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Writer and editor Bruce Black began studying yoga five years ago, after his knees could no longer stand the stress of running. Shortly after taking his first class, he started keeping a journal to explore his experiences on the mat. Out of his journal and his devotion to Anusara Yoga has emerged a book that delves into the nexus of yoga, writing, and life. In "Writing Yoga, " Bruce begins by sharing tips he has learned along the way: the benefits of keeping a practice journal, how to select just the right blank book, writing at different times of day, how often, and more. He has organized the book, by theme, into ten chapters, each with guided writing exercises: Opening UpMoving Past FearAccepting GiftsPaying AttentionAwakening to ConnectionsTrusting the ProcessJust SittingFinding Your BalanceLearning to BreatheListening to Your Inner Voice Part memoir, part writing guide, Bruce weaves excerpts from his own journal throughout. He reflects on practice as life: the excitement of walking into his first yoga class, apprehension about bending backwards, discomfort with body appearance, the yoga of family relationships, the exhilaration of coming into Headstand for the first time, deepening appreciation for his teachers, and waking up to the exquisite beauty of the world around him. Bruce guides you in stepping onto your mat and picking up your journal with curiosity and commitment. He shows how your journal can become a good friend, a confidant, a tool to deepen your experience of asana and pranayama, and a mindfulness practice in itself. Whether you keep a practice journal already or want to start one, let Bruce and "Writing Yoga" guide you. Maybe you'll write a sentence a day, maybe more. Perhaps you'll come to your journal only now and then. What matters: exhale and give it a try!

Understanding how our actions words and thoughts interact enhances our ability to progress in spiritual practice and brings us closer to self-realization. In a warm informal style Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche opens up Tibetan meditation practice to both beginners and experienced students placing as much emphasis on practice as on knowledge. Depending on the sources of the problems in our lives he offers practices that work with the body speech or the mind-a collection of Tibetan yoga exercises visualizations, sacred sound practices, and spacious meditations on the nature of mind. Together he says knowledge and regular meditation practice can alter our self-image and lead to a lighter more joyful sense of being. The stillness of the body the silence of speech and the spacious awareness of mind are the true three doors to enlightenment.

A guide to personal discipline and social ethics from a classical Sanskrit scholar, designed for the modern yoga practitioner. In today's complex world, how is it possible to truly live as a yogi? Traditional yoga theory offers fresh, insightful solutions to today's practical lifestyle concerns, ranging from environmentalism to personal health and wellness. Tuning into classic yoga philosophy and teachings can bring to light our greatest strengths while showing us how to maintain a healthy body and clear mind while attaining inner happiness. Drawing from his personal experiences of yoga and insight into ancient Sanskrit texts, Dr. Shankaranarayana Jois connects yogic philosophy to how we approach food, work, education, relationships, and other conscious lifestyle choices to support our deepest longings for happiness, peace, and balance. Practical and insightful, The Sacred Tradition of Yoga begins with a clear and deep inquiry into the human condition, reminding us of true purpose of Yoga. The second half of the book focuses on the yamas and niyamas, the personal disciplines and social ethics of yoga. Throughout, Dr. Jois' teachings honor ancient traditions and underscore the benefits we can gain from adopting a yogic way of life in the modern world.

The best-selling author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships explains how to build trust-the essential ingredient in successful relationships-in spite of fear or past betrayals Most relationship problems are essentially trust issues, explains psychotherapist David Richo. Whether it's fear of commitment, insecurity, jealousy, or a tendency to be controlling, the real obstacle is a fundamental lack of trust-both in ourselves and in our partner.Daring to Trust explores the importance of trust throughout our emotional lives: how it develops in childhood and how it becomes an essential ingredient in healthy adult relationships. It offers key insights and practical exercises for exploring and addressing our trust issues in relationships. Topics include:• How we learn early in life to trust others (or not to trust them)• Why we fear trusting• Developing greater trust in ourselves as the basis for trusting others• How to know if someone is trustworthy• Naïve trust vs. healthy, adult trust• What to do when trust is brokenUltimately, Richo explains, we must develop trust in four directions: toward ourselves, toward others, toward life as it is, and toward a higher power or spiritual path. These four types of trust are not only the basis of healthy relationships, they are also the foundation of emotional well-being and freedom from fear.

