Discover the creativity that lies hidden within you and express it

Painting because it is such a flexible and adaptable form of art gives us unparalleled freedom to express what we are feeling. Through colors, forms, lines, even fabrics, we can tap into our deepest emotions and thoughts; we can access our very source. Given this opportunity, we unburden our spirits and are freed to express ourselves. from the Introduction

What can you learn about yourself through painting? How can a piece of artwork reflect your own personality, beliefs and values? How can touching brush to canvas help you portray something about yourself that is otherwise inexpressible?

Delve into these questions and more in this imaginative, creative resource. Professional artist and beloved teacher Linda Novick leads you on an exploration of the divine connection you can experience through art. Each chapter includes a simple yoga-inspired breathing and stretching exercise to focus your mind and refresh your body, along with an original art project that helps you explore a theme essential to both your creativity and your spirituality. Whether you re a painting novice or an accomplished artist, no matter your faith and background, this engaging book has a place for you. Experience the joy of unbridled creativity

Combine the ancient practice of hatha yoga with theshapes and mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters toenhance your physical health and deepen your spiritual life.

This unique guide shows both the yoga enthusiast and the yoga novice how to use hatha yoga postures and techniques to physically connect with Jewish spirituality.

"If you are curious about hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga provides a safe introduction to the basic yoga postures and techniques. If you are one of the tens of thousands of Jews who already practice hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga will connect your yoga to something explicitly Jewish. With its Jewish content and intent, Aleph-Bet Yoga will enhance rather than interfere with your religious identity." from the Introduction

As we move our bodies through the Hebrew aleph-bet, turning toward the inner meaning of the letters, we can tap into the deep connections between our body, mind and spirit.

Drawing on the sacred texts and mystical writings of Judaism, combined with the insights of yoga teacher Steven Rapp, Aleph-Bet Yoga is an East-meets-West experience for our whole selves.

Aleph-Bet Yoga makes it easy for anyone to incorporate yoga into their life, and combines the physical and spiritual aspects of Judaism. It features step-by-step instructions, photographs clearly demonstrating each yoga pose, and insightful words to inspire and guide us in connecting the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters to our yoga practice."

Although women are often advised to exercise during pregnancy and after birth, there is little information available about the tremendous benefits of physical activity for both mother and baby, or what kinds of exercise are safe and appropriate. In Why Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Matter, Rehana Jawadwala, an exercise physiologist and perinatal yoga teacher, looks at the evidence for supporting physical activity in mothers, as well as how women's physiology changes during pregnancy and after they give birth, answering in detail the questions that mothers and those supporting them may have.

Work and life have changed, so it's time to change how we care for our bodies during work hours. From the bestselling author of OFFICE YOGA comes this accessible guide to mental and physical health that works no matter where you find your desk. Organized by Chair Yoga, Standing Yoga, Pranayama & Mudras, and Meditation & Mindfulness exercises, the deck offers 52 practices that can be done anytime, anywhere. Whether you need a stretch break or a mental reset, whether you have 10 minutes during lunch or only 2 minutes between calls, there is something for everyone-no mat required! Approachable, humorous, and easy, this handsomely packaged and affordably priced guide is the perfect self-purchase or gift for anyone who wants an easy way to incorporate yoga into their everyday routine.

Travis Macy summited glacial peaks in the French Alps, rappelled into vast limestone caves in China, and ran through parched deserts in Utah. Most famously, he won one of the country's marquee ultra-distance events: Leadman, a high-altitude series of super-long-distance races, culminating with a 100-mile mountain biking race and a 100-mile trail run. Macy accomplished it without exceptional strength, speed, or flexibility, and without high-tech performance labs or performance-enhancing drugs.His secret? A precise and particular outlook he calls the "Ultra Mindset," principles for daily life that are neither mysterious nor the sole province of ascetics or elite athletes: embrace fear, rewrite stories we tell ourselves, and master the art of seeking help, among others. By applying the principles such as "It's All Good Mental Training," "When you have no choice, anything is possible," and "Never quit...except when you should quit" to other areas of life, anyone can find success that otherwise would have seemed impossible.Coauthored with award-winning running writer and journalist John Hanc, The Ultra Mindset blends exciting personal memoir with actionable, research-based advice. Dramatic stories of Macy's far-flung experiences in the professional endurance-racing world lead into relevant mindset principles, reflective self-assessments, mind- and body-enhancing workouts and activities, and compelling case studies. Macy's stories keep the pages turning as you forge your own winning outlook for success in business, sports, and life.

