“Each of you will open your heart, your actions, your wisdom, and your conduct and
look within, and you will see that every face is your face.”
~ His Holiness M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen
My Favorite Yoga Teachers & Studios
Sarah Powers (http://www.sarahpowers.com/). Sarah is a master teacher, blending yoga with Buddhist teachings and psycho-spiritual psychology. She is my primary teacher. Sarah has a brilliant and powerful mastery of language and she uses this to create a deep and transformative practice for her students. Her book, Insight Yoga, is my number one Yoga handbook.
Janice Gates (http://www.janicegatesyoga.com). Janice is the founder and managing director of Yoga Garden in San Anselmo (http://www.yogagardenstudio.com/) and author of the inspirational book about pioneering women in yoga, Yogini. Like Sarah, Janice integrates yoga and meditation and has been doing so for 20 years. She blends a number of yogic styles to create an accessible and deeply satisfying yoga experience.
BodyWorks Integrative Yoga and Stress Management Center in Petaluma (http://www.bodyworksyoga.com/). I underwent my Yoga Teacher Training Program with BodyWorks Director, Jean Grant-Sutton, in the Integrative Yoga Therapy tradition. Jean’s style is gentle, respectful and intuitive. Take one of her classes and you will love everyone and everything when you are finished!
Scott Blossom (http://www.shunyatayoga.com/scottblossom.html). Scott combines intelligence, ability, humility and deep knowledge to create a fresh and exciting approach to yoga. He is an Ayurvedic practitioner and is trained in Chinese Medicine as well as an accomplished yogi.
Vairagya Eiger (http://www.turtleislandyoga.com/vairagyaeiger.html?bpid=659). Vairagya teaches at Turtle Island Yoga in San Anselmo and at BodyWorks in Petaluma. Hers is a highly professional and rigorous style of bringing the student deeply into awareness of body, alignment and breath. She is currently training in the Advanced Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Institute in San Francisco.
My Favorite Yoga Books & Videos
Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers (Shambala).
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope (Bantam Books). My all-time favorite yoga book, maybe my all-time favorite book, period.
The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope (Bantam Books). Cope’s second book digs deeply into the earliest lessons from yoga in an easy-to-understand way.
Yogini: The Power of Women in Yoga by Janice Gates (Mandala Publishing). Lovely and inspiring.
Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison (Anchor Books). Each day begins with a quote, “Out of the strain of doing, into the peace of the done. (Julia Louis Woodruff)”, for example, followed by lovely words of wisdom.
Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga by Amy Weintraub (Broadway Books). “Amy will help readers see their suffering and themselves in a vibrant new light.”
The Yin Yoga Kit: The Practice of Quiet Power by Biff Miffhoefer (Healing Arts Press). I love this resource! It includes a book, posture cards and a CD. Everything you need to get started with Yin Yoga.
Relax & Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lassiter, Ph.D., P.T. (Rodmell Press). Restorative Yoga should be a part of everyone’s practice. This gentle and compassionate guide is thorough and as delicious as the practice.
Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit by Donna Farhi (Owl Books). A wonderful, thorough introduction to the whole of yoga.
Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar (Schocken Books). ” The Bible of Modern Yoga - Its Philosophy and Practice – by the World’s Foremost Teacher”
The Rumi Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing Translations and Commentary by Coleman Barks (Harper San Francisco). Can you find another market like this?/Where, with your one rose/ you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?/ Where for one seed you get/ a whole wilderness? For one weak/breath, the divine wind?
New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press). “Although few poets have fewer human beings in their poems than Mary Oliver, it is ironic that few poets also go so far to help us forward.”
IInsight Yoga with Sarah Powers DVD (Pranayama Inc.) The definitive Yin Yoga instruction by the foremost Yin Yoga master.
Sean Corn: Yoga from the Heart DVD (Yoga Journal). A powerful and heart opening practice.