The Mirror of Yoga is a detailed overview of the rich teachings and sutras that inform the many schools of yoga. With great depth and clarity, Richard Freeman describes the various styles and schools of yoga; explains the Upanishads and Sankhya philosophy; and discusses the role of the guru, the practices of chanting and meditation, and the imperative to serve others. He gives clear explanations of the Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali, of the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga, and of the process and purpose of hatha yoga. All of this is applied to the actual practice, giving the reader the tools to digest and apply this wealth of information.
Looking back five thousand years to early texts, Freeman observes how the living roots of yoga philosophy have grown into many schools, techniques, and philosophies that are united by a vast, interpenetrating “matrix.” This matrix holds the key to understanding yoga’s full depth and greater purpose. He shows that all the styles, traditions, and practices are interconnected and contain each other. Ultimately all forms of yoga are concerned with freeing us from the never-ending quest of the ego-mind to reduce everything to theories. The various yoga disciplines are designed to help us see things as they really are in the present moment and thereby to give us a direct experience of the deepest truth about ourselves and the whole of being.
New York City firefighter’s emotional and inspiring memoir of learning to run again after a debilitating accident, based on the wildly popular March 2009 piece in Runner’s World
On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, more than 40 operations and months later, Matt was able to start his recovery. In spite of the severity of his injuries, Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process. He would no longer be able to compete at the highest level. In the 18 months before the accident, he had competed in more than 20 events including several triathlons and marathons and had qualified for running’s most prestigious race, the Boston Marathon. After the accident, his doctor told him he’d be lucky if he could even walk without a cane.
The Long Run is an emotional and incredibly honest story about Matt’s determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. The book chronicles Matt’s road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon—a gimpy seven-and-a-half hour journey through the five boroughs. “Running saved my life,” Matt says, and his embrace of the running community and insistence on competing in the marathon has inspired many, turning him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.
Sometimes life’s hurdles literally stop us in our tracks, sapping vitality and preventing us from participating fully in our own lives and the lives of those we love. Carolyn Scott Kortge recognizes that a key to joyous re-engagement with the world can be—just as literally—to get moving again. With a focus on walking for wellness, Kortge outlines a compassionate, practical program for navigating your way through life’s physical, emotional, and spiritual hard times.
Within the supportive framework of this eight-week walking program you set your own pace, taking steps that restore a sense of balance and order, even if you’re weighed down by the lethargy and loss of control that often accompany illness, depression, or trauma. Discover how to link mental focus with physical movement to create healing periods of stress release. Learn to match your steps with meditation in a way that clears a path through confusion. Move forward, literally, both in good times and in tough ones, with mental and physical steps that lead you away from fear or stress and guide you toward wellness and peace. Engage in a path to recovery that attends to not just the physical, but also acknowledges healing as an emotional, spiritual, and mental journey—a journey of survivorship.
Bicycling’s resident Fit Chick delivers a weight-loss plan designed to help readers lose 30, 50, or even 100 pounds by riding a bike and eating sensibly
Forget gym memberships and running shoes. The best way to lose weight is on a bike. In Ride Your Way Lean, Bicycling magazine columnist Selene Yeager provides readers with a comprehensive cycling plan that allows them to shed fat, streamline their bodies, and hone their skills on a bike. Cycling is gentle on the joints, easy to do with friends and family, and burns literally thousands of calories without being a bore or cause for suffering.
A weight-loss program for people who want to drop pounds of fat while learning a new sport, this book offers training plans that turbocharge metabolism along with complementary nutritional advice. Each chapter is seasoned with anecdotal tips, success stories, pitfalls, and other advice from real people who have ridden themselves lean.