In 1988, Gen Lamrimpa, a Tibetan monk, led a one-year retreat in the Pacific Northwest, during which a group of Western meditators devoted themselves to the practice of meditative quiescence (shamatha). This book is a record of the oral teachings he gave to this group at the outset of the retreat. The teachings are brought to life by Gen Lamrimpa's warmth, humor, and extensive personal experience as a contemplative recluse. An invaluable practical guide for those seeking to develop greater attentional stability and clarity, this work will be of considerable interest to meditators, psychologists, and all others who are concerned with the potentials of the human mind.

The world of yoga is astonishingly rich in its array of schools and practices. Yet as diverse as they seem, they share a common aim: the discovery of the essence of existence that can be found at the core of our being, and the liberation that comes from that discovery. With this worthy goal in mind, Richard Freeman presents an enlightening overview of the many teachings, practices, and scriptures that serve as the basis for all the schools of yoga-hatha, bhakti, jnana, karma, tantra, and others. He shows how the myriad forms are ultimately related and can even be perceived to make up a vast, interpenetrating matrix, symbolizing the unity, profundity, and beauty of the ancient tradition. To learn more, visit MirrorofYoga.com.

A guide to Buddhism for 20-somethings who are grappling with the ups and downs of adulthood-from an eloquent and funny young teacher This isn't your grandmother's book on meditation. The Buddha Walks Into a Bar . . . is about integrating that "spiritual practice thing" into a life that includes beer, sex, social media, and a boss who doesn't understand you. It's about making a difference in yourself and making a difference in your world, whether you've got everything figured out yet or not. This is Buddhism for a new generation-one that is leaving the safe growth spurts of college and entering a turbulent, uncertain workforce. With humor and candor, teacher Lodro Rinzler offers an introduction to Buddhism for anyone who wants to ride the waves of life with mindfulness and compassion. You'll learn how to use meditation techniques to work with your own mind, how to manage the pervasive "Incredible Hulk Syndrome," how to relax into your life despite external pressures, and ultimately how you can start to bring light to a dark world. Applying Rinzler's Buddhist teachings can have a positive impact on every nook and cranny of your life-whether you're interested in being a Buddhist or not.

A growing body of research is showing that mindfulness can reduce stress, improve physical health, and improve one's overall quality of life. Jan Chozen Bays, MD-physician and Zen teacher-has developed a series of simple practices to help us cultivate mindfulness as we go about our ordinary, daily lives. Exercises include: taking three deep breaths before answering the phone, noticing and adjusting your posture throughout the day, eating mindfully, and leaving no trace of yourself after using the kitchen or bathroom. Each exercise is presented with tips on how to remind yourself and a short life lesson connected with it.

Alexander Berzin introduces a series of techniques for overcoming insensitivity and hypersensitivity. Based on traditional Buddhist sources, they are presented in non-traditional forms suitable for workshops and private practice. The exercises deal with difficult, everyday situations and show how to access our mind's natural talents; dispel nervousness, insecurity, and low self-esteem; make decisions; deconstruct deceptive appearances; and recognize the clear light nature of the mind.

Just because you live in the city doesn't mean you can't enjoy nature. This compact guide offers 52 nature-focused explorations, adventures, observations, and games that can help you and your child connect to nature while living in the city. While it may be hard to see nature through the traffic, buildings, and busyness of the city, there is still much of the natural world to explore when you turn your gaze to the cracks in the sidewalk, the trees on the street, or the green spaces that your city offers. Become an urban birder, make your own man vs. wild observations, and discover the not-so-hidden pockets of nature in your neighborhood. For children ages 4 to 8. Jennifer Ward is the author of I Love Dirt!, Let's Go Outside!, and numerous children's books, all of which present nature to kids. Learn more about her at jenniferwardbooks.com.

