Deity yoga is the meditative practice of imagining oneself as an ideal being, fully endowed with compassion, wisdom, and their resultant altruistic activities. The idea is that by imagining being a Buddha one gets closer to actually achieving Buddhahood. Tantric Techniques offers a complete system of Tantric meditation comparing the views of three seminal Tibetan authors on deity yoga and on issues such as how to safeguard against psychological inflation and how to use negative emotions on the path.
Learn to understand lower back pain and heal it through gentle yoga exercises. Liz Owen, a yoga instructor who specializes in alleviating back pain, describes the anatomy of the sacrum and the region around it, including the hips and lumbar spine. She discusses both the Western and Eastern approaches to understanding back pain--particularly the Eastern medical notion of energy flow and how that relates specifically to the sacrum and the many related muscles and joints, and the chakras, or energetic points, that relate to the area.
The sacrum, or lower back, is an incredibly powerful part of the human anatomy. It's what enables you to stand upright and tall, it unites your upper and lower body, it roots you to the earth, it is the foundation from which you reach upward--and it is one of the most common areas where people experience chronic pain and discomfort. It's probably the number one body part that keeps massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists in business. Owen then provides simple, easy-to-learn sequences of yoga poses for general sacrum health and then for specific problems. The last section looks at strategies for sacrum health related specifically to pregnant women and those with fibromyalgia or arthritis.
Whether you're a dedicated yogi looking to perfect your asanasat home or an absolute beginner, this comprehensive, illustrated guide will teach you how to unite body and mind to enhance health, wellbeing and awareness through a combination of breathing, stretching and spiritualand mental focus.
- Discover different styles and schools of yoga
- Detailed instructions to a series of classic yoga poses
- How to deepen your understanding and enhance your practice
- Guidance on planning your own yoga practice
If you like this, you might also be interested in Secrets of Meditation, Secrets of Chakras and Secrets of Ayurveda.
In Yoga for Breast Care, senior yoga teacher Bobby Clennell offers a comprehensive program of asana (yoga poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques) designed to support breast health. The book begins with a description of breast development and structure, as well as the lymphatic and hormonal systems. After an examination into breast conditions including pain, fibrocystic breasts, dense breasts, and more, Yoga for Breast Care presents a variety of asana and pranayama divided into categories according to the position the body assumes: standing, sitting, twisting, inverting, bending forward or backward, and lying down. Also included are active and restorative sequences for immunity, energy, cyclic and noncyclic breast pain, cysts, and for pregnancy and nursing mothers. Practices for breast cancer survivors include sequences for those who have recently undergone breast-cancer surgery and are receiving intensive chemotherapy or radiation treatment and for those with decreased mobility and numbness in the arm, shoulder, and chest. Whether readers have experienced problems with their breasts or not, this book provides positive and practical methods for raising awareness and regaining confidence in the body.
In this collection of provocative essays by prominent teachers of Yoga and Buddhism, the common ground of these two ancient traditions becomes clear. Michael Stone has brought together a group of intriguing voices to show how Buddhism and Yoga share the same roots, the same values, and the same spiritual goals. The themes addressed here are rich and varied, yet the essays all weave together the common threads between the traditions that offer guidance toward spiritual freedom and genuine realization.
Contributors include Ajahn Amaro Bhikkhu, Shosan Victoria Austin, Frank Jude Boccio, Christopher Key Chapple, Ari Goldfield and Rose Taylor, Chip Hartranft, Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Sarah Powers, Eido Shimano Roshi, Jill Satterfield, Mu Soeng, Michael Stone, and Robert Thurman.
