - with this simple moment of vulnerability from the author, Zabie Yamasaki:

*"Years of survival mode have programmed me to always wait for the next shoe to drop. The next crisis to arise. The next life event that would completely deflate me. Having my armor up all of the time in this way was exhausting, but it was part of how I kept myself "safe." It took time for me to cultivate another way of being."*

Even though I kept finding these wonderful nuggets and quotes that made me feel seen, I found it a little overshadowed by the practices. I found that as I read through the chapters of this book, each time there was an opportunity for a moment to use a practice or take a guided breath, my cynicism rose as the language used felt a little preachy. However, more often than not, these practices are balanced out by a solid foundation of the science behind things like burnout, hyperarousal and the pathophysiological effects of long term energy depletion.

Personally, I had to fight the urge to just skip over the yoga practice prompts and some of the "you are the magic" type statements - I wonder if I'm not necessarily the target audience for this. From a science perspective, the content is sound enough, but I do wonder if this is really aimed at people who have already embraced a yogic philosophy and practice, as some of the language used almost feels a little alienating, too familiar, perhaps even a little condescending in parts.

Overall, probably a good read for people who are already into, or ready to explore yoga as a method of dealing with, sitting with and exploring their energies and traumas. While this book feels like it wasn't written for me, I'm positive that those who are looking for this sort of instruction will find it useful. The descriptions of the yoga sequences, the practices and the journal exercises are all very clearly explained, simply worded and easy to follow, which is a boon when exploring some of the difficult topics that may arise in these explorations.

Thank you to Zabie Yamasaki and Sounds True Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The book stands out for its compassionate tone and clear, practical tools for tuning into your nervous system, resting, and setting meaningful boundaries. Whether you’re into yoga or not, the focus on “doing less” and genuine self-acceptance is both validating and empowering. I appreciated the integration of theory with actionable exercises, though I’d love to see even more attention to accessibility across different backgrounds and experiences. Overall, this is a restorative, thoughtful resource for anyone seeking to protect their energy in a demanding world!

This book, Protect Your Energy by Yamasaki, is essential reading if you often feel tired, stressed, or drained by life.

It's not just about setting boundaries; it’s a kind, clear guide that helps you understand what your body truly needs. Yamasaki connects the science of the nervous system (Polyvagal Theory) with mindful practices, making big ideas simple to follow.

The best part is the focus on doing less, not always more. In a world that tells us to constantly work, this book teaches a powerful lesson: how to rest without feeling guilty. It gives you easy, practical steps to listen to your body and set important limits.

If you are ready to stop losing energy and find peace, this book is a necessary tool.

Protect Your Energy by Zabie Yamasaki came to me at the right time. I’ve been looking for a book like this, one that not only touches on preventing burnout, but also helps you understand steps you can take to recover. It took me so long to understand that the bone deep exhaustion and complete crashes were signals from my body that I was running on survival for so long and that it was now safe enough to rest. This isn’t just a book of mindfulness. This is a book that includes evidence-based practices for soothing the nervous system.

I’m someone who reads self-help and mindful books quite often, and so I was happy to see references of Madeleine Dore, Pooja Lakshmin, and Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors whose works I greatly loved. I appreciate the compassion with which the book is written and I can imagine how soothing the book would be as an audiobook.

I look forward to having a physical copy of the book so I can reference the many forms of rest (it’s not just sleep!).

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sounds True Publishing, and Zabie Yamasaki for the ARC.

A good guide for those wanting to discover and implement the things their mind and body need in order to calm your nervous system. There is a common thread of doing less rather than more that was refreshing and worth exploring

While the world wants more from us, Zahabiyah Yamasaki reminds us, that “sometimes what our nervous systems need is less.” Protect Your Energy is her invitation back to ourselves, a gentle guide toward reclaiming the countless pieces of energy we lose each day.

Drawing from Polyvagal Theory, yogic philosophy, and her lived experience, Yamasaki offers a grounded, compassionate framework for listening to the messages our nervous systems are constantly sending us. The book weaves reflections, restorative practices, and accessible tools.

There is so much important, timely wisdom in this book and I think it will resonate deeply with anyone craving nervous system care or gentle guidance. This book is a compassionate read for this fast-paced age, and it's an invaluable reminder to slow down, turn inward, and protect what matters most: namely our energy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sounds True Publishing and the author for the ARC.