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 Law of Attention


Book Description

How to achieve a direct inner experience of your higher nature and the after-death state from which you originate and will return • Provides techniques for listening to the primordial sound within • Offers yoga and meditation techniques that are still little known in the West This book--at once simple and powerful--stands as a monument to the lifelong spiritual struggles of Edward Salim Michael, struggles that he heroically surmounted on his path to enlightenment. Due to the circumstances of his birth, Michael had no education, no mother tongue, and no book learning when he was drafted at the age of 19 into the British Royal Air Force during World War II. After learning to read and write he became an accomplished classical composer in France. In 1949, after seeing a statue of a Buddha for the first time, he experienced a powerful awakening of his innate Buddha Nature, which inspired him to begin a sustained and extremely disciplined meditation practice. Michael abandoned his career as a composer and went to India, the home of his maternal grandmother, where he lived for seven years fully focused on his spiritual awakening. Michael’s spiritual teachings reveal techniques of yoga and meditation that can open the door to one’s higher nature and to directly experience the after-death state. Nada yoga (meditation on the inner sound) is one of the core techniques for this realization. There is a vast luminous consciousness already within us, but it is obscured by the clouds of our incessant thoughts. With sincerity, moral integrity, and inner vigilance, which, when embodied, implies that we have internalized the basic tenets of the law of attention, we can move beyond the promptings of our lower nature and break through the clouds of our ordinary mind to realize our own divine nature. Emphasizing inner attention and an awareness of attitude, Michael’s practices can help aspirants make direct contact with the divine source each of us unknowingly carries deep within.




The Yoga of Sound


Book Description

For thousands of years Hindu spirituality has understood the profound effect that sound has on our well-being. From this tradition comes The Yoga of Sound, which draws on yoga's long history of applying sound to reduce stress, maintain health, and invoke spiritual awakenings. In lucid exercises presented both in the book and on accompanying downloadable audio tracks, Russill Paul shows how everyone can learn the art of mantra and how these practices can help to optimize the flow of energy within the body and enhance emotional well-being.




Simple Recipes for Joy


Book Description

More than 200 delicious vegan recipes from the world-renowned founder of the Jivamukti yoga method and the New York City Jivamuktea Café Since 1984, Jivamukti yoga has been synonymous with a new way of living: peacefully, healthfully, and consciously. Jivamukti’s dedicated instructors and message of kindness have inspired a global revolution. In 2006, Sharon Gannon and David Life opened the Jivamuktea Café to complement their yoga school as a living expression of how compassionate spiritual activism can be put to practical use. It, too, was an immediate success. The peaceful ambiance, the camaraderie, and, most of all, the delicious, hearty fare struck a chord with patrons who were thrilled to eliminate meat and dairy from their diet without sacrificing taste. Thousands of customers—including Russell Simmons, award-winning film director Darren Aronofsky, and Eco Spokesmama Chloé Jo Davis—have become devoted fans of Gannon’s cruelty-free burritos, chocolate mousse, and flower salads. Now, for the first time, Gannon presents the secrets behind the café's acclaimed menu—and also showcases her own home cooking, with recipes she’s been making for family and friends for decades. Stalwart vegans—as well as the millions of vegetarians and omnivores who eat vegan part-time for its health and environmental benefits—will embrace Gannon’s accessible, delicious, and spiritually powerful recipes.




Inner Awakening and Practice of Nada Yoga


Book Description

How much choice do I have in my life? What is liberation? How can one experience enlightenment? Onto all these questions and many others, Edward Salim Michael shines the light of a master who, with infinite compassion, guides aspirants on the path he, himself, traveled, a path that permitted him to attain the highest realizations and whose obstacles and traps he knows. To experience enlightenment, first one must emerge from the "diurnal sleep" in which human beings are ordinarily plunged, unaware of the divine origin of their nature; a situation that makes of them "tragically incomplete beings." Step by step, in his own words, accessible to all, the author explains the conditions that allow human beings to reunite with themselves. An astonishing force emanates from this work, which speaks to intuition as well as to feeling, a force that comes from an entirely out-of-the-ordinary sincerity. A book that one will, without doubt, come back to many times throughout one's life.




