A Deeper Yoga

Christina Sell knows the difference between a surface buzz in the yoga business (for a better, more beautiful “ME”), and its roots as an ancient practice of ethical life and spiritual transformation. With over twenty-five years “on the mat,” her voice of courage and sanity has never stopped urging yoga students and teachers alike to take a deeper dive: to confront media hype about body-image and the promise of any quick-fix in favor of a lifelong commitment to wholeness and freedom. This book is both an epitome of that call, and a practical guide to ongoing self-discovery. As the author of two previous books: Yoga From the Inside Out (2003) and My Body Is a Temple (2013), Christina Sell holds an international reputation as a gifted and compassionate teacher and trainer of yoga. As a former gymnast who dealt with eating disorders and addictions in her early years, Christina knows how to redirect thoughts and habits of negative body image toward spiritual practice and inner-awakening. A Deeper Yoga is for any practitioner or teacher who wants tools and support in finding a loving, expanded relationship with his or her body, mind, emotions and spirit. Her book is for anyone on the path of yoga. Newer yoga students will benefit from the compassionate explanations of the inner journey and find direction in building a stronger foundation of practice. Experienced yoga practitioners will find a refreshing and honest exploration of both the hype and the heart of the work. Teachers of all traditions will benefit from the ongoing reminder that yoga is not only for the body, but for transformation of consciousness and spiritual unfolding. This is a book for the long haul! A Deeper Yoga is uniquely aimed at practitioners who initially found help from yoga, but who are now experiencing impatience, discouragement or even disillusionment. It leads the reader to yoga’s more esoteric teachings, using language without jargon or unnecessary details. The tone is compassionate, yet strong and authoritative?inviting us to empower our own deeper knowing, yet without watering down the traditional teachings. Topics of body image, self-hatred, eating disorders, addiction and emotional imbalance are considered throughout. Christina skillfully dismantles the illusions and early conditionings that lead to unrealistic norms of perfection and empower a media-driven standard of beauty. A Deeper Yoga offers an alternative view of genuine beauty.

Popular medicine.

Are you ready to practice yoga with all the heart and soul that it originally had? Recently a roundtable of America's top yoga teachers agreed that those who fail to understand the true spirit of yoga, using it only for striving, was the greatest challenge faced by the practice today. What is the cost to women using yoga to try and achieve an ideal? What are the benefits of embracing heart-centered yoga and self-acceptance? How can you return yoga to its original spirit?

Return to balance with this calming, healing approach. Yin yoga offer remedies to the stresses of your busy yang life. Each restorative pose targets your deeper fascia and connective tissues, helping you experience increased flexibility and improved joint health. Yin yoga also focuses on deep breathing and longer hold times, allowing you the time and space to clear your mind and enhance your mental acuity. These meditative poses will help you attain a renewed sense of mindfulness and physical well-being, making them the perfect complement to an active yang lifestyle and helping bring you back into balance. Yin Yoga includes these features: • More than 50 step-by-step poses that focus on specific areas of the body • 20 sequences linking the poses, designed to help you reach specific physical, mental, or emotional goals • Expert information on techniques and philosophies, including correct breathing techniques, chakras and meridians, and how best to practice yin yoga If you’ve been looking for something to settle your mind and body, look no further than yin yoga the practice and Yin Yoga the book.

Christina Sell knows the difference between a surface buzz in the yoga business (for a better, more beautiful "ME"), and its roots as an ancient practice of ethical life and spiritual transformation. With over twenty-five years "on the mat," her voice of courage and sanity has never stopped urging yoga students and teachers alike to take a deeper dive: to confront media hype about body-image and the promise of any quick-fix in favor of a lifelong commitment to wholeness and freedom. This book is both an epitome of that call, and a practical guide to ongoing self-discovery. As the author of two previous books: Yoga From the Inside Out (2003) and My Body Is a Temple (2013), Christina Sell holds an international reputation as a gifted and compassionate teacher and trainer of yoga. As a former gymnast who dealt with eating disorders and addictions in her early years, Christina knows how to redirect thoughts and habits of negative body image toward spiritual practice and inner-awakening. A Deeper Yoga is for any practitioner or teacher who wants tools and support in finding a loving, expanded relationship with his or her body, mind, emotions and spirit. Her book is for anyone on the path of yoga. Newer yoga students will benefit from the compassionate explanations of the inner journey and find direction in building a stronger foundation of practice. Experienced yoga practitioners will find a refreshing and honest exploration of both the hype and the heart of the work. Teachers of all traditions will benefit from the ongoing reminder that yoga is not only for the body, but for transformation of consciousness and spiritual unfolding. This is a book for the long haul! A Deeper Yoga is uniquely aimed at practitioners who initially found help from yoga, but who are now experiencing impatience, discouragement or even disillusionment. It leads the reader to yoga's more esoteric teachings, using language without jargon or unnecessary details. The tone is compassionate, yet strong and authoritativeinviting us to empower our own deeper knowing, yet without watering down the traditional teachings. Topics of body image, self-hatred, eating disorders, addiction and emotional imbalance are considered throughout. Christina skillfully dismantles the illusions and early conditionings that lead to unrealistic norms of perfection and empower a media-driven standard of beauty. A Deeper Yoga offers an alternative view of genuine beauty.

Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice explores the yogic traditions of the past, bringing them alive today, and preserving them for the future by examining what separates us, reflecting on our part, taking action for equity, and moving toward liberation together. The teaching format of this book offers tools, resources, and a framework for deep personal inquiry as readers explore: Separation: How colonization, cultural appropriation, and oppression results in trauma for yogis and separation from yoga traditions. Reflection: Understanding the causes of separation and our individual roles either supporting separation (knowingly or not) versus creating unity and equity in yoga. Reconnection: Exploring specific and concrete skills and solutions for living and practicing yoga as unity. Liberation: Integrate a more honorable and ethical practice in your life supporting personal growth by following the ancient teachings.

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.