Tai Chi Chuan Martial Power is the next level in Tai Chi Chuan training. This book is written especially for those who have learned the Tai Chi form, have begun Pushing Hands, and now want to develop and refine their Tai Chi skills. Tai Chi Chuan Martial Power focuses on the martial essence of Tai Chi Chuan, an aspect many other books ignore. This book goes in-depth and explores the subject of Jing (internal martial power), general Tai Chi theory, and the application of Chi (Qi) in the Tai Chi form. Because Jing training is essential to martial art Tai Chi, this work is a valuable reference that no serious practitioner should be without. Contents include: A comprehensive training plan for Jing (power) development. Understand the difference between true Jing (internal power) and Li (muscular power). Learn how to accumulate Chi and Jing in the Tai Chi postures. Discover the essential role your mind plays in Tai Chi and Jing practice. Includes a special selection of Tai Chi poems (the place the ancient masters hid their theory), translated and explained with commentary by Dr. Yang. A must for advanced students. This edition includes an easy-to-follow layout. Each technique is presented in four to six large photographs with detailed instructions on how to perform the movements. Motion arrows are used on the photographs to help you execute the movements correctly.

Tai Chi Qigong is the essence of Tai Chi Chuan. Gently conditioning your body and building an abundance of Qi are the requirements for long lasting health and a solid foundation for Tai chi practice. Tai chi chuan is an internal martial art that uses soft/round movements to redirect an opponent's incoming force. Qigong exercises are an internal method of increasing and circulating your body's energy (qi). This book teaches tai chi qigong exercises that are extremely useful for improving your tai chi skills and overall health. IF YOU ALREADY KNOW A TAI CHI FORM, here are some ways that you will use tai chi qigong to reach new levels of skill and ability. To feel qi To regulate body, breathing, and intention To learn how to use intention to lead qi To learn how to circulate qi To learn how to expand qi To learn how to use qi to energize muscles Accelerates the health benefits of tai chi IF YOU DON'T KNOW TAI CHI, but want to benefit from qigong exercises, here are some ways tai chi qigong can help you. The exercises are short and easy to learn They help reduces stress They loosens muscles and joints They stimulates qi flow They can help develop a strong immune system They sharpen concentration They build a deeper awareness of breath and body coordination This edition includes an easy-to-follow layout. Each technique is presented in two to four large photographs and clear instructions, followed by a discussion of how the movements aid in improving Tai Chi practice. Motion arrows are used on the photographs to help you execute the movements correctly.

Move, Connect, Play is a book detailing the core principles of AcroYoga, a practice that melds the spectacle of circus arts with the healing power of massage and the breathwork of yoga. Get ready to learn how to fly. AcroYoga is a movement practice that combines the balance and connection of yoga with the fitness and intensity of acrobatics, as well as the holistic healing power of physical therapy. People come to it for all kinds of reasons--they may have chronic pain and are looking for a long-term solution to manage it, they may want to lose weight, gain muscle or increase their mobility, or maybe they just want to experience it with their friends or partners to deepen their relationships. Some even just want to have some fun together. In Move, Connect, Play, founder of AcroYoga International Jason Nemer shares the core principles of AcroYoga for athletic performance and for life, as well as 10 key areas of training (strength, flexibility, technique, balance, breath, gravity, relationships, mental, emotional, and sustainability). He also offers specific exercises and routines for how to train safely and effectively in each area. This is a book that millions of AcroYogis around the world have long been waiting for, and one that is an essential read for high-performance athletes, weekend health warriors, and spiritual seekers alike.

