Take a Breath: Yoga Programs and Reading Recommendations

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September can be a hectic time, especially this year. It’s important to remember to take time for yourself to relax, be mindful, and stay active. Yoga incorporates all three of these important actions! If you’re interested in trying yoga out, Homewood Public Library offers both a Virtual Yoga Program with Jackie Tally every Monday at 2:00 PM-3:00 PM, as well as, a Live Yoga class with Robyn Cramer in the Library every Tuesday at 10:00 AM-11:00 AM. Both of these classes are free and all fitness levels are welcome. While you think about joining consider checking out some of these titles on yoga to learn more about the exercise!

Anodea Judith’s Chakra Yoga

As the architecture of the soul, the chakra system is the yoke of yoga–the means whereby mind and body, heaven and earth, and spirit and matter are joined together in the divine union that is the true meaning of yoga.

In this long-awaited book by acclaimed chakra expert Anodea Judith, you will learn how to use yoga’s principles and practices to awaken the subtle body of energy and connect with your highest source. Using seven vital keys to unlock your inner temple, you will be guided through practices that open and activate each chakra through postures, bioenergetic exercises, breathing practices, mantras, guided meditation, and yoga philosophy. With beautiful step-by-step photographs for each of the poses, along with guidelines for deeper alignment and activation of the energy body, this book is a valuable resource for teachers and students alike.


The Concise Book of Yoga Anatomy: an Illustrated Guide to the Science of Motion

9781583949832 - The Concise Book of Yoga Anatomy: An Illustrated Guide to  the Science of Motion by Jo Ann Staugaard-Jones

The Concise Book of Yoga Anatomy is the definitive guide to the study of yoga anatomy–a perfect companion book for any yoga teacher or practitioner seeking to understand the biomechanics of the body as it applies to yoga practice. The book is visually designed in quick reference format to offer useful information about the main skeletal muscles that are central to yoga, with asanas to demonstrate the particular muscles and muscle groups. Over 230 full color illustrations detail each muscle’s origin, insertion, and action in order to clearly reveal how the muscles come into play in the movements and postures of yoga. 

Knowledge of yoga anatomy is paramount to the ability to teach or practice with no injury to oneself or others. With this foundation in place, it is possible to focus on the spiritual element of yoga as well as the physical. Yoga is a union of the two, so where appropriate, the more profound side of the practice is mentioned as it relates to the body.

The Concise Book of Yoga Anatomy illustrates the form and function of the muscles first, then interlays the muscles into the yoga posture for full understanding in a clear and integrated way, explaining the technique of the asanas, as well as other important aspects of yoga: pranayamas, the bandhas, and chakras.


Lilias! Yoga Gets Better with Age

Lilias! Yoga Gets Better with Age by Lilias Folan and Materials Research  Society (2005, Trade Paperback) for sale online | eBay

“Nothing softens the aging process like yoga! Now, the First Lady of Yoga shows how to add more flexibility, energy, and joy to your life–with her new method of “yin” stretching for the maturing body.

As Americans in their 40s, 50s, and beyond search for ways to increase flexibility, diminish aches and pains, enhance well-being, and slow the aging process, the word is out: yoga does all this and more. But traditional yoga poses and stretches can be a problem for stiffer, less pliable bodies. That is why Lilias Folan–the most beloved and admired American yoga teacher ever–has created “yin” yoga, a specific, safe, and creative way to stretch and strengthen within each yoga posture. The technique, which cannot be found in other yoga works, is at the heart of this book. Some outstanding features include:
o More than 200 photographs of Lilias demonstrating the yoga postures using her innovative techniques
o Lilias, in her trademark soothing and upbeat style, guiding readers along a spiritual path that leads to increased vitality and a higher Self
o Engaging stories of her life’s journey from this internationally renowned yoga master and grandmother

Whatever you’re looking for at this time of life–wisdom, serenity, meaning, energy, bliss, or simply to feel better–Lilias will show how a mindful practice of yogic principles can help you find it.”


Yoga Adjustments: Philosophy, Principles, and Techniques

The quintessential guide to yoga assisting and hands-on teaching, Yoga Adjustments introduces the art and practice of providing yoga assists to yoga students. Addressing one of the most important topics in the yoga field, expert yoga instructor and best-selling author Mark Stephens covers the philosophy of yoga practice, the sensibilities of touch in teaching yoga and improving alignment, the seven principles of hands-on yoga teaching, and the twenty-five most effective methods of tactile cueing. An invaluable resource for all yoga teachers, teacher trainers, and serious yoga students, this book includes a foreword by yoga star Shiva Rea as well as over 850 unique instructional photos and explanatory captions demonstrating precise ways of guiding a variety of flowing sequences.


Yoga FAQ: Almost Everything you Need to Know About Yoga–From Asanas to Yamas

Concise and readable answers to the most commonly asked questions about yoga, and illuminating little-known facts and esoteric aspects of the philosophy and practice–by renowned yogi Richard Rosen.

