The Practice of Nada Yoga


Book Description

Meditation exercises for listening to the four levels of sound, to still the body, quiet the mind, open the heart, and connect with the Divine • Details the teachings on nada yoga from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with clear, step-by-step instructions to find and hear the inner sacred sound of nada • Explains the 4 levels of sound through a series of practical meditation exercises • Includes instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice as well as ways to strengthen your advanced practice The ancient practice of nada yoga is not complex. It is the yoga of listening. It is a journey from the noise of the external world inward to a place of peace and bliss, to the source of the transformational power of sound--the nada. By meditating on the inner sacred sound of the nada, we can release ourselves from mind chatter and obsessive thinking. We can still the body, quiet the mind, and open the heart to create a state of mind where joy naturally arises. Sharing his experiential understanding of the classic Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Baird Hersey offers precise, step-by-step instructions on how to find the inner sound of the nada. He explains the first three levels of sound--first, how to truly hear the ordinary sounds of the world around us (vaikhari); second, how to quiet the sounds of the mind (madhyama), such as sound memories and internal dialogue; and third, how to access visual sounds (pashyanti), tapping in to our ability to see sounds and hear colors. Mastering the first three levels prepares one for the fourth level of sound (para), the heart of the practice that connects one to the inner sound of the nada. The author provides detailed exercises to guide you through each level of sound and instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice. Hersey explains that by focusing our minds on this internal sound we reunite our essential self with the eternal and infinite. In this re-union we find bliss in both body and mind, an uplifted spirit, and heightened states of consciousness.




The Essence of Self-Realization


Book Description

Yogananda was one of the most significant spiritual teachers of the 20th century. Since his classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, was first published in 1946, its popularity has increased steadily throughout the world. The Essence of Self-Realization is filled with lessons and stories that Yogananda shared only with his closest disciples, this volume offers one of the most insightful and engaging glimpses into the life and lessons of a great sage. Much of the material presented here is not available anywhere else.




Awakening from Anxiety


Book Description

Use this spiritual guide to equip yourself with the tools needed to tear down anxiety and build inner peace. Spiritual people often find that their own expectations of living a life dedicated to a higher power makes them more susceptible to high-functioning anxiety. Sometimes, traditional relaxation techniques either do not work, don’t last, or, in some cases, actually increase their anxiety. Psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and interfaith minister Rev. Connie L. Habash has helped hundreds of spiritual people overcome fear and anxiety, regain happiness, and feel calmer. In over twenty-five years as a counselor helping spiritual people overcome anxiety, Rev. Connie has taught that it takes more than chanting mantras, stretching, or relaxation techniques to calm anxiety. It requires a transformation in perception, moment-to-moment body awareness, and a conscious response to thoughts and emotions. Awakening from Anxiety provides valuable psycho-spiritual tools to deepen spiritual awakening and calm fears:Learn what anxiety is and when it becomes a problemUnderstand the six mistakes spiritual people make that increase anxietyDiscover the seven keys to a more calm, confident, courageous lifeKnow how to break through the old patterns of stress, worry, and fear into a new perception of your true selfExplore spiritual principles and yoga philosophy to cultivate inner peace If you enjoyed Stop Anxiety from Stopping You and First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Awakening from Anxiety will take your healing and renewal from anxiety to the next level. “A book I will recommend to many for both practical advice and spiritual insights for handling stress, worry, and anxiety.”?Becca Anderson, author of Prayers for Calm




Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life


Book Description

The author demonstrates how you can practice Tantric Yoga and go on living your life as you usually do, adding another habit to the ones you already have. The step-by-step, well-illustrated instructions in this book take you from beginners' exercises to those for advanced students. You will learn how to meditate easily, breathe correctly during yoga or meditation, and how to do easy yoga poses and exercises, such as the back program to improve posture and maintain youthfulness, and a great deal more!