From Charles Atlas to Jane Fonda, the fitness movement has been a driving force in American culture for more than half a century. What started as a means of Cold War preparedness now sees 45 million Americans spend more than $20 billion a year on gym memberships, running shoes, and other fitness-related products. In this first book on the modern history of exercise in America, Shelly McKenzie chronicles the governmental, scientific, commercial, and cultural forces that united - sometimes unintentionally - to make exercise an all-American habit. She tracks the development of a new industry that gentrified exercise and made the pursuit of fitness the hallmark of a middle-class lifestyle. Along the way she scrutinizes a number of widely held beliefs about Americans and their exercise routines, such as the link between diet and exercise and the importance of workplace fitness programs. While Americans have always been keen on cultivating health and fitness, before the 1950s people who were preoccupied with their health or physique were often suspected of being homosexual or simply odd. As McKenzie reveals, it took a national panic about children's health to galvanize the populace and launch President Eisenhower's Council on Youth Fitness. She traces this newborn era through TV trailblazer Jack La Lanne's popularization of fitness in the '60s, the jogging craze of the '70s, and the transformation of the fitness movement in the '80s, when the emphasis shifted from the individual act of running to the shared health-club experience. She also considers the new popularity of yoga and Pilates, reflecting today's emphasis on leanness and flexibility in body image. In providing the first real cultural history of the fitness movement, McKenzie goes beyond simply recounting exercise trends to reveal what these choices say about the people who embrace them. Her examination also encompasses battles over food politics, nutrition problems like our current obesity epidemic, and people left behind by the fitness movement because they are too poor to afford gym memberships or basic equipment. In a country where most of us claim to be regular exercisers, McKenzie's study challenges us to look at why we exercise - or at least why we think we should - and shows how fitness has become a vitally important part of our American identity.

Perfect for beginning and advanced fitness practitioners alike, this is an in-depth look into the most magnificent machine ever created--the human body. Using detailed anatomical illustrations, The New Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training provides you visual insight into what happens to this organic machine during exercise--muscles and tendons working in concert to strengthen your body's building blocks. With a basic knowledge of how the body works, you can buff up your body with the book's 90 exercises, grouped by body region and involving gym machines, free weights, and body weight/stretching, as well as yoga and Pilates. Each exercise is vividly illustrated by a full-color anatomical illustration of the targeted muscles, together with instructions on execution and technique.

"Peter has brilliantly put into words what I have felt my whole dancing life: that the power of dance can liberate and change all our lives." Darcey Bussell Humans are born to dance. And in today's sedentary world, we would all benefit from doing more of it. Science shows that just ten minutes of dancing provides a thorough work out for the body and brain, raising the heartbeat to cause a release of feel-good endorphins, connecting us to our emotions and reducing our stress levels. Dancing quite simply makes us feel more alive. Dr Peter Lovatt, a former professional dancer turned dance psychologist, has spent the past two decades studying why we dance and what it does for us, and is on a personal mission to make dancing as natural an activity in our daily lives as walking or drinking coffee. Filled with fascinating case studies from his research as well as great stories from dance history, The Dance Cure will inspire even those who think they "can't dance" to turn the music on, get up on the floor and dance themselves happy.

Thousands have found renewed health and increased sensory awareness through the Feldenkrais method as explained in Awareness Through Movement. Here is a way for people of every age to integrate physical and mental development into a new, invigorating wholeness. Feldenkrais provides a modern-day, practical program for the perennial ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. His down-to-earth method carefully avoids any mystical component and never obliges any pupil to master abstruse theories. Exercises for posture, eyes, imagination, and more will simultaneously build better body habits and focus new dimensions of awareness, self-image, and human potential.

