Yoga in Daily Life. . Living on the edge. Yoga Journal, Sep/Oct Article available online:

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1 Yoga in Daily Life Compiled by Trisha Lamb, Associate Director International Association of Yoga Therapists, P.O. Box 2513, Prescott, AZ 86302, USA Phone: URL: NOTE: See also the Motivation bibliography. Atmaswarupananda, Swami. A simple but powerful spiritual practice. Article available online: 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 Living on the edge. Yoga Journal, Sep/Oct Article available online: 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, (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, Cummins, Claudia. 108 sun salutes: Staying in the present moment. Yoga International, Jun/Jul 2001, pp 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

2 Dalai Lama. An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 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 eleventhcentury 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 Dreaver, Jim. The ultimate cure: Enlightenment in daily life. The International Journal of Yoga Therapists, 1990, 1(I&II): Easwaran, Eknath. Meditation: A Simple Eight-Point Program for Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life. 2d ed. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press, Eggins, Suzanne. Progress in yoga: The path of self-change. Australian Yoga Life, 2003, no. 7, pp Farhi, Donna. A joyful practice: Cultivating the moment. Yoga International, Apr/May 2003, pp Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 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.

3 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: Hunt, Elaine. The six obstacles to yoga. Yoga Today, Apr 1981, 5(12): 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 Joshi, K. S. Yoga in Daily Life. Vision/Orient Paperbacks, Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hyperion, 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 Lalitananda, Swami. Practice of Yoga in Daily Life. Lasater, Judith. Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life. Berkeley, Calif.: Rodmell Press, 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.

4 Main, Darren John. Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic URL: Book summary (from 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 Woodland Park, Colo.: The Relational Yoga Mandiram, Milgrom, Philip L. Bringing yoga into the heart, stretching yoga beyond the mat. Article available online: Miller, Fred. Meditation: Life as a meditation. LA Yoga, May/Jun 2003, p. 39. Moffitt, Phillip. Sweet surrender. Yoga Journal, Sep/Oct Article available online: 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 Article available online: Moon, Stella. Vrtti and vegetables. Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco Review, Winter 2001, 21(1): (On practicing the yamas and niyamas in daily life.) Narayan, Shoba. Movement meditation: Yoga can be done anywhere, anytime. Article available online:

5 Niranjanananda Saraswati, Swami. Mind management in everyday life. Yoga (Sivananda Math), Sep 1999, 10(5): Pilipuf, Evamarie. Yoga outside of the box: Maximize the benefits of yoga with a makeover of everyday activities. Article available online: 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, Premananda, Sri Swami. Meditation and its utility in daily life with practical hints. 3d ed. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal, Himalayas, India: The Divine Life Society, Available online: Rea, Shiva. Yoga as Wisdom in Action workshop. 6 th Annual Yoga Journal Convention, 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. Through a vinyasa practice (wisdom and movement), standing and balance poses, deep forward bends, and hip openers, explore bringing greater flow, concentration, and ease into your practice and your life. Rietow, Rene. Integrating practice with the rest of life. Article available online: (click on Archived Articles ). Roberts, Sherry. Confessions of an inept yogi. Article available online: Russell, Harriet. Practical yoga for everyday problems Article available online: Sarley, Garrett. Bringing Yoga Philosophy into Everyday Life workshop. Given at Omega Institute s New York City Yoga Conference: Awaken body, Mind & Heart, Oct See Rather than have your yoga practice end when you get up from your mat, explore ways to bring it to every part of your life. When your practice exapands to each moment of the day, your life gains intensity and energy and rewards you with fulfillment and freedom. How does yoga apply to relationships? How does it apply to the perennial human challenges like money, power, sex, health, and pleasure? What is the practice of yoga when we are in conflict or conflicted? You [will] leave the class with a comprehensive understanding of how all yoga philosophy fits together into a unified whole, and how the

6 main yogic scriptures, such as the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and the Vedas, explain it all. Sharma, Pandit Sthanu Dutta. Importance of yoga in daily life. In A. K. Sinha, ed., Perspectives in Yoga. Varanasi, India: Bharata Manisha, 1976, pp Subramuniyaswami, Satguru Sivaya. Self-transformation through a daily vigil: Performing religious practices at the same time each day is the key to steady unfoldment on the spiritual path. Hinduism Today, May/Jun 2001, pp (On sadhana.) Thondup, Tulku. Enlightened Journey: Buddhist Practice as Daily Life. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications, From the publisher:... a collection of fifteen articles and transcriptions of talks by Tulku Thondup. The first part of the book provides an introduction to the Buddhist path.... The second part of the book is a discussion of meditation practice... Tiwari, Brahmacharini Maya. Harnessing speech: Inner contemplation and outer discipline insure ahimsa in your daily interactions. Hinduism Today, Jul/Aug 2001, p. 37. Trungpa, Chögyam. Working with others. In Chögyam Trungpa, The Heart of the Buddha. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala, Describes the application of Buddhist teachings in such areas as relationships, children, and money.. Meditation in Action. Boston, Mass./London: Shambhala Publications, Venkatesh, Yogasharya. Integrating yoga into one s life. Yoga Online. Article available online: Wood, Bliss. Empowering Your Life with Yoga. Alpha Books, Empowering Your Life with Yoga offers simple, easy-to-apply tools and practical principles to help readers reach their full potential. This book not only shows how to stretch, strengthen, and tone the body, it also explains how to claim one s inner power to uncover springs of inner energy and joy in key areas of life. For people who have a knowledge of yoga, readers will learn how to take yoga off the mat and explore how it can affect their lives in every area, including relationships, lifestyle, finances, health, spirituality, work, creativity, family, stress release, weight management, intimacy, dreams, and much more. Wood, Ernest. Concentration in daily life. Concentration: A Practical Course. Chicago: The Theosophical Press, 1925, pp

7 Of Related Interest Tomasko, Felicia M. Dinacharya. LA Yoga, Jul/Aug 2003, 2(4). Article available online: We often view routine as something dull and mechanical. But from the perspective of Ayurveda, dinacharya the art of daily routine is essential. Yeshe, Lama. Karma, inner strength and life itself. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, January URL: On not trying to do more service than you are emotionally and psychologically mature enough to do.