Inspirational reflections on life and yoga for on and off the mat—from a leading expert in yoga training, therapeutics, and philosophy Judith Hanson Lasater has been teaching an annual yoga retreat at Feathered Pipe Ranch, in Helena, Montana, for twenty-eight years. When Lasater learned that one of her students was collecting her thoughts—which she called “Judith’s aphorisms”—Lasater decided to compile them into this inspirational book for yoga practitioners of all levels. Featuring one thought for each day of the year—along with a suggested practice—these brief, powerful insights reflect the author’s knowledge of classic yoga philosophy and years of experience. Humorous, inspiring, and surprisingly down-to-earth, they guide seekers both on and off the yoga mat. These aphorisms address love, asana, fear, trust, expectations, pranayama, suffering, laughter, presence, the Yoga Sutra, and much more. They emphasize the experience of being present to one’s self and to life’s ups and downs—day by day, breath by breath, moment by moment. A Year of Living Your Yoga is a gentle invitation to readers to know themselves on a deeper level.

If you think that you have to retreat to a cave in the Himalayas to find the enlightenment that yoga promises, think again. In this second edition of Living Your Yoga, Judith Hanson Lasater stretches the meaning of yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques to include the events of daily life—all of them—as ways to practice. This edition includes three new chapters (Relaxation, Empathy, and Worship), a full index, and new interior and cover designs.Using the time-honored wisdom of the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita to steer the course, she serves up off-the-mat practices to guide you in deepening your relationships with yourself, your family and friends, and the world around you.Inspiring and practical, she blends her heartfelt knowledge of an ancient tradition with her life experiences as a daughter, sister, partner, mother, friend, and yoga practitioner and teacher. The result: a new yoga that beckons you to find the spiritual in everyday life.

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.

Restorative yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater offers a program of yoga poses to help rebalance your mind and body and counteract the effects of chronic stress. Restorative yoga offers the body a chance to rest deeply and revitalize. Whether you are feeling weak, fatigued, stressed from daily activities, or simply need to slow down and tune into your body, this wonderfully adaptive practice is essential for well being. Many of the practices are simple and accessible for people of all ages and in all states of health, using props that are readily available—like pillows and chairs. These deeply relaxing poses help you • rebalance your mind and body • create feelings of wellbeing, and counteract the effects of chronic stress • recover from injury or illness • lower blood pressure, and elevate and stabilize your mood Discover how just a few minutes a day of active, supported rest can improve your mood, your energy, and your sense of physical comfort and ease.

Explore the many paths of yoga. Yoga has been a living tradition of spiritual teaching for five thousand years. Here, readers will discover the wisdom of the millennia—and learn to live yoga. This book contains the best of Yoga Journal: the most outstanding interviews, essays, illustrations, and photographs. It offers the promise of hatha yoga exercise for health, and the yoga approach to diet and nutrition. It teaches meditation as an antidote to stress and a path to mindfulness. It explores the yoga of love and devotion in relationships; karma yoga, the path of work; and tantra yoga, the path of ritual, creativity, and sexuality. The authoritative contributors and wide-ranging topics here include: • Ram Dass on life as service • Joan Borysenko on the healing power of love • Larry Dossey on illusions about the body • Judith Lasater on asanas, or hatha yoga postures • Thich Nhat Hanh on the nature of suffering • Ken Wilber on the role of meditation • Frances Vaughan on the common ground between psychotherapy and spirituality • Daniel Coleman on early-warning signs for detecting spiritual abuse • John Welwood on spiritual relationships • Georg Feuerstein on sacred sexuality • Jacob Needleman on money and the path • Joanna Macy on caring for the earth Also richly illustrated, Living Yoga celebrates a fresh vision of life for spiritual seekers. Beginners will find an accessible, far-reaching overview of the topic; advanced practitioners will be reminded once again of the value and promise of yoga.

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 beloved teacher behind Living Your Yoga shares core exercises, yoga poses, and breathing techniques for achieving optimal abdominal health We have unique ways of ascribing a variety of emotions to the belly: “My guts are in a knot,” “I knew it in my gut,” “gut-wrenching,” and, “No guts, no glory.” Yet, too often, we place more emphasis on the way the abdomen looks rather than how it feels and functions. Yoga Abs outlines a series of exercises, yoga poses (asana), and breathing practices (pranayama), designed to achieve optimal health for this crucial area, which houses the organs of both digestion and procreation. Drawing on her experience as a yoga instructor and physical therapist, Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, discusses the anatomical and philosophical aspects of the abdomen, and offers a set of movements that create awareness of these important muscles, and develop and maintain abdominal strength. Each exercise and asana lists: • the props or supports needed • safety guidelines • practice instructions In addition, she has created a special section called “Everyday Abs,” where you will experiment with moving mindfully through your everyday activities, such as driving, cooking, sweeping the floor, and more.

B.K.S. Iyengar--hailed as "the Michelangelo of yoga" (BBC) and considered by many to be one of the most important yoga masters--has spent much of his life introducing the modern world to the ancient practice of yoga. Yoga's popularity is soaring, but its widespread acceptance as an exercise for physical fitness and the recognition of its health benefits have not been matched by an understanding of the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development that the yogic tradition can also offer. In Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar brings readers this new and more complete understanding of the yogic journey. Here Iyengar explores the yogic goal to integrate the different parts of the self (body, emotions, mind, and soul), the role that the yoga postures and breathing techniques play in our search for wholeness, the external and internal obstacles that keep us from progressing along the path, and how yoga can transform our lives and help us to live in harmony with the world around us. For the first time, Iyengar uses stories from his own life, humor, and examples from modern culture to illustrate the profound gifts that yoga offers. Written with the depth of this sage's great wisdom, Light on Life is the culmination of a master's spiritual genius, a treasured companion to his seminal Light on Yoga.

A yoga teacher and student of B.K.S. Iyengar offers guidance on how to develop a yoga practice—from poses and sequencing to creating targeted routines for pain relief, relaxation, and more Judith Hanson Lasater draws on her wealth of yoga practice and teaching experience, as well as her training as a physical therapist, to present this comprehensive resource for beginning students and their teachers. Several pages are devoted to each of the yoga poses or asana, including photos and charts, introductory steps and variations, benefits, which props to use, and more. Teachers will find guidance on adjustments for beginners learning new poses as well as how to help students more fully realize the pose. Lasater also helps practitioners with notes on how to go inward and what to explore when holding each pose. You’ll also learn how to put poses together in sequences, and Lasater provides several to get you started. You’ll find quick sequences for busy days, for areas of tightness such as the lower back or the hamstrings, and even routines to remedy fatigue, or foster relaxation, or just for strength and balance. Sequences are presented with photographic charts for easy visual reference, as well as a “Mantra for Daily Practice". A glossary of anatomical terms and resources for further study are also included.

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.