Do your om thing : bending yoga tradition to fit your modern life

From an acclaimed master yoga teacher and creator of one of the most popular yoga blogs on the Internet comes a contemporary guide to the full mind-body practice, combining intention and enlightenment with athleticism and physicality. While the practice of yoga encourages fitness, its benefits extend far beyond the physical. In order to have a beautiful, fit body, a yoga practitioner must understand and respect its inextricable link to mind and spirit. Yet for those who want a deeper connection with their practice, who seek enlightenment, there are few resources to provide guidance. Master yoga teacher, athletic model, and writer Rebecca Pacheco is the ultimate twenty-first-century yoga ambassador. In Do Your Om Thing, she shows readers how to benefit from the ancient wisdom and philosophy of yoga without repudiating its modern attributes. Divided into four parts—Philosophy, Body, Mind, and Spirit—Do Your Om Thing explores the traditional practice of yoga, from the eight limbs of the ancient path to the five koshas and the seven chakras of the yoga body. Pacheco translates these ancient texts for modern readers and puts them into the context of our everyday lives. Complete with a practical overview of the many different styles of yoga, simple poses, and sequences for daily balance, plus helpful tips on meditation, Do Your Om Thing is the ultimate guidebook for anyone who wants a workout that benefits the body and the mind. Yoga, Meet Life. Sometimes an hour-long yoga class is the only chance we get to connect meaningfully with our bodies and our minds during a week otherwise full of work, family, and the daily grind. Have you ever wondered how would it feel to bring that experience of awareness and calm out of the yoga studio and into your everyday life? After all, we know that practicing yoga can give us a leaner body and more sculpted limbs, but isn't its most important benefit the way it makes us feel ? In Do Your Om Thing , master yoga teacher and creator of the popular blog OmGal.com Rebecca Pacheco shows us that the true practice of yoga is about much more than achieving the perfect headstand or withstanding an hour-long class in a room heated to 100 degrees. "Yoga is not about performance," she tells us, "it's about practice, on your mat and in your life. If you want to get better at anything what should you do? Practice. Confidence, compassion, awareness, joyif you want more of theseand who doesn't?yoga offers the skills to practice them." In her warm, personal, and often hilarious prose, Rebecca translates yogic philosophy for its twenty-first-century devotees, making ancient principles and philosophy feel accessible, relatable, and genuinely rooted in the world in which we live today. And by illuminating how the guiding principles of yoga apply to our modern lives, Rebecca shows us that the true power of a yoga practice is not physical transformation, but mental and spiritual liberation. "Rebecca Pacheco is a refreshing new voice on the yoga scene, reminding us of what balance, flexibility, strength, humor, and yes, integrity and wisdom, are all about."--Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Mindfulness for Beginners "Pacheco presents a balanced view of how yoga aligns with modern life ... her thoughtful approach to yoga's ancient underpinnings is applicable to new and seasoned practitioners alike." -- Publishers Weekly "In this beautiful, open-hearted book, Rebecca turns ancient yoga concepts into important contemporary life lessons ... Readers will love exploring yoga in this space with her." -- Priscilla Warner, bestselling author of Learning to Breathe and co-author of The Faith Club "It's hard enough to find ourselves with all the information out there telling us who to be ... Pacheco encourages us to look no further than where we are, while giving us a concise manual of years of yoga tradition to help us navigate our own paths." -- Katherine Jenkins, author of Lessons from the Monk I Married "Rebecca is a strong bridge between fitness and spiritual awareness. Her work points us to the pertinent potential for our inner life, and offers much relevant clarity in the world of wellness." -- Elena Brower, author of Art of Attention From an acclaimed master yoga teacher and creator of one of the most popular yoga blogs on the Internet comes a contemporary guide to the full mind-body practice, combining intention and enlightenment with athleticism and physicality. While the practice of yoga encourages fitness, its benefits extend far beyond the physical. In order to have a beautiful, fit body, a yoga practitioner must understand and respect its inextricable link to mind and spirit. Yet for those who want a deeper connection with their practice, who seek enlightenment, there are few resources to provide guidance. Master yoga teacher, athletic model, and writer Rebecca Pacheco shows readers how to benefit from the ancient wisdom and philosophy of yoga without repudiating its modern attributes. Her book explores the traditional practice, translates these ancient texts for modern readers and puts them into the context of our everyday lives. Complete with a practical overview of the many different styles of yoga, simple poses, and sequences for daily balance, plus helpful tips on meditation.--From publisher description. Part one: Yoga: ancient and modern. The making of a modern yogi ; The eight limbs : walking an ancient path in modern life Part two: The body. What do you want to embody? ; The chakras : feeling light from the inside out ; The koshas : balancing the layers of your being Part three: The mind. Why meditate? ; How to meditate : five essential elements ; Make it your om : finding your meditation style Part four: The spirit. OMG, is yoga religious? ; Suggestions for spiritual sustenance ; Love. The yoga teacher and creator of OmGal.com presents a modern guide to the full mind-body practice that demonstrates how to benefit from the ancient wisdom and philosophy of yoga and provides simple poses and sequences for daily balance and helpful meditation tips