Yoga for Life


Book Description

From a rebellious young woman with a dangerous heroin habit to a globe-trotting fashion model to “First Lady of Yoga” (The New York Times), Colleen Saidman Yee tells the remarkable story of how she found herself through the healing power of yoga—and then inspired others to do the same. I’ve learned how to extract the beauty of an ordinary day. I’ve learned that the best high exists in the joy—or the sadness—of the present moment. Yoga allows me to surf the ripples and sit with the mud, while catching glimpses of the clarity of my home at the bottom of the lake: my true self. The very first time Saidman Yee took a yoga class, she left feeling inexplicably different—something inside had shifted. She felt alive—so alive that yoga became the center of her life, helping her come to terms with her insecurities and find her true identity and voice. From learning to cope with a frightening seizure disorder to navigating marriages and divorces to becoming a mother, finding the right life partner, and grieving a beloved parent, Saidman Yee has been through it all—and has found that yoga holds the answers to life’s greatest challenges. Approachable, sympathetic, funny, and candid, Saidman Yee shares personal anecdotes along with her compassionate insights and practical instructions for applying yoga to everyday issues and anxieties. Specific yoga sequences accompany each chapter and address everything from hormonal mood swings to detoxing, depression, stress, and increased confidence and energy. Step-by-step instructions and photographs demonstrate her signature flow of poses so you can follow them effortlessly. Yoga for Life offers techniques to bring awareness to every part of your physical and spiritual being, allowing you to feel truly alive and to embody the peace of the present moment.




The Beauty of Yoga in Life


Book Description

In the early 1970s, when yoga was new to the West, I followed a programme on television called "Yoga with Richard Hittleman." Over the weeks, I was drawn to want to know more about why I was beginning to feel so much better, both physically and spiritually. I trained under many different teachers and was taught many different styles, from which I devised my own yoga routines that I have been teaching for forty years. My yoga classes over the years have been a haven for people living in this fast-paced city of London, an oasis from which they can leave refreshed, bright-eyed, and ready to face the challenges of modern-day life. This book comprehensively covers all aspects of yoga, from the physical, which helps a person become stronger and more centred, to the philosophical and mental states of understanding that yoga helps bring about. The Beauty of Yoga in Life delves into the origins of yoga and how it has developed over the centuries, as well as spurring mental faculties through the mind/body benefits. Since 2,000 years before Christ, yoga has been used in India and perfected by others to strengthen and bring health to both mind and body. The word yoga means yoke, a yoking together and a bringing of harmony to oneself, especially useful in today's stressed populations. The spiritual understanding of yoga is explained and how all paths of yoga lead not only to self-improvement but to spirituality.




The Beauty of Yoga in Life


Book Description

In the early 1970s, when yoga was new to the West, I followed a programme on television called “Yoga with Richard Hittleman.” Over the weeks, I was drawn to want to know more about why I was beginning to feel so much better, both physically and spiritually. I trained under many different teachers and was taught many different styles, from which I devised my own yoga routines that I have been teaching for forty years. My yoga classes over the years have been a haven for people living in this fast-paced city of London, an oasis from which they can leave refreshed, bright-eyed, and ready to face the challenges of modern-day life. This book comprehensively covers all aspects of yoga, from the physical, which helps a person become stronger and more centred, to the philosophical and mental states of understanding that yoga helps bring about. The Beauty of Yoga in Life delves into the origins of yoga and how it has developed over the centuries, as well as spurring mental faculties through the mind/body benefits. Since 2,000 years before Christ, yoga has been used in India and perfected by others to strengthen and bring health to both mind and body. The word yoga means yoke, a yoking together and a bringing of harmony to oneself, especially useful in today’s stressed populations. The spiritual understanding of yoga is explained and how all paths of yoga lead not only to self-improvement but to spirituality.




A Woman's Book of Yoga


Book Description

Interest in yoga is at an all-time high, especially among women. Whether readers wish to begin the practice or are already involved in yoga, this innovative book will help them understand the unique benefits yoga provides for a woman's health and mental well-being. The authors lead women of all ages through the health and life cycles specific to females by illustrating the spiritual and physical advantages of Kundalini yoga, as taught by yoga master Yogi Bhajan. Hari Khalsa applies ancient wisdom to explain how to determine and enhance one's own special relationship with the mind, body, and soul. Using his expertise on women's health issues, Dr. Siebel reveals the scientific basis for yoga's positive effects on the brain. Together, Dr. Siebel and Hari Khalsa create a dialogue of spiritualism and science, elucidating how every woman can reap the rewards of yoga for a lifetime.




The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health


Book Description

The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health is the first comprehensive book about women's health issues and how to treat them with yoga. The authors offer a complete yoga program for general health as well as pose sequences that address specific health problems—all in the Iyengar tradition, which targets health needs more than other forms of yoga. For example, in the first part of the book, Patricia Walden has organized three chapters showing yoga poses with clear instructions that tell how to get into each pose and describe its benefits: chapter one is the Essential Sequence for all women, and includes modifications for people who cannot or should not do all the poses; chapter two is the Restorative Sequence for stress relief and relaxation; chapter three contains advanced poses that energize and tone. The second part is presented in four sections that broadly represent the stages of a woman's life: teen years and early twenties, later twenties and thirties, midlife, and wisdom years. Each section contains chapters offering specific information about a particular health issue from author Linda Sparrowe, as well as sequences of yoga poses from Patricia Walden that address the problem. For example, the back care chapter includes information about common back problems and their causes (scoliosis, arthritis, lordosis, sciatica, kyphosis, among others) with an emphasis on: emotional and psychological roots of some back problems; physiological information about the spine and back muscles; general information about how yoga addresses different areas of the back; and finally, Patricia Walden's sequences of poses that target different back problems with the goal of not only relieving back pain but of strengthening, and healing old injuries and misalignments. Sections of the book include: • Teens and Early 20s: Eating disorders, menstrual health, immune support • 20s and 30s: Back care, pregnancy, headaches • Midlife: Depression, menopause, digestion • Wisdom Years: Osteoporosis, postmenopause, the heart The final section of the book includes listings of yoga centers, instructional videos, yoga equipment, and where to go for more information about yoga.




