With his expert teachings, philosophical insights, and pragmatic imagery, world-class yoga instructor Tias Little turns the anatomy of the physical body into a tool for navigating the subtle body If you spend considerable time doing yoga, you begin to see that it is about much more than just the body—the practice of yoga in fact reveals that the body is in no way separate from the psychospiritual forces that animate it. Here, Tias Little provides a way to understand these forces as they relate to an integrated yoga of body, mind, and spirit. He unites somatic concepts and wisdom teachings in this practical guide to the anatomy of the physical, mental, emotional, and subtle (or energetic) body. Little is a master teacher who offers us a guided tour of the body’s structure and physical anatomy, then uses this new structural awareness as the basis for exploring the subtle body. In a meaningful and pragmatic way, the book maps the connection between the body and the rich symbolism that pervades the yogic imagination, including the chakras, nadis, and koshas. Further, Little offers readers clear, insightful yoga, pranayama, and meditation exercises that apply these body-mind principles.

In The Subtle Body, Stefanie Syman tells the surprising story of yoga’s transformation from a centuries-old spiritual discipline to a multibillion-dollar American industry. Yoga’s history in America is longer and richer than even its most devoted practitioners realize. It was present in Emerson’s New England, and by the turn of the twentieth century it was fashionable among the leisure class. And yet when Americans first learned about yoga, what they learned was that it was a dangerous, alien practice that would corrupt body and soul. A century later, you can find yoga in gyms, malls, and even hospitals, and the arrival of a yoga studio in a neighborhood is a signal of cosmopolitanism. How did it happen? It did so, Stefanie Syman explains, through a succession of charismatic yoga teachers, who risked charges of charlatanism as they promoted yoga in America, and through generations of yoga students, who were deemed unbalanced or even insane for their efforts. The Subtle Body tells the stories of these people, including Henry David Thoreau, Pierre A. Bernard, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, Christopher Isherwood, Sally Kempton, and Indra Devi. From New England, the book moves to New York City and its new suburbs between the wars, to colonial India, to postwar Los Angeles, to Haight-Ashbury in its heyday, and back to New York City post-9/11. In vivid chapters, it takes in celebrities from Gloria Swanson and George Harrison to Christy Turlington and Madonna. And it offers a fresh view of American society, showing how a seemingly arcane and foreign practice is as deeply rooted here as baseball or ballet. This epic account of yoga’s rise is absorbing and often inspiring—a major contribution to our understanding of our society.

Transform your yoga practice into an intimate, creative, and healing experience in this refreshing guide to yoga in the modern world “An inspiring read for all yogis.” —Michael Franti, musician, filmmaker, activist What if, instead of constantly pushing yourself beyond your limitations, you paused to really listen to your body’s needs? In Gravity & Grace, innovative yoga teacher and trainer Peter Sterios shares a unique set of practice principles to help anyone—from beginners to advanced practitioners and teachers—revitalize their approach to yoga by tuning into the subtle body. When our yoga practices become too rigid, overly focused on technique, or dependent upon ideals that are not suited to our bodies, we lose the full potential of what yoga offers—a truly personal pathway to physical well-being, emotional unfolding, and spiritual awakening. In this groundbreaking book, Sterios helps you embrace the full, healing potential of yoga as he shares wisdom gained from over 45 years of exploring yoga and the subtle body. He teaches that by developing a sensitivity to how the natural forces of gravity and grace are at work physically and psychologically, we become empowered to confidently decide how to practice each day. Through an insightful blend of practical theory and direct instruction, Sterios will guide you to incorporate awareness of physical and subtle anatomy into your practice, utilize the breath for greater well-being, and create flowing sequences that naturally meet your unique needs in each moment. For teachers looking to deepen their offerings, students who want to bring a more personalized and healing experience to their yoga practice, and anyone working with physical limitations (from injury, body type, age, or any of the myriad obstacles humans face), Gravity & Grace is the “no-style” yoga guide you’ve been waiting for.