The Sound of Silence


Book Description

Ajahn Sumedho gives insights into some key Buddhist themes like awareness, consciousness, identity, relief from suffering, and mindfulness of the body.




Nada Yoga


Book Description

Nada Yoga, oftentimes referred to as the Yoga of Sound is an incredibly spiritual and advanced practice that allows yogis to listen to the music of their inner spirit through deep, internal listening. This contemporary manual offers clarity and guidance on Nada Yoga and fuses traditional teachings with modern science in a multicultural and multimedia approach. Authored by an experienced and dynamic author duo who are well versed in yoga therapy, modern medicine, and music, Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani and Dr Sangeeta Laura Biagi bring a variety of novel approaches and methodologies to help students understand the advanced meditative techniques required for Nada Yoga and the principles behind them. It will include a comprehensive overview of Nada Yoga, the Pranava AUM, the Chakras, Carnatic Music Essentials, Relaxation and Healing, and Yoga Therapy Applications.




Holistic Health for Adolescents


Book Description

How yoga, aromatherapy, teas, and more can help you get and stay well. Stress. Fatigue. Depression. Sleeping problems. Issues with focus and concentration. Headaches. Substance abuse. These are all common problems that teenagers deal with. We have long been acquainted with the conventional treatments of therapy and prescription medications. It turns out there are also many complementary and alternative therapies available that have evidence-based track records of success. This book presents therapies based around the five senses—including acupressure, aromatherapy, yoga, sound/music therapy—to help teens with their mental health. Each chapter reviews the signs and symptoms of a problem and presents detailed treatment protocols and therapies. This all-inclusive book is one-stop shopping for teens and parents looking for new, synergistic, and different ways to handle life’s problems. As both a trained medical doctor on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and a noted complementary and alternative medicine specialist, Nada Milosavljevic brings a rich background of experience to this book.




Jivamukti Yoga


Book Description

The long-awaited, complete guide to the popular, vigorous American method of yoga that is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom and scriptures “In this day and age of health and fitness trends, it is assuring to know that Sharon and David encourage their students to draw inspiration from the classical texts of Yoga and timeless scriptural sources. ”—Sri Swami Satchidananda Creators of the extremely popular Jivamukti Yoga method and cofounders of the New York City studios where it is taught, Sharon Gannon and David Life present their unique style of yoga for the first time in book form. As they explain their intensely physical and spiritual system of flowing postures, they provide inspiring expert instruction to guide you in your practice. Unlike many books about yoga, Jivamukti Yoga focuses not only on the physical postures but also on how they evolved—the origins of the practices in yoga’s ancient sacred texts and five-thousand-year-old traditions—the psychotherapeutic benefits that accrue with a steady practice, and the spiritual power that is set free when energy flows throughout the mind and body. Jivamukti Yoga, which means “soul liberation,” guides your body and soul into spiritual freedom, physical strength, peace of mind, better health, and Self-realization–the ultimate goal of any practice. Gannon and Life help you understand each of the practices that comprise the yoga path to enlightenment: AHIMSA–The Way of Compassion: choosing nonviolence, respecting all life, practicing vegetarianism, living free of prejudice ASANA–The Way of Connection to the Earth: postures and sequences, breathing, transforming energy, understanding the bandhas KARMA–The Way of Action: creating good karma, giving thanks NADAM–The Way of Sacred Music: appreciating the sacred sounds of yoga MEDITATION–The Way of the Witness: how to sit still and move inward BHAKTI–The Way of Devotion to God: living with love, grace, and peace Whatever yoga you practice, Jivamukti Yoga will help you to strengthen and deepen that practice and lead you onto a path of spiritual clarity and self-discovery. “If there is only one book you read about the practice of Yoga, this should be the one. . . . This book is for anyone who wishes to find transformation through Yoga. I’m grateful for their work and teaching.”—Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, Co-founder & CEO, Omega Institute