Courage, truth, and inspiration at the intersection of spiritual practice and social justice

Yoga Rising is a collection of personal essays meant to support your journey toward self-acceptance and self-love. This follow-up to the groundbreaking book Yoga and Body Image features 30 contributors who share stories of major turning points. Explore how body image and yoga intersect with race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, dis/ability, socioeconomic status, age, and size as part and parcel of culture and society.

Collectively, we can make space for yoga that is body positive and accessible to the full range of human diversity. With a special emphasis on how you can take action to build community and challenge destructive attitudes and structures, Yoga Rising is a resource for the continuing work of healing ourselves and our world as we move toward liberation for all.

Praise:

"A must-read collection of essays ideal for anyone yearning for more self-acceptance and body peace. Read this book, and I guarantee you'll hear a story that resonates with your own experiences."--Amber Karnes, founder of Body Positive Yoga

"Yoga Rising kicks open the door for evolution through a collection of honest, diverse, and daring stories.. A refreshing dose of inspiration that has the power to transform lives."--Kathryn Budig, yoga teacher and author of Aim True

The author of Living Your Yoga guides readers though the practice of restorative yoga and how it can help heal the effects of chronic stress

Whether you have five minutes or an hour, taking time out of each day to relax and renew is essential to living well. This book presents nurturing physical postures and breathing techniques called restorative yoga. When practiced regularly, they will help you heal the effects of chronic stress, recover from illness or injury, balance energy, and quiet the mind.

With clear instructions and photographs, Relax and Renew gently guides the experienced practitioner and enthusiastic beginner--regardless of age, flexibility, or strength--in techniques that will ease your way through this hectic world. Judith Lasater draws from decades of experience to provide readers with:

- A general restorative sequence
- Programs for back pain, headaches, insomnia, jet lag, and breathing problems
- Guidance for women during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause
- Routines for when time is limited, including one for the office
- Practical suggestions that help you prevent stress and live more fully in the present moment
- And much more

The definitive book of yoga therapy, this groundbreaking work comes to you from the medical editor of the country's premier yoga magazine, who is both a practicing yogi and a Western-trained physician.

Beginning with an overview of the history and science of yoga, Dr. McCall describes the many different techniques in the yoga tool kit; explains what yoga does and who can benefit from it (virtually everyone ); and provides lavishly illustrated and minutely detailed instructions on starting a yoga practice geared to your fitness level and your health status. Yoga as Medicine offers a wealth of practical information, including how to:

-Utilize yogic tools, including postures, breathing techniques, and meditation, for both prevention and healing of illness
-Master the art of becoming more in tune with your body
-Communicate more effectively with your doctor
-Adopt therapeutic yoga practices as either an alternative or a complement to surgery and to expensive, sometimes dangerous medications
-Practice safely

Find an instructor and a style of yoga that are right for you. With twenty chapters devoted to the work of individual master teachers, including such well-known figures as Patricia Walden, John Friend, and Rodney Yee, Yoga as Medicine shows how these experts have applied the wisdom of this ancient holistic practice to twenty different conditions, ranging from arthritis to chronic fatigue, depression, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, infertility, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, and obesity. Defining yoga as "a systematic technology to improve the body, understand the mind, and free the spirit," Dr. McCall shows the way to a path that can truly alter your life.

An indispensable guide for the millions who now practice yoga or would like to begin, as well as for yoga teachers, body workers, doctors, nurses, and other health professionals.

Use the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga to Explore the Deepest Aspects of Your Creative Self

Combining expressive arts and yoga therapy, Yoga for the Creative Soul is an invaluable guide to healing emotional wounds and creating a joyous life. Through drawing, writing, dancing, humming, and cooking--as well as yoga postures, meditation, relaxation, breathing, and self-inquiry--this book helps you cultivate your true intentions and live your deepest values.