A global study of the psychospiritual body and its central role in the esoteric and spiritual traditions of the world • Explains the nature, purpose, and functions of the subtle body • Explores the role of the subtle body in such traditions as Alchemy, Ayurveda, Tantra, Qi Gong, and Yoga • Shows how the various layers of the subtle body provide a map for various levels of consciousness Ancient traditions of both the East and West have long maintained that the human being is a complex of material and nonmaterial systems, or energy bodies. The “subtle body” is an energetic, psychospiritual entity of several layers of increasing subtlety and metaphysical significance through which the aspirant seeks knowledge of the self and the nature of God. In many traditions, the component parts of the subtle body serve as a map of the different levels of consciousness. The practices and disciplines that evolved from an awareness and understanding of the subtle body, and how the material and nonmaterial work together, form a coherent system of psychospiritual transformation that is central to numerous and extremely diverse spiritual practices--including those of the Gnostics, Sufis, Native Americans, Vedic seers, Chinese, and Greeks. The subtle body plays an essential part in more recent traditions such as Anthroposophy and Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way and the cutting-edge science of Ervin Laszlo’s research into the Akashic field. But the benefits of understanding the role of the subtle energy body are not confined solely to the spiritual plane. The energetic bodies provide a coherent system of life-affirming principles and practices for the diagnosis and treatment of the whole person that is not only part of many traditional healing systems, such as Acupuncture and Ayurveda, but also is forming the basis for a synthesis of traditional and contemporary healing practices that could lay the foundation for the medicine of the future.

Welcome to the first comprehensive encyclopedia of the human energetic anatomy. Here is a reference that no personal or professional health care library should be without—an in-depth, illustrated guide to the invisible energies of spirit, psyche, and consciousness that influence every aspect of our well-being. Whether you are looking for the complementary medicine to enhance your own healing practice, seeking perennial wisdom about your body's energetic nature from world traditions, or exploring the quantum edge of intention-based care, The Subtle Body is an indispensable companion for exploring virtually any facet of holistic healing. Created for healing professionals and patients alike, this volume provides a lexicon of terms, illustrations, and detailed entries about our energetic biology and how it relates to our physical being. This invaluable information will help you enhance any form of health care, giving you the knowledge you need to develop an integrated approach for your clients' well-being or your own. Compiled by energetic healer and scholar Cyndi Dale, The Subtle Body examines: Energy-based therapy principles from the world's healing traditions, including Ayurveda, Qigong, Reiki, Quabalah, and many moreThe science of subtle anatomy—the ancient models and the newest research on the unseen fields that determine our physical conditionTrue integrative care—how combining Eastern energetic modalities with Western scientific rigor yields optimum resultsThe meridians, fields, and chakras—detailed information and diagrams about the role of these energetic structures in our overall healthThe role of intention in healing—how the beliefs of a healer, patient, and everyone involved affect the outcome of a treatment What is it that distinguishes good healers from great ones? Today it is clear that the most successful healing occurs when we take into account every level of our physical and energetic selves. With The Subtle Body, you now have an unprecedented resource for understanding the physical, energetic, and spiritual elements of human health, providing an informed, complete approach to healing. The Subtle Body has received the following awards: 2010 Gold Nautilus Award—Health/Healing/Energy Medicine2010 Silver Living Now Award—Health/Wellness2010 Bronze IPPY—New Age (Mind-Body-Spirit)

Escape the humdrum of daily life and reawaken your true essential Self with Stephen Sturgess’ sensational Yoga and meditation techniques. Learn about fascinating subtle bodies, chakras, nadis, and kundalini with the in-depth section on Yoga philosophy, then follow Stephen’s variety of practices and techniques for removing any obstacles that may be standing in the way of you uniting with your true nature. The book includes a wealth of Hatha Yoga techniques using asanas, mudras, bandhas, pranayama, and kriya purification, as well as Raja and kriya Yoga techniques – mantras, concentration and meditation.

Interest in yoga is at an all-time high, especially among women. Whether readers wish to begin the practice or are already involved in yoga, this innovative book will help them understand the unique benefits yoga provides for a woman's health and mental well-being. The authors lead women of all ages through the health and life cycles specific to females by illustrating the spiritual and physical advantages of Kundalini yoga, as taught by yoga master Yogi Bhajan. Hari Khalsa applies ancient wisdom to explain how to determine and enhance one's own special relationship with the mind, body, and soul. Using his expertise on women's health issues, Dr. Siebel reveals the scientific basis for yoga's positive effects on the brain. Together, Dr. Siebel and Hari Khalsa create a dialogue of spiritualism and science, elucidating how every woman can reap the rewards of yoga for a lifetime.