Regular meditation practice has a powerful impact on the mind and body, rewiring the brain and bringing us all kinds of benefits: contentment and well-being, resilience and focus, better mental and physical health, and greater empathy and compassion. This wide-ranging anthology brings together pioneering Tibetan Buddhist teachers, scientific researchers, and health professionals to offer fascinating perspectives on the mind and emotions, new studies, and firsthand accounts of how meditation is being applied to great effect in health and social care today.    • Sogyal Rinpoche and Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche on how meditation unlocks the mind’s healing power    • Jon Kabat-Zinn on the benefits of mindfulness in mainstream health care    • Clifford Saron on the Shamatha Project, the most comprehensive study of the effects of meditation ever conducted    • Sara Lazar on what happens to our brain when we meditate    • Erika Rosenberg on how meditation helps us relate better to our emotions    • Dr. Lucio Bizzini, MD, on how Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is used to treat depression    • Ursula Bates on how mindfulness supports terminally ill patients as they approach the end of their lives Plus chapters from other innovators who apply meditation in health care and social work: Dr. Edel Maex, MD, Dr. Cathy Blanc, MD, Rosamund Oliver, and Dr. Frédéric Rosenfeld, MD.

This concise handbook of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, designed for Western students, is centered on a sitting practice called Contemplative Meditation. This practice can be used as a way to change troublesome habits, even by someone with little knowledge of Buddhism. Although the teachings are based it on a nineteenth-century text by Lama Mipham, they are presented in a non-scholarly way, with examples drawn from modern life and everyday experience. In particular, the author addresses the unique attitudes and questions of twenty-first-century Westerners who are exploring Buddhism.The practice taught in the book consists of a reflection on four subjects, known as the Four Seals of the Buddha''s teaching: multiplicity, impermanence, suffering, and emptiness. Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche explains how to investigate each of these topics in a way that helps you recognize your innate wisdom mind, which is your ultimate teacher. Once you learn how to examine your own mind and your life with this method, you will start to look at everything differently. By helping to dissolve negative thoughts and habits, the practice can increase your focus, confidence, self-esteem, and happiness. Along with exercises and questions, short readings, a glossary, and checklists for study, this book provides a complete handbook, with simple instructions for additional practices:    • the Ninefold Exhalation, a breathing method for expelling stale air before meditation    • visualization of buddhas and great teachers to inspire practice    •  the practice of bodhichitta, or generating love and compassion for all beings    • the seven-branch offering, seven devotional thoughts to strengthen efforts    • dedication of merit—the positive energy from the meditation--for the benefit of all beings Finally, the appendix gives translations of two short readings: The Wheel of Analytical Meditation by Lama Mipham, which is the source of this book''s teaching, and the Heart Sutra, a famous brief teaching on emptiness, along with a traditional commentary.

This 14th century lively history introduces basic Buddhism as practiced throughout India and Tibet and describes the process of entering the Buddhist path through study and reflection. In the first chapter, we read about the structure of Buddhist education and the range of its subjects, and we''re treated to a rousing litany of the merits of such instruction. In the second chapter, Butön introduces us to the buddhas of our world and eon, three of whom have already lived, taught, and passed into transcendence, before examining in detail the fourth, our own Buddha Shakyamuni. Butön tells the story of Shakyamuni in his past lives, then presents the path the Buddha followed (the same that all historical buddhas, including future ones, must follow). Only at the conclusion of the discussion of the result—enlightenment—do we return to the specific case of the Buddha and his twelve deeds. This marks the start of the history of the Buddha as most of us imagine it. After the Buddha''s story, Butön recounts three compilations of Buddhist scriptures, and then quotes from sacred texts that foretell the lives and contributions of great Indian Buddhist masters, which he then relates. The chapter concludes with the tale of the Buddhist doctrine''s eventual demise and disappearance, a concept and a tale squarely within the Mahayana. The final chapter, the shortest of the three, gives an account of the inception and spread of Buddhism in Tibet, focused mainly on the country''s kings and early adopters of the foreign faith. The watershed debate at Samyé Monastery between representatives of Chinese and Indian styles of Buddhist practice is given the most attention in this chapter. An afterword by Ngawang Zangpo, one of the translators, discusses and contextualizes Butön''s exemplary life, his turbulent times, and his prolific works.

