Curious Poses

Deepen your practice and discover the myths, gods, sacred animals and imagery that lie hidden in your favourite yoga postures Meet the monks and maharajas, gods and gymnasts who shaped yoga as we know it. Have you ever wondered why yoga postures look the way they do, or how they got their names? From Lotus to Warrior, Cobra to Happy Baby, this book takes a fresh look at the stories behind 30 familiar poses. By drawing in on Hindu scripture, mythology and the animals, birds and flowers the original Indian yogis saw around them, Curious Poses explores the symbolism of yoga postures many of us practise every week and offers inspiration to regular practitioners and yoga teachers alike. Let this book take you on a journey into a treasure trove of yoga history, mythology, philosophy and pop culture that enlightens and entertains by turns. Featuring full-colour illustrations, Curious Poses is an ideal mat companion for the curious yoga enthusiast.

Beginning with Yuka, a 39,000-year-old mummified woolly mammoth recently found in the Siberian permafrost, each of the sixteen essays in Animals Strike Curious Poses investigates a different famous animal named and immortalized by humans. Modeled loosely after a medieval bestiary, these witty, playful, whipsmart essays traverse history, myth, science, and more, bringing each beast vibrantly to life. Elena Passarello is an actor, a writer, and recipient of a 2015 Whiting Fellowship in nonfiction. Her first collection with Sarabande Books, Let Me Clear My Throat, won the gold medal for nonfiction at the 2013 Independent Publisher Awards. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon.

Deepen your practice and discover the myths, gods, sacred animals and imagery that lie hidden in your favourite yoga postures Meet the monks and maharajas, gods and gymnasts who shaped yoga as we know it. Have you ever wondered why yoga postures look the way they do, or how they got their names? From Lotus to Warrior, Cobra to Happy Baby, this book takes a fresh look at the stories behind 30 familiar poses. By drawing in on Hindu scripture, mythology and the animals, birds and flowers the original Indian yogis saw around them, Curious Poses explores the symbolism of yoga postures many of us practise every week and offers inspiration to regular practitioners and yoga teachers alike. Let this book take you on a journey into a treasure trove of yoga history, mythology, philosophy and pop culture that enlightens and entertains by turns. Featuring full-colour illustrations, Curious Poses is an ideal mat companion for the curious yoga enthusiast.

“A remarkably entertaining and thought-provoking look at the human voice and all of its myriad functions and sounds . . . Wonderful” (Library Journal, starred review). From Farinelli, the eighteenth-century castrato who brought down opera houses with his high C, to the recording of Johnny B. Goode affixed to the Voyager spacecraft, Let Me Clear My Throat dissects the whys and hows of popular voices, making them hum with significance and emotion. There are murders of punk rock crows, impressionists, and rebel yells; Howard Dean’s “BYAH!” and Marlon Brando’s “Stellaaaaa!” and a stock film yawp that has made cameos in movies from A Star is Born to Spaceballs. The voice is thought’s incarnating instrument and Elena Passarello’s essays are a riotous deconstruction of the ways the sounds we make both express and shape who we are—the annotated soundtrack of us giving voice to ourselves. “Standout pieces include a biography of the most famous scream in Hollywood history; a breakdown of the relationship between song and birdsong; and an analysis of the sounds of disgust. Akin to: A dinner party at which David Sedaris, Mary Roach and Marlon Brando are trying to out-monologue one another.” —Philadelphia Weekly “The beauty of Ellen Passarello’s voice is that it’s so confidently its own . . . I began randomly with her essay wondering what the space aliens will make of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ on the Voyager gold record and couldn’t stop after that.” —John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead

Lucas Mann turns his attention, tenderness, self-reflection, and humor to contemporary fatherhood. Moving through memoir, lyric essay, literary analysis, and pop culture criticism, Attachments treats the subject of fatherhood with the depth, curiosity, and vivid emotion that it deserves.

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.

"How can a complete stranger know you better than the people you've known your entire life?" Lance Hendricks is homeward bound, four hundred highway miles from the best night of his life. There's an epic graduation party brewing, his girlfriend will be there, and they've got a private bedroom with their names on it. When his '93 Buick breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Lance is sure he'll be back on the road in no time. After all, he's the high school valedictorian. First chair trumpet player. Scholarship winner. Nothing can stop Lance Hendricks. But afternoon turns to night, and Lance ends up stranded at the Trainsong Motel. The place feels ominous, even before there's a terrible car wreck outside his room. When Lance rushes out to help, the townies take notice. They call him Wildman, and an intriguing local girl asks him to join in their nighttime adventures. He begins to live up to his new name. As one day blurs into the next, Lance finds himself in a bar fight, jumping a train, avoiding the police. Drifting farther from home and closer to a girl who makes him feel a way he's never felt before—like himself. This debut novel by a remarkable new talent explores the relationship between identity and place, the power of being seen, and the speed at which a well-planned life can change forever.

With a distinct visual format, Namaslay guides readers step by step through more than 100 yoga poses. The poses are broken down by experience level into a series of progressions and include modifications for those who can't quite achieve the full expression of a pose just yet. Full-color photos and tips on overcoming common mistakes helps people get the most out of every pose. Namaslay also features three 30-day yoga programs that focus on de-stress, core strength, and back pain. You will also find specific yoga sequences that are customized for everyone from the office dweller to the endurance athlete. Written with heart, humor, and swagger, Namaslay is a book for everyone, from beginners to advanced practitioners and even the simply curious. This book’s high-quality, edgy-yet-beautiful photographs add an artful flair that puts it in a class of its own—as appropriate for a coffee table as a yoga studio!