This book has been specially designed by the author keeping in mind the needs of the students of Yoga in Europe and America, who need practical but non-technical presentation of the subject in a language accessible to the beginner in the path. At the end of the book an Appendix has been added and a glossary of Sanskrit terms given.Read mor

Outlines the basic physical exercises, mental disciplines, and ethical commitments of raja yoga

Through Teaching Yoga for Life: Preparing Children and Teens for Healthy, Balanced Living, you can - help kids become more confident and self-directed, - use a holistic approach to enrich students' lives, and - guide kids to manage stress more effectively. Yoga is gaining popularity in schools and community programs for good reason: It provides an antidote to our fast-paced, technology-based society in which we never stop to relax, dig deeper, and learn more about ourselves and the world around us. Through Teaching Yoga for Life: Preparing Children and Teens for Healthy, Balanced Living, you can employ a simple, safe, and pragmatic method for yoga instruction even if you've never taught it before. The clear, step-by-step directions and ample illustrations make it easy for you to present each of the activities, lessons, and 52 poses included in the book. These lessons are based on a holistic approach that focuses on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yoga. The book introduces basic yoga philosophy in simplified take-home messages that help students live better lives. It also explains how yoga can enrich students' health and why it should be a vital part of their lives. Yoga students commonly - improve their self-awareness and emotional intelligence; - enhance their abilities to focus and concentrate; - develop greater cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility; and - learn how to handle stress (particularly helpful for kids with learning, behavioral, or social and economic challenges). This visual and user-friendly book is based on applied research and evidence from piloted programs, and it applies the pedagogical standards of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The book supplies lessons and unit plans, and you'll learn all about the basic physical poses, breathing techniques, play, visualizations, and relaxation methods. You'll also discover how to teach yoga effectively and learn the science and movement principles behind yoga. Teaching yoga can help you create a safe and relaxed atmosphere for students. You can use a multiple-intelligence approach to engage all of your students, particularly those who don't enjoy traditional sport-based activities. Yoga requires little or no equipment and can be adapted to anyone's needs. It helps people slow down and discover, or rediscover, who they are. Best of all, anyone can do it. With the expert guidance and practical approach of this text, yoga can revitalize your classroom and your students.

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.

Motivational Yoga: 100 Lessons for Strength, Energy, and Transformation provides 100 ready-to-use lesson plans of varying lengths to save prep time and help yoga teachers bring yoga concepts and philosophies into practice both on and off the mat through asanas, meditations, pranayama practices, and words of motivation to share during class.

Yoga Beyond Belief offers a unique vision of contemporary yoga. It integrates scientific and practical approaches providing a much-needed integrative perspective that complements existing yoga books for all levels and styles of yoga students. Serving up a collection of valuable insights gleaned from a lifetime of exploration, practice, study, and teaching by one of America’s pioneering and leading teachers of yoga, the book assists readers in making sense of the many discordant claims and teaching techniques that currently exist in the yoga world, freeing readers to pursue their own individual paths of yoga and personal practice. This is an essential text and reference for all yoga practitioners. The book first sets a context for an open-minded and evolutionary approach to yoga practice, and then explains the core principles of the many branches of yoga. A clear foundation is given for how the physical practices of yoga work to produce remarkable results of health and well being. The chapter Injury, Pain, and Healing shows how to prevent injuries and how to heal injuries should they occur. The reader is given a wealth of sophisticated of tools, insights, and anecdotes gleaned from a lifetime of practice and teaching to develop, hone, and tune his or her personal yoga approach. This book makes yoga come alive for the reader. The book concludes by going beyond the physical aspects to the heart of yoga. It illuminates and gives insight into the discovery of non-dogmatic forms and evolutionary approaches to meditation and spirituality. It presents a clear argument showing the pitfalls of regimented systems and how to make everything in daily life part of yoga practice and spiritual development. Ganga White gives us his unique and creative perspectives on a time-tested discipline for a healthy and vital life. Entertaining and thoroughly readable, this book offers a coherent explication of yoga, its philosophy and practice. White’s integrative views will inspire beginners and accomplished yogis to trust their inner wisdom and creatively reassess their practice. He is a great storyteller and gives us his personal and creative perspective, breathing fresh air into an ancient discipline. Yoga Beyond Belief offers an original, integrative approach to body, mind, and spirit that is practical, inspiring, and full of valuable insights to enliven and inform anyone’s yoga practice.

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.

A high-profile Ashtanga Yoga teacher introduces an inspirational 30-day program that will “completely overhaul your attitude . . . eliminate negativity . . . while also allowing yoga to transform your body” (PopSugar) “The brave heart of a yogi is defined by actions that make the world a better place.” Live with authenticity. Practice patience. Let go of negativity. These are some of the core tenets of a yoga lifestyle, on and off the mat. Yoga is about much more than twisting yourself into shapes—the heart of this ancient practice is an inner journey, one of reflection, spiritual awakening, and ultimately a calm, clear mind. The Yogi Assignment is a 30-day introduction to these life-affirming and simple—yet revolutionary—principles. Led by master Ashtanga yoga teacher Kino MacGregor, this journey will challenge and uplift your body, mind, and spirit. Each day offers a practice and meditation that will help you confront your emotional, physical, and mental limitations and inspire real change in your life. MacGregor is a fierce, loving guide who encourages you to look deeply within to find your wellspring of inner strength and courage.