Ellen is forty-six, divorced, and having no luck with personal ads when her Chinese girlfriend comes up with a plan: she has a brother in China, Zhong-hua, who's lonely too. Maybe they'd like each other? Taking a leap of faith that most of us wouldn't dare, Ellen travels to China to meet him. Though they speak only a few words of each other's language, there's an unspoken connection between them and they decide to marry. What follows is a remarkably touching and humorous story of two people from completely different worlds trying to make a marriage work. Settling in at Ellen's ramshackle farmhouse in upstate New York, they quickly discover the cultural chasm that lies between them. Ellen and her teenage daughter decide to adopt a policy of nonjudgment as Zhong-hua lobbies to sell their refrigerator ("Just three people, no need"), serves them giant sea slugs for dinner, and brusquely nudges Ellen aside without an "excuse me" ("Family no need these kind of words"). Zhong-hua is not the type to offer his wife impromptu smiles or hugs, but in bed at night he holds her tightly like she's "something long lost and precious that might not live until morning." The Natural Laws of Good Luck is an unusual and exquisitely written love story-one that will resonate with anyone who has ever contemplated with wonder the spaces that exist between us and those we care about.

Here in one compact volume are all of the stages of instruction on the path of Mahamudra. Included are concise and complete formal instructions on the ground path and fruition of this penetrating practice. This vast and profound commentary originates with the Eighth Situpa, a remarkable scholar and practitioner who is considered the most accomplished of all the Situ emanations.

Learn to understand lower back pain and heal it through gentle yoga exercises. Liz Owen, a yoga instructor who specializes in alleviating back pain, describes the anatomy of the sacrum and the region around it, including the hips and lumbar spine. She discusses both the Western and Eastern approaches to understanding back pain-particularly the Eastern medical notion of energy flow and how that relates specifically to the sacrum and the many related muscles and joints, and the chakras, or energetic points, that relate to the area. The sacrum, or lower back, is an incredibly powerful part of the human anatomy. It's what enables you to stand upright and tall, it unites your upper and lower body, it roots you to the earth, it is the foundation from which you reach upward-and it is one of the most common areas where people experience chronic pain and discomfort. It's probably the number one body part that keeps massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists in business.Owen then provides simple, easy-to-learn sequences of yoga poses for general sacrum health and then for specific problems. The last section looks at strategies for sacrum health related specifically to pregnant women and those with fibromyalgia or arthritis.

A beautifully clear and accessible explanation of how to live a Taoist life--by reknowned Taoist master Eva Wong. Taoism isn't a spiritual extracurricular activity, it's an integral practice for living all of life to the fullest. The modern Taoist adept Eva Wong is your guide to living well according to the wisdom of this ancient system. She uses the ancient texts to demonstrate the Taoist masters' approach to the traditional four aspects of life--the public, the domestic, the private, and the spiritual-and shows how learning to balance them is the secret to infusing your life with health, harmony, and deep satisfaction.​

A collection of inspirational quotations from key Buddhist figures throughout history. This collection of jewel-like poems, prayers, and teachings has been lovingly selected, translated from Tibetan, and arranged by renowned translator and author Erik Pema Kunsang. Practical, beautiful, and precious, the quotations reflect the immense variety of approaches and the profundity that have made these teachings of deep interest to so many. For anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism, this volume is a perfect companion for meditation and contemplation. This is a reissue of A Tibetan Buddhist Companion.The book includes wisdom from: • the Buddha • Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche • Dudjom Rinpoche • Gampopa • Jamgön Kongtrül the Great • Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche • Jigmey Lingpa • Machig Labdrön • Manjushri • Milarepa • Nagarjuna • Naropa • Padmasambhava • Patrul Rinpoche • Saraha • Shabkar • Shantideva • Tilopa • Tulku Urgyen • Vairotsana • Yeshe Tsogyal