Yoga is much more than physical exercise, though it is certainly that. It can help you to slow down enough to appreciate the sweetness of the present moment and everything in it. Even, and especially, you. It fosters something that so many of us don’t have nearly enough of in our bustling, striving lives: contentment (santosa*).
A central part of yoga is its ethical framework—its guidelines for living. Yogic principles include truth (satya*), non-violence (ahimsa*), purity and simplification (saucha*). We all sense that these are good, if abstract, principles to live by. Variations echo through many religious and spiritual practices. Contemplating these tenets while exploring the physical interplay of strength, will, flexibility, and surrender in our own body provides a context that makes them personal and meaningful. And those who struggle with body weight and a healthy body image can explore these issues through yoga within a highly personal, relevant, and compassionate paradigm. Conscious eating is yoga at the table—we can explore the same issues by simply paying attention to and enjoying the process of nourishment. At the end of the day, yoga is about remembering the reality of who you are and finding both wonder and contentment in that.
There is a growing body of Western science investigating how yoga works. We will explore the fascinating science that reveals the interplay of respiration (breathing) and emotion, and the science behind the power of the mind to heal. The ancient Indian spiritual practice of yoga may be the missing piece in the puzzle of how to take care of yourself cohesively. After years of disunion, you can reintroduce your physical, emotional, and spiritual selves to one another through the practice of yoga.
This book is a culmination of a lifetime of personal experience and professional training. Considering diet and weight through the compassionate context of yoga worked for me in a way that other diets and strategies did not. It was a tool for rediscovering, and then reconnecting with, an authentic self and with authentic movement—how to be in my body. From that understanding, the re-learning of basic self-care founded on real physical and emotional needs could evolve. Expanding yoga’s gifts to diet and self-care can be an antidote to our culture’s unhealthy media bombardment that is in large part aimed at women but sprays us all. It can be an antidote to the unhealthy diet and weight loss industry, and to the fashion media who feed the need for thinness. As you remember and deepen your reality project through the practice of yoga and eating awareness, you may begin to develop immunity to the unrealistic messages that surround you. You will begin to recognize that consumerism is not going to feed or complete you. These compulsive messages simply will no longer apply to you.
USA Book News Best Books Finalist
Ben Franklin Award Finalist