Get Your Yoga On


Book Description

Challenge yourself to practice yoga five minutes a day with this inclusive beginner’s guide to 30 foundational yoga poses and sequences—for everyone and every body Yoga is a healthful, stress-busting, powerfully life-changing practice that is truly for everyone! You don’t need to be young, flexible, or athletic to do yoga—and you don’t need to spend hours on the mat. You just need to be yourself and commit to practicing at least five minutes a day. Here, renowned yogi Kino MacGregor presents a basic, self-paced plan to encourage you to try each of the thirty foundational poses included and slowly build a regular yoga practice. Through step-by-step instructions, over two hundred color photographs, and modifications for different body types and abilities, Kino makes yoga possible at whatever level you may be. By challenging yourself for just five minutes a day, you will end up learning a strong, basic yoga sequence that you can grow and adapt for a lifetime of yoga.




The Women's Health Big Book of Yoga


Book Description

From Women's Health contributor and yoga expert Kathryn Budig-the essential, authoritative guide to yoga, for beginners and beyond. Approximately 16 millions Americans now practice yoga on a regular basis. Devotees can't rave enough about this ancient art of meditation, breathing, and physical postures that calms the mind and slims the body. Unlike fitness fads, yoga is worth the hype. The postures stretch and tone lean muscle mass and sculpt a strong and slender physique-burning up to 400 calories in a 90-minute session. But yoga does something even better. It's proven to reduce the biggest cause of weight gain-stress-which 43% of Americans say makes them overeat. This definitive volume features: - every essential pose to help readers lose weight and transform their bodies - Total Body Yoga: targeted workouts in 15 minutes or less - core-strengthening routines for hotter, more satisfying sex - a healthy, mindful eating plan centered around calming, cleansing foods Covering everything from basic postures to relaxation techniques to avoiding common injuries, The Women's Health Big Book of Yoga is the only guide readers need to achieve their fittest, healthiest, happiest selves.




Yoga Through the Year


Book Description

Create a Powerful Connection Between Yoga and the Wheel of the Year Find balance in your yoga practice and your life by connecting with nature and the cycle of the seasons. Yoga Through the Year reimagines yoga as a way to unite complimentary opposites—heaven and earth, sun and moon, male and female. Providing inspiration, guidance, and more than 100 illustrations, this book shows you how to work with the prevalent energy of each season and develop an authentic practice that makes you happier and healthier. Learn how to best work with the challenges and opportunities present throughout the wheel of the year. Explore mindfulness exercises, visualizations, meditations, and yoga poses and sequences that are specially designed for each season. This remarkable book's approach can be personalized to fit your needs all year long. With it, you can develop your own rhythm in response to each seasonal change.




Yoga for Women


Book Description

Yoga for the female body - restore vitality, reduce stress, improve your sex life, and target conditions that are statistically more common in women. Discover how yoga can provide health benefits specifically for your female body, whatever stage of life you're at. Women have different health needs compared to men, such as being more prone to asthma, thyroid disease, and osteoporosis, and can use yoga to mitigate against such health threats. You may be pregnant or a new mother, balancing family commitments, or feel exhausted all the time - Yoga for Women has the perfect programmes to help you find renewed energy and inner calm. Find out how certain asanas can build bone strength or a healthy respiratory system, relieve stress and boost energy, improve your sex life, provide gentle exercise during pregnancy, or alleviate pain or the symptoms of menopause. Start with the basics, including simple warm-ups and poses that will enhance your well-being. Then explore sequences that help you to guard against female health issues and meet the challenges that life presents. Yoga for Women is perfect for women at every stage of life.




The Power of Ashtanga Yoga


Book Description

A foremost Ashtanga Yoga teacher tells you “everything you ever wanted to know from a yogi” in this guide for beginners and experienced practitioners alike (Huffington Post) Go inside the philosophy, history, and practices of a popular and athletic type of yoga—with step-by-step instructions and gems of wisdom for starting your own journey to self-realization Ashtanga Yoga has become extremely popular in recent years. Here, Kino MacGregor—a disciple of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the great modern guru who developed Ashtanga Yoga—gives a comprehensive view of the practice, demonstrating how Ashtanga is fundamentally a path of spiritual transformation and personal development. MacGregor delves into the history and tradition of Ashtanga Yoga and reveals how its philosophy manifests in contemporary lifestyle and dietary choices. She also explains the essential connection of breath, posture, and gaze that is the core of the practice. Her clear, step-by-step instruction of the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series—including standing, seated, backbending, twisting, hip-opening, and closing postures—is a wonderful initiation for those who are new to the practice, and it will motivate experienced yogis toward perfection of the form. Throughout, MacGregor shares her own personal yoga journey and her devotion to yoga as a path of self-realization in a way that will inspire all practitioners.