With helpful tips for daily practice and a quiz to support you in identifying areas of imbalance, author Erin Byron shares techniques that you can personalize to meet your specific needs. Discover how to bring color, movement, and melody into everyday moments with the five paths to self-realization: Karma, Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, and Tantra. Engaging a process of personal transformation and learning how take control of your life are gifts you can give yourself with Yoga for the Creative Soul

Praise:
"I'm dazzled. Yoga for the Creative Soul is more than a program or philosophy. It's a gift, merging the tenets of ancient and yoga-based psychology with the expressive arts and personal healing...In this blessed book, Erin presents us with an all-inclusive path to joy."--Cyndi Dale, author of Llewellyn's Complete Book of Chakras

"A DIY guide full of exceptional exercises to awaken your best and most creative self . . . Yoga for the Creative Soul will help you to gently release fear, embrace change, gather courage, and overcome your inner-perfectionist."--Amy B. Scher, author of How To Heal Yourself When No One Else Can

Every aspect of our life has a part to play in the greater ecological system, Michael Stone explains in this book. How do we bring this large view to our yoga practice? According to Stone, our responsibility as human beings is to live in a sustainable and respectful way. He says two things need to change. First, we need to understand the relationship between our actions and the effects of our actions. Second, once we see the effect of our actions in the human and non-human world, we need practical skills for learning how to make changes.

Using the five principles (yama) described in the Yoga-Sutra attributed to Patanjali, Michael Stone offers a basis for rethinking ethical action and the spiritual path.

A user's guide to intermediate-level practice of Ashtanga Yoga, from the dynamic yoga teacher Kino MacGregor

In her first book, Kino MacGregor introduced readers to Ashtanga Yoga, a popular and athletic type of yoga developed by her mentor, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Now, she returns with this informative follow-up to present and explain the Second--or Intermediate--Series to practitioners who wish to take their practice to the next level. MacGregor provides step-by-step instructions and covers the key aspects of the practice, including:

- The basics of Ashtanga Yoga philosophy
- Essential background information on the Intermediate Series
- How to know when you are ready to take on this next stage of practice
- The purification aspects of the practice
- The pranayama techniques associated with the practice
- And more

With over 250 photographs, this solid and engaging entr e into intermediate-level practice is a wonderful resource for both practitioners and teachers.

Yoga: Critical Alignment is an innovative, illustrated guide to new practices that release the tension held in the body to create a new balanced alignment. In yoga, even seasoned practitioners have the habit of working the body from the surface layers of muscle. The muscles are linked to will power and discipline, and working hard on the mat can create unhealthy strain in the body. Author Gert van Leeuwen teaches his unique sequences of standing postures, inversions, forward bends, backbends, twists, and pranayama to get you to optimal alignment and ease. Each thoughtfully sequenced practice is meticulously illustrated so that you can keep this book at your side while you practice.

Core topics include:

- The role of the skeleton in movement chains and sequences
- How to enhance the body's mobility and deepen body awareness
- Cultivating a meditation and pranayama practice
- Instructions and refinement: inversions, standing postures, forward bends, backbends, twists, seated postures
- Planning lessons for a home practice or a studio environment

A readable, accessible version of the ancient classic primer on the practice of yoga--interpreted by a contemporary Tantric yoga master.

The Yoga Sutras is Patanjali's classic text on how to experience oneness (samadhi) within yoga practice. Serious yoga students want to bring the wisdom of the Sutras to their practice but often find the text impenetrable and difficult to relate to. Here, yogi and Tantric master Alan Finger offers an interpretation of the Sutras that is clear and immediately relevant--and he shows contemporary practitioners that samadhi is something that they can experience here and now.

Yoga is a process of spiritual evolution, and samadhi is as natural as breathing and available to all, because it is our true nature. Viewed through a Tantric framework, Finger shows us how the Sutras describe the yogic process that both leads us to the experience of samadhi and allows us to weave the wisdom and grace of that experience back into our everyday life.

The definitive resource on how to use yoga to foster your physical, mental, and emotional health for a lifetime.

Everyone would like to age with as much strength and grace as possible and now numerous studies confirm what many yoga practitioners have known for a long time: yoga practice has a remarkable impact on physical and mental health--and spiritual well-being--as you grow older. Yoga for Healthy Aging is the definitive resource on how to use yoga to foster your physical, mental, and emotional health for a lifetime.