Here are answers to all the questions that come up in your yoga practice and study! Renowned yoga teacher Richard Rosen has asked—and been asked—nearly every yoga-related question that there is, and his wonderfully practical, helpful answers will give you a thorough explanation of the tradition’s key concepts, and the nuts and bolts of yoga philosophy and practice, including:

  • Yoga’s Main Texts, including Upanishads, Bhagavad, Gita, Yoga Sutra, among others
  • Yamas and Niyamas
  • The Subtle Body–what it means and what it looks like in practice
  • The Evolution of Asanas
  • Pranayama
  • Mudras and Bandhas
  • And Much More

Yoga for Your Spiritual Muscles: a Complete Yoga Program to Strengthen Body and Spirit

Spiritual muscles are the life-enhancing inner qualities that make up our spiritual being. This complete yoga program includes postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to strengthen twelve inner qualities: awareness, acceptance, focus, flexibility, balance, confidence, peace, strength, compassion, energy, playfulness, and connectedness. The book’s premise is simple: Developing a more flexible spine can make us more flexible in solving everyday problems. Improving our sense of balance can help us balance work and play, concern for self, and care for others.


The Yoga Life: Applying Comprehensive Yoga Therapy to All Areas of your Life

Featuring extensive yogic wisdom, real-world examples of its ideas in action, and inspiring discussions, this innovative book helps you design and apply a personalized system of yoga to all areas of your life. Both scientific and spiritual perspectives are featured, merging Eastern and Western knowledge to show you the ideal path to a happy, healthy, and comprehensive yoga lifestyle.

The Yoga Life makes it easy to incorporate yoga’s philosophy and guiding principles into your daily routine. Discover breathwork and meditation exercises, stress-relief techniques, and self-assessment sections. Explore the four steps for whole-person perspective, the five paths of yoga for self-realization, and the ten lifestyle areas for comprehensive health. From sleep and nutrition to relationships and finances, this book helps evaluate where you are and where you can improve in order to create a unique practice that brings positive, lasting change.


Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance

Remember Jessamyn Stanley? How could you not? She’s the proudly fat, Black, queer yoga teacher and charismatic author of Every Body Yoga, who drops a lot more f-bombs than namastes and refuses to pray at the church of Lululemon. Now she’s back, here to take us even further on a personal and provocative journey into what it means to “practice yoga.” Where Every Body Yoga, with 59,000 copies in print, taught us how to do yoga, Yoke tells us why. In Yoke, which draws its name from a literal translation of the Sanskrit root “yuj,” from which the word “yoga” derives, Jessamyn writes about what she calls the yoga of the everyday-a yoga that is not just about poses but about applying the hard lessons we learn on the mat to the even harder daily project of living. This yoga of the everyday is about finding within life’s toughest moments the same flexibility, strength, grounding energy, and core awareness found in a headstand or Tadasana or cobra pose. In a series of deeply honest, funny, gritty, thoughtful, and largely autobiographical essays, Yoke explores issues of self-love, body-positivity, race, sex and sexuality, cannabis, and more, all through the lens of an authentic yoga practice. Every reader is invited to find this authentic spirit of yoga in their own lives and practice.

Here’s Jessamyn Stanley’s instructional book on Yoga:

Every Body Yoga : Let Go of Fear, Get On the Mat, Love Your Body

It’s a book of inspiration for beginners of all shapes and sizes: If Jessamyn could transcend these emotional and physical barriers, so can we.

It’s a book for readers already doing yoga, looking to refresh their practice or find new ways to stay motivated.

It’s a how-to book: Here are easy-to-follow directions to 50 basic yoga poses and 10 sequences to practice at home, all photographed in full color.

It’s a book that challenges the larger issues of body acceptance and the meaning of beauty.

Most of all, it’s a book that changes the paradigm, showing us that yoga isn’t about how one looks, but how one feels, with yoga sequences like “I Want to Energize My Spirit,” “I Need to Release Fear,” “I Want to Love Myself.”

Jessamyn Stanley, a yogi who breaks all the stereotypes, has built a life as an internationally recognized yoga teacher and award-winning Instagram star by combining a deep understanding for yoga with a willingness to share her personal struggles in a way that touches everyone who comes to know her. Now she brings her body-positive, emotionally uplifting approach to yoga in a book that will help every reader discover the power of yoga and how to weave it seamlessly into his or her life.


Bonus: Here’s a Fictional Title Involving Yoga to get Inspired!

Grown-Up Pose: a Novel

A delightfully modern look at what happens for a young woman when tradition, dating, and independence collide, from acclaimed author Sonya Lalli.

Adulting shouldn’t be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.

But Anu doesn’t have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she’s ever done—and she’s still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She’ll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.

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