Rishi Yoga


Book Description

A step-by-step guide to a powerful yet simple practice to make every moment an act of meditation and connect to the joy within • Details the simple practices of Rishi Yoga: easy physical movements, done slowly and with full awareness, combined with breathing exercises, sensory perception, concentration, and meditation • Explains how the practices work progressively to allow you to tune in to your body and cellular memory, facilitate concentration, and cultivate self-awareness • Reveals how to integrate Rishi Yoga into daily life to make every moment an act of meditation and access the peace and joy inherent within each of us In this detailed guide, yoga and meditation teacher Pierre Bonnasse reveals the simple movement, breathing, and awareness techniques of the Rishi Yoga tradition, passed down through generations of yogis in the Himalayas. He shows how to integrate Rishi Yoga into daily life for discovering and recognizing the Universal Self, or Pure Awareness, and unveiling the peace and joy inherent in each of us. The author begins by detailing the foundational practices of Rishi Yoga: easy physical movements, done slowly and with full awareness, combined with breathing exercises, sensory perception, and concentration. These moving-meditation exercises are physically simple enough to be performed seated, standing, or lying down and work progressively to allow you to tune in to your energetic body centers and cultivate a natural and effortless sense of self-awareness, which is the hallmark of Rishi Yoga, in every situation and at every moment. The author explores how Rishi Yoga trains us to become receptive to all levels of being--the physical body, emotional body, and subtle body--and enables access to tissue-level awareness and cellular memory. He also looks at this dynamic meditation’s rapport with traditional forms of yoga, such as Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and Yoga Nidra, and with the philosophy of nonduality, Advaita Vedanta, and modern methods of mindfulness. The author explains how, as Rishi Yoga advances you from personal awareness to a state of universal consciousness, it also becomes more and more integrated into the ordinary activities of daily life, making every moment--from the time you wake up to the time you fall asleep--an act of meditation, active perception, undivided attention, and expanded awareness. And once the practice of Rishi Yoga has permeated all facets of your waking life, it brings the realization that true happiness or Enlightenment is neither a state nor an experience to attain or acquire; it is an ever-present reality to be recognized behind every thought, emotion, speech, and action--the “ultimate Bliss” described by the ancient Indian scriptures.




Hatha Yoga Asanas


Book Description

Features photographs of yoga poses of varying difficulties, including upward-facing dog, shoulder stand, and chair.




Hatha Yoga


Book Description

Illustrated guide to hatha yoga with many poses.




Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies


Book Description

The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource, which frames and contextualises the rapidly expanding fields that explore yoga and meditative techniques. The book analyses yoga and meditation studies in a variety of religious, historical and geographical settings. The chapters, authored by an international set of experts, are laid out across five sections: Introduction to yoga and meditation studies History of yoga and meditation in South Asia Doctrinal perspectives: technique and praxis Global and regional transmissions Disciplinary framings In addition to up-to-date explorations of the history of yoga and meditation in the Indian subcontinent, new contexts include a case study of yoga and meditation in the contemporary Tibetan diaspora, and unique summaries of historical developments in Japan and Latin America as well as an introduction to the growing academic study of yoga in Korea. Underpinned by critical and theoretical engagement, the volume provides an in-depth guide to the history of yoga and meditation studies and combines the best of established research with attention to emerging directions for future investigation. This handbook will be of interest to multidisciplinary academic audiences from across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.




Roots of Yoga


Book Description

'An indispensable companion for all interested in yoga, both scholars and practitioners' Professor Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson Despite yoga's huge global popularity, relatively little of its roots is known among practitioners. This compendium includes a wide range of texts from different schools of yoga, languages and eras: among others, key passages from the early Upanisads and the Mahabharata, and from the Tantric, Buddhist and Jaina traditions, with many pieces in scholarly translation for the first time. Covering yoga's varying definitions, its most important practices, such as posture, breath control, sensory withdrawal and meditation, as well as models of the esoteric and physical bodies, Roots of Yoga is a unique and essential source of knowledge. Translated and Edited with an Introduction by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton




The Great Oom


Book Description

"Rollicking and well-researched...A story of scandal, financial shenanigans, bodily discipline, oversize egos and bizarre love triangles." -Wall Street Journal More than fifteen million Americans currently practice yoga (according to Yoga Journal), but how many of them know the true story of how Downward Dog first captivated America? Resurrecting a fascinating and forgotten tale, journalist Robert Love returns to the Gilded Age, when Dr. Pierre Bernard (né Perry Baker in Iowa) revived a discipline banned in Victorian India, packaged it for Americans, and taught legions of followers, who bankrolled his luxurious Hudson River ashram- the first in the nation. Filled with Jazz Age celebrities, heiresses, spies, and outraged clergy, The Great Oom is the enthralling life story of the unlikeliest of gurus, and a stunning saga of mysticism, intrigue, and the American dream.