Baxter Bell, MD, and Nina Zolotow, respected yoga teachers and authors of the popular "Yoga for Healthy Aging" blog, explain how yoga can address concerns related to strength, flexibility, balance, agility, cardiovascular health, brain health, and stress management, among other issues. They offer a safe, real-world yoga program to suit your particular needs, which includes poses, breathing practices, meditation, and yoga philosophy. Their program was developed in consultation with scientific and medical experts on aging, and allow you to focus on maintaining overall physical health and/or addressing target problem areas. Yoga for Healthy Aging is a yoga toolbox that will set you up for a lifetime of emotional and spiritual well-being.

The first pre- and postnatal book geared specifically to experienced yoga practitioners--from an established author, with contributions from the leaders in the field.

You've been practicing yoga for years. It is a part of the way you live, move, and breathe. And then . . . you get pregnant. Pregnancy can throw any woman a curve ball. Even established and experienced yoga practitioners will likely find that their body, mind, and practice are challenged during pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. This book is the yoga practitioner's companion through this period, offering practical advice, step-by-step asana sequences, pranayama practices, and meditation techniques, all of which are designed to help new mothers connect more deeply to their experience and prepare for their journey--physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Grounded in both ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge, Yoga Mama covers each trimester, labor and birth, and the postpartum years. The beautifully photographed sequences include modifications and suggestions to accommodate a growing belly and to address the concerns or challenges that may arise during this time. Holistic and ayurvedic medicine perspectives help women understand what is happening in their bodies at every juncture, and personal stories connect them to pregnant women everywhere. Through practice, self-reflection, and learning how to let go, yoga gives us the opportunity to be an active, informed participant in the birthing of our baby and a healthy, happy parent.

Yoga Mama is the perfect companion for the experienced yoga practitioner during her pregnancy and on into motherhood. This pre- and postnatal book offers practical advice and inspiration, asana sequences, pranayama practices, and meditation techniques, all of which speak to and help new mothers connect more deeply to their experience and prepare for their journey--physically, mentally, and spiritually. Grounded in ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge, the book covers each trimester, labor and birth, and the postpartum years.

It includes:
- Flowing sequences that emphasize self-awareness and promote strength, flexibility, and balance
- Modifications that accommodate a pregnant woman's growing belly, recalibrate her balance, and honor fluctuations in her energy levels
- Mini sequences for specific trimester challenges: morning sickness, fatigue, anxiety, low-back issues, etc.
- Asana, pranayama, and meditation practices designed to deeply connect mother and baby from the beginning of pregnancy through the postpartum years
- A dedicated section on the pelvic floor to encourage women to let go and prepare for labor and birth
- Special breathing techniques for labor that encourage natural childbirth
- Deeper practices and ancient teachings that can help women tap into their strength and create a prenatal and birthing experience that is empowering and unique
- Postpartum advice and sequences designed to help knit things back together, address postpartum challenges, and offer tips for bonding, nursing, self-care, and nutrition
- Information (from a Western holistic and ayurvedic perspective) on what is happening in the body at every juncture--prenatal, labor and birth, and postpartum
- Personal advice and stories from a wide array of pre- and postnatal experts

With contributions from:
- Elena Brower: founder and director of Virayoga in New York City, prenatal teacher for YogaGlo.com, and author of Art of Attention
- Stephanie Snyder: teacher in San Francisco, pre- and postnatal teacher for YogaGlo.com
- Jane Austin: pre- and postnatal yoga teacher, midwife, childbirth educator, and director of Mama Tree prenatal teacher training programs in San Francisco
- Margi Young: OM yoga teacher in New York and San Francisco
- De West: pre- and postnatal yoga teacher and childbirth educator in Boulder
- Dustienne Miller: certified physical therapist and Kripalu yoga teacher in Boston
- Kate Hanley: OM yoga teacher, mind-body coach, and author of The 28 Days Lighter Diet
- Melissa Billie Williams: pre- and postnatal teacher and director of Yoga Junction studio in Louisville, Colorado