Bhagwati Charan Verma¿s novel The Dancer, Her Lover and the Yogi braids Eastern philosophy with a whirlwind romance and offers a satisfying if melodramatic fable on the tension between desire and renunciation. The novel covers a year in which two disciples of a guru go out into the world in order to gain the experience necessary to aid their understanding. One is sent to live in the home of a well-to-do man, Beejgupta¿the lover in the title, whose beloved, the dancer, is the unashamedly sensual Chitralekha. When the renowned ascetic yogi Kumargiri meets Chitralekha, his tightly held values of self-denial are challenged. And when Chitralekha and Kumargiri engage in an affair, Beejgupta is left devastated. The novel follows these complex relationships, all framed by the students witnessing them and the mentor who sent them on their path.

TEMPLE DANCER is a spiritual enigma that, like a double helix, entwines the lives of two women from disparate times and cultures. Wendy, a contemporary American artist turned therapist, and Saraswati, an Indian temple dancer in 1938, mirror each other's shame, loss, passion for their art and ultimate triumphs in love.

Starting with a chapter on the dysfunctional early life of the Buddha, Christopher Titmuss explores the profound importance of love in a series of 11 essays. The Buddha of Love explores such themes as deep friendship, romantic love, the way to God, the act of giving, spiritual relationships and compassion. He addresses the teachings of Jesus on love, Tantra and sexuality. Christopher explores the spiritual network and one to one professional sessions. Christopher offers a range of insightful perspectives on matters of the heart and draws on the Buddha's teachings. The author shares stories, poems and offers practices to cultivate love as a liberating force. Christopher Titmuss offers retreats, facilitates pilgrimages and leads Dharma Gatherings worldwide. Poet and social critic. A former Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, he is the founder of the online Mindfulness Training Course. He lives in Totnes, Devon, England.

This off beat heartful account takes the reader on a journey of life, death, and freedom through the eyes of a devoted yet independent daughter, showing how an alternative spiritual path can affect families immersed in traditional religion. From his birth in the slums of Chicago to his passing in North Hollywood, Aaron Oscar Zaret (1927–2008)—nicknamed Zeke by his Navy cronies—sings, story-tells, and dances his way through his last days. A subtext woven throughout the book is the author's complicated father-daughter relationship, which for both of them, turned out to be "just what the doctor ordered." From Bagels to Curry (hence from Judaism to yoga) will touch the reader with a singular universal message: that living and dying are chapters of the same divine mystery—love.

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.

"Shiva does not spell religion. Shiva spells responsibility -- our ability to take our very life process in our hands.'' -- Sadhguru 'Shi-va' is 'that which is not', a primordial emptiness; Shiva is also the first-ever yogi, Adiyogi, the one who first perceived this emptiness. Adiyogi is symbol and myth, historic figure and living presence, creator and destroyer, outlaw and ascetic, cosmic dancer and passionate lover, all at once.A book like no other, this extraordinary document is a tribute to Shiva, the Adiyogi, by a living yogi; a chronicle of the progenitor of mysticism by a contemporary mystic. Here science and philosophy merge seamlessly, so do silence and sound, question and answer--to capture the unspeakable enigma of Adiyogi in a spellbinding wave of words and ideas that will leave one entranced, transformed.

Since the 1960s, yoga has become a billion-dollar industry in the West, attracting housewives and hipsters, New Agers and the old-aged. But our modern conception of yoga derives much from nineteenth-century European spirituality, and the true story of yoga’s origins in South Asia is far richer, stranger, and more entertaining than most of us realize. To uncover this history, David Gordon White focuses on yoga’s practitioners. Combing through millennia of South Asia’s vast and diverse literature, he discovers that yogis are usually portrayed as wonder-workers or sorcerers who use their dangerous supernatural abilities—which can include raising the dead, possession, and levitation—to acquire power, wealth, and sexual gratification. As White shows, even those yogis who aren’t downright villainous bear little resemblance to Western assumptions about them. At turns rollicking and sophisticated, Sinister Yogis tears down the image of yogis as detached, contemplative teachers, finally placing them in their proper context.

Cult bestseller The Invitation is more than just a poem. It is a profound invitation to a life that is more fulfilling and passionate, with greater integrity. This book is a word-of-mouth sensation, whose truths have resonated with people all over the world, and is now reissued with a beautiful new cover design.

Seize the joy and healing power of dance! Drawing from her years of experience as a dance and movement teacher, and as cofounder of the international dance organization InterPlay, Cynthia Winton-Henry helps you overcome your embarrassment or anxiety and discover in dance a place of solace and restoration, as well as an energizing spiritual force. She taps into the spirit of dancing throughout history and in many world cultures to provide detailed exercises that will help you learn to trust your body and interpret its physical and spiritual intentions. For both newcomers and seasoned movers alike, she encourages you to embrace dance as a spiritual tool to: