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Yoga in Daily Life Yoga in Daily Life Compiled by Trisha Lamb, Associate Director International Association of Yoga Therapists, P.O. Box 2513, Prescott, AZ 86302, USA Phone: 928-541-0004 • E-mail: [email protected] • URL: www.iayt.org NOTE: See also the “Motivation” bibliography. Atmaswarupananda, Swami. A simple but powerful spiritual practice. Article available online: http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/messages/powerful.htm. “It is common thinking throughout the world to make a division between the spiritual life and the secular life. But if all is one, if God alone is, then perhaps the purpose of our spiritual life is to recognize that there is no such thing as a secular life, that all life is spiritual. “Most of the time our consciousness seems to be in what we could call a secular level. Is there a simple practice that we could observe during the day that would help raise our consciousness in a steady and consistent fashion?” Barret, Jennifer. Steps on the path. Yoga Journal, Aug 1996, p. 26. (Recounts Swami Gitananda Giri’s nine-step path of Karma Yoga.) Bayda, Ezra. The “helper” syndrome: Ezra Bayda cautions us to take a closer look at our true motivations. Tricycle, Summer 2003, pp. 33-35. ___________. Living on the edge. Yoga Journal, Sep/Oct 2003. Article available online: http://www.yogajournal.com/meditation/932_1.cfm. Bharati, Swami Veda. Daily Schedule of a Sadhaka. Rishikesh, India: Sadhana Mandir Trust, n.d. (Booklet) ___________. 5 Pillars of Sadhana. Rishikesh, India: Sadhana Mandir Trust, 2000. (Booklet) Cope, Stephen, ed. Will Yoga & Meditation Really Change My Life? Personal Stories from 25 of North America’s Leading Teachers. North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, 2003. Cummins, Claudia. 108 sun salutes: Staying in the present moment. Yoga International, Jun/Jul 2001, pp. 28-30. Cushman, Anne. The spice of life: Anne Cushman discovers the seamlessness between dharma practice and the messier parts of our lives. Tricycle, Summer 2003, pp. 83-85. Dalai Lama. An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 2001. Edited by Nicholas Vreeland. From the publisher: “Compassion—sympathy for the suffering of others and the desire to free them from it—is wrestled with in all spiritual traditions. Yet how does one actually become a compassionate person? What are the mechanisms by which a selfish heart is transformed into a generous heart? “When His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to New York City in 1999, he spoke simply and powerfully on the everyday Buddhist practice of compassion. Weaving together the contents of three sacred texts—one by the eighth-century Indian master Kamalashila, another by the fourteenth-century Tibetan Togmay Sangpo, and a third by the eleventh- century sage Langri Tangpa—His Holiness showed that the path to compassion is a series of meditations. An Open Heart lays out this course of meditation, from the simplest to the most challenging, describing the mental training techniques that will enable anyone of any faith to change their minds and open their hearts. In this book the path begins with simple and clear ruminations on the advantages of a virtuous life and moves on to practices that can temper destructive and impulsive emotions. Such practices can be undertaken at odd moments of the day, at once transforming the aimless or anxious mind into a disciplined and open mind. Gradually, the book introduces the more challenging and sustained meditation practices. In these meditations the deepest and most profound insights of Buddhist practice become part of one’s way of knowing and experiencing the world.” Darwent, David. Dharma in everyday life. Garuda III. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1973, pp. 69-72. Dreaver, Jim. The ultimate cure: Enlightenment in daily life. The International Journal of Yoga Therapists, 1990, 1(I&II):46-47. Easwaran, Eknath. Meditation: A Simple Eight-Point Program for Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life. 2d ed. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press, 1991. Eggins, Suzanne. Progress in yoga: The path of self-change. Australian Yoga Life, 2003, no. 7, pp. 40-43.. Farhi, Donna. A joyful practice: Cultivating the moment. Yoga International, Apr/May 2003, pp. 50-53. ___________. Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003. Feuerstein, Georg, ed. Teachings of Yoga. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. ___________, ed. Yoga Gems: A Treasury of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from Ancient and Modern Masters. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2002. Futuronsky, Aruni Nan. Practicing the asana of each moment. Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association Yoga Bulletin, Fall 2000, 9(3):7, 11. ___________. Kripalu Yoga of the mat: Choosing to be present. Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association Yoga Bulletin, Summer 2003, p. 11. “Who among us would choose to experience the uncertainties of the future, the flimsy scaffolding of our homeland security? Yet this is where Spirit is calling our attention. These very feelings are the doorway into the moment, into the sacred temple of reality, into the presence of God.” Gillespie, Johnny. Soul restoration at sunrise. Article available online: http://alternativeapproaches.com/magick/restoration/restoration.htm. Hunt, Elaine. The six obstacles to yoga. Yoga Today, Apr 1981, 5(12):34-36. Isaacs, Nora. Peace train: A sudden revelation turns a hopelessly boring daily commute into an opportunity to see the beauty and grace of each moment. Yoga Journal, May/Jun 2001, p. 200. Joshi, K. S. Yoga in Daily Life. Vision/Orient Paperbacks, 1997. Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hyperion, 1994. ___________. Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. 2-audiotape set. Sound Horizons. Khalsa, Deva Kaur. Answers the questions: “Consistent yoga classes have improved my life profoundly! I would really like to bring yoga into the rest of my day to help counteract a stressful work environment. Is this possible?” Enlightened Practice E- Newsletter, 1-6 Nov 2004. Lalitananda, Swami. Practice of Yoga in Daily Life. Lasater, Judith. Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life. Berkeley, Calif.: Rodmell Press, 2000. Chapters include: Spiritual Seeking, Discipline, Letting Go, Self-Judgment, Faith, Perspective, Courage, Compassion, Control, Fear, Patience, Attachment and Aversion, Suffering, Impermanence, Greed, Service, Connection, Truth, Success, Nonviolence, and Love Lovell, Charles. Keeping that good feeling. Spectrum: The Journal of the British Wheel of Yoga, Autumn 1997, p. 16. Main, Darren John. Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic. 2002. URL: www.darrenmain.com. Book summary (from www.darrenmain.com): “Every day, thousands of people in the United States and other Western countries practice yoga in one of its many forms. People around the world are realizing yoga’s amazing benefits and making it an essential part of their physical and mental health. However, these benefits are just the beginning of a full and rewarding yoga practice. Learning to use yoga in other areas of life can extend its profound benefits from the yoga mat to every corner of the human experience. “Of course the mystics from ancient India did not create yoga with our busy modern lives in mind. In fact, yoga was originally developed for people who would renounce the world. Therefore learning to look at yoga in a new way is essential. That is what Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic is about. “In Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic, Darren Main explores the time-tested practice and philosophy of yoga in a new way. By using modern examples from more than a decade of experience with this ancient practice, Darren brings the principles of yoga into clear focus and makes them user-friendly for yogis living in the post modern world.” McAfee, John. The Yoga of being: Bringing the art of Yoga into everyday life CD. From the Relational Yoga Mandiram summer silence retreat session 2002. Woodland Park, Colo.: The Relational Yoga Mandiram, 2002. Milgrom, Philip L. Bringing yoga into the heart, stretching yoga beyond the mat. Article available online: http://www.yogafamily.com/library/articles/yogaintoheart.htm. Miller, Fred. Meditation: Life as a meditation. LA Yoga, May/Jun 2003, p. 39. Moffitt, Phillip. Sweet surrender. Yoga Journal, Sep/Oct 1999. Article available online: http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/215_1.cfm. “All excuses aside, how could you begin to commit to a daily yoga practice?” ___________. The knife’s edge: The only thing that can prepare you for the way life cuts the heart and the mind is study, reflection, and practice. Yoga Journal, May/Jun 2001, pp. 60-66. Article available online: http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/534_1.cfm. Moon, Stella. Vrtti and vegetables. Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco Review, Winter 2001, 21(1):18-20. (On practicing the yamas and niyamas in daily life.) Narayan, Shoba. Movement meditation: Yoga can be done anywhere, anytime. Article available online: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/17/story_1758.html. Niranjanananda Saraswati, Swami. Mind management in everyday life. Yoga (Sivananda Math), Sep 1999, 10(5):28-35. Pilipuf, Evamarie. Yoga outside of the box: Maximize the benefits of yoga with a makeover of everyday activities. Article available online: http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=298&section=6&cat=8 7. Portele, Janie. Yoga diary. Yoga Journal, Source 2001 issue, p. 24. (On how she incorporates Yoga asanas and pranayama into daily life.) Powers, Cassandra, ed. Yoga Wisdom: Daily Inspiration from Yoga Masters. The Lyons Press, 2002. Premananda, Sri Swami. Meditation and its utility in daily life with practical hints. 3d ed. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal, Himalayas, India: The Divine Life Society, 2000. Available online: http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/download/premamedit.pdf. Rea, Shiva. Yoga as Wisdom in Action workshop. 6th Annual Yoga Journal Convention, 27-30 Sep 2001, Estes Park, Colorado. “Apply the teachings of ‘yoga as wisdom in action’ from the Bhagavad Gita, as it relates to hatha yoga practice and daily life.
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