The Sacred Body

The power of the breath has been recognized for millennia as an integral part of health and well-being. In Awakening the Sacred Body, teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche makes accessible the ancient art of Tibetan breath and movement practices. In clear, easy-to-understand language, he outlines the theory and processes of two powerful meditations—the Nine Breathings of Purification and the Tsa Lung movements—that can help you change your relationship to yourself, to others, and to the world. The simple methods presented in Awakening the Sacred Body and in the accompanying online video focus on clearing and opening your energetic centers to allow the natural human qualities of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity to arise. When sadness releases, joy is able to arise. When anger releases, love becomes available. When prejudice releases, equanimity prevails. And when lack of kindness ceases, compassion is present.These practices, which focus the mind and breath together while performing specific body movements, will help you discover your inner wisdom and express your greatest potential.

Are you dealing with life challenges, transitions, or symptoms preventing you from unlocking your inner resources and taking the steps necessary for the change you desire? Are you wondering how to improve your connection with your body and deal with your inner cycles? Do you feel called to create a better world and live in harmony with Nature but you don't know how? Did you ever feel that there is much more of yourself to express, but you don't have the energy or the clarity you need to take action and embrace transformation? The Sacred Body is a call to understand the connections between women's physiology, Nature's elements and cycles, and the many challenges women face in our world and daily life. It is addressed to women but recommended to anybody who wants to embody Feminine Wholeness. Grounded in both science and the fascinating world of ancient knowledge, it gives you practical tools to support you in embracing a paradigm shift and fully expressing your feminine through your body, so you can thrive, shine, and live the life you want, no matter your age. Through this book you will understand how to master Nature's elements and cycles from within to overcome those limitations caused by hormonal and physiological elements or social conditionings, and discover precious secrets hidden within life's transitions and stages, including perimenopause and menopause. Moreover, you will become aware of how, together, we can create a functional alternative to the patriarchal model in a peaceful, assertive and constructive way, and build a better world - based on respect and the embodiment of our uniqueness - from the inside out.

Investigates regional roles of body parts in mortuary rituals and as relics, empasising the central role of the corpse in the negotiation of human death.

Thai Massage, Sacred Bodywork is a complete guide to an ancient practice that benefits body, mind, and spirit. Interest in Thai massage has been growing rapidly. This is no surprise given its unique multifaceted approach to the body. Thai massage combines acupressure, stretching, reflexology, assisted yoga postures, herbal compresses, prayer and meditation. It benefits everyone. Sometimes called the "lazy person's yoga", Thai massage stretches and relaxes the muscles, increases the joints' range of motion, and balances energy flow throughout the body. Thai Massage, Sacred Bodywork provides fully illustrated, step-by-step instructions which enable the reader to use this integrative and interactive therapy with a partner at home or with a client. The book explains the historical and philosophical background of Thai massage as well as its religious origins. Throughout the book, Ananda always reminds us of the deeper meaning of this sacred modality—compassion in action. A must for all those interested in the healing arts.

The twentieth anniversary edition of a transformative blueprint for ancestral healing—featuring new material and gateways, from the renowned herbalist, natural health expert, and healer of women’s bodies and souls “This book was one of the first that helped me start practices as a young woman that focused on my body and spirit as one.”—Jada Pinkett Smith Through extraordinary meditations, affirmations, holistic healing plant-based medicine, KMT temple teachings, and The Rites of Passage guidance, Queen Afua teaches us how to love and rejoice in our bodies by spiritualizing the words we speak, the foods we eat, the relationships we attract, the spaces we live and work in, and the transcendent woman spirit we manifest. With love, wisdom, and passion, Queen Afua guides us to accept our mission and our mantle as Sacred Women—to heal ourselves, the generations of women in our families, our communities, and our world.

Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit is a book about transforming our ordinary lives into a sacred experience. You will be introduced to Tantra as the essence of yogic practice and philosophy. Known by the ancient yogis as a powerful conduit for personal transformation, Tantra holds the secret to turning our longings into love and our feelings of separation into spiritual union. Generally known in the West as "the yoga of sex," in this book, you will encounter a more integral form of Tantra. Some yogis call this ancient wisdom "the yoga of everything." Because, Tantric yoga is about seeing and realizing that everything we do can become a sacred, spiritual act. This form of alchemical spirituality is insightfully and poetically articulated in this book by Ramesh Bjonnes, a popular yoga blogger, workshop leader and cofounder of the Prama Institute. "An insightful, balanced approach to the frequently misunderstood pursuit of spiritual growth and personal well-being." --Kirkus Review "This book is a source that any person, lay or scholar, will benefit from reading, because here is a practitioner whose fine mind reaches into his heart, converging one into the other. Bjonnes is now an important voice for the study of living Tantra." Douglas Brooks, Professor of Religion, Rochester University, author of Auspicious Wisdom "The writings of Ramesh Bjonnes cut right to the core of the spiritual journey. His essays enter through my mind and then travel to my heart, where they blossom like beautiful flowers of love and truth." Jai Uttal, Grammy-nominated world musician "Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit is an inspiring and provocative book. These essays have been among the most consistently popular ever on our website." Bob Weisenberg, Associate Publisher, Elephant Journal "

The human body represents the perfect element for relating communities of the living with the divine. This is clearly evident in the mythological stories that recount the creation of humans by deities among ancient and contemporaneous societies across a very broad geographical environment. Thus, parts of selected human body parts or skeletal elements can then become an ideal proxy for connecting with the supernatural as demonstrated by the cult of the human skulls among Neolithic communities in the Near East as well as the cult of the relics of Christian saints. The aim of this volume is to undertake a cross-cultural investigation of the role played in antiquity by humans and human remains in creating forms of relationality with the divine. Such an approach will highlight how the human body can be envisioned as part of a broader materialization of religious beliefs that is based on connecting different realms of materiality in perceiving the supernatural by the community of the livings. Case studies on ritual aspects of funerary practices is presented, emphasising the varied roles of body parts in mortuary rituals and as relics. Other papers take a wider look at regional practices in various time periods and cultural contexts to explore the central role of the corpse in the negotiation of death in human culture.

Outlines the principles and mechanics of the soul body, the spiritual vehicle that enables individual consciousness to survive the body’s death • Shows that the ancient Vedic, Egyptian, Hebraic, and Pythagorean traditions shared and understood this spiritual practice • Reveals modern science as only now awakening to this ancient sacred science Ancient peoples the world over understood that individual consciousness is rooted in a universal field of consciousness and is therefore eternal, surviving the passing of the physical body. They engaged in spiritual practices to make that transition maximally auspicious. These practices can be described as a kind of alchemy, in which base elements are discarded and higher levels of consciousness are realized. The result is the creation of a vehicle, a soul body, that carries consciousness beyond physical death. These spiritual preparations are symbolized in the Vedic, Egyptian, and Hebraic traditions as a divine stairway or ladder, a step-by-step path of ascent in which the practitioner raises consciousness by degrees until it comes to rest in the bosom of the infinite, thereby becoming “immortal.” This spiritual process explains the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, for example, whose reincarnation is confirmed in infancy through physical and spiritual signs, indicating that the consciousness has been carried from one lifetime to the next. In Creating the Soul Body, Robert Cox maps the spiritual journey of consciousness behind this sacred science of immortality and reveals the practice of creating a soul body in detail. He also shows that this ancient spiritual science resembles advanced theories of modern science, such as wave and particle theory and the unified field theory, and reveals that modern science is only now awakening to this ancient science of “immortality.”