"Sal Di Stefano's raw fitness truths about motivation, resistance training and intuitive eating can help anyone, at any age, at any level."--Jason Fung, MD, New York Times bestselling authorTired of spending hours on the treadmill? Dealing with the joint paint of high impact exercise? And seeing very few results in terms of fat-burning and weight loss? If so, it's time to join the revolution. Sal Di Stefano, the founder of the mega popular Mind Pump podcast, reveals how resistance training is the best form of exercise to burn fat, boost metabolism, and achieve health benefits you cannot obtain from other forms of exercise. Based on Mind Pump's Muscular Adaptation Programming System (MAPS), The Resistance Training Revolution features: *How to optimize your workout time with over 60 fat-burning, metabolism-boosting workouts you can do at home *Raw fitness truths about what works and what doesn't *The newly discovered health benefits of resistance training in terms of heart health, bone strength, joint protection, and especially antiaging *The exact formula for nutrition that makes losing fat while sculpting your body a breeze *Dozens of self-assessments to track your progress, and much more "Stop those mindless hours of 'cardio' and make real gains in health and weight loss... Resistance exercise that builds muscle is key to weight loss, metabolic health, even healthy aging."--William Davis, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wheat Belly book series

Functional Awareness and Yoga is an essential book for all who wishes to deepen their yoga practice and discover strategies to reduce strain or discomfort on the mat as well as in daily life. It is also an excellent book of introductory concepts in anatomy as applied to yoga required during a yoga teacher training. Each chapter provides essentials in functional anatomy with over 60 practical illustrations. The chapters also apply specific postures in yoga with cues to support the practice on the mat. Finally, each chapter contains a mindful practice section to help readers integrate anatomical imagery into daily life in order to release unnecessary tension, improve posture, and support ease of movement. The reflective practice of Functional Awareness (R) changes how one goes through simple daily tasks in living and demonstrates how these small simple shifts can have a profound effect on ease in action and resilience in movement both on and off the yoga mat. Guiding readers through the essentials in body alignment by providing engaging explorations in body/mind awareness, the book offers a pathway to improve resilience and balance in action.

Walking should be one of the most natural things we do. Most of us have been walking almost all of our lives. However, many have learned walking in a haphazard way. Wearing improper shoes, modeling ourselves after others whose walking is inefficient, and wrong ideas about how our body works are all factors that take their toll on us over time. Because walking is natural, it is not hard to improve it to the point where it becomes meditation and improves our health at the same time. For Tai Chi practitioners, walking provides an excellent opportunity to augment, refine, and reinforce Tai Chi principles and bridge the gap between formal practice and everyday life. For non-practitioners, Tai Chi Walking trains us in walking concepts for improving health, balance, peace-of-mind and safety. *If you hurt after a long day on your feet, this book is for you.*Learn how to walk properly and naturally.*Discover why poor walking posture can damage your health.*Understand how proper walking can increase longevity and vitality.

Imagine a medicine that could make you live longer, healthier, happier, and stronger. What if that medicine was already right at your feet? Running is the miracle drug that can do all this and more - it is the perfect medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Brodie Ramin has seen cases of diabetes, hypertension, and anxiety, which he has traced back to inactivity. Now more than ever, people are looking for inspiration and motivation to get fit, change their lives, and improve their overall wellness. In The Perfect Medicine, Dr. Ramin shares with us his discovery that we already have the perfect medicine to treat and prevent these common illnesses and improve our health: running. However, too few people are taking the right dose or using it at all. The Perfect Medicine explores the science of running and exercise and provides advice on how to maximize its benefits and be your best self. After rediscovering the joy of running in his early thirties, Dr. Ramin became fascinated by the activity. This book takes the reader on a personal journey of discovery, traces the evolution of running, shares strategies to get fit and run faster, and shows how exercise can even help people recover from addiction and mental health conditions.

Reduce stress, release pain and create whole body harmony with this practical introduction to Qigong and the yin/yang balance of Tai Chi, the ancient Chinese arts of 'movement meditation'. From reducing stress and improving posture to balance and general mobility, the many physical and mental benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi are widely celebrated. In this accessible book, Mimi Kuo-Deemer offers practices, insights and wisdom on these arts, and shows us how to support our natural capacity for energy, balance and wellbeing. Qigong's approach is based on the Chinese Five Elements or Phases of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each natural element relates to an organ and meridian system in the body, and Qigong and the Tai Chi Axis will explore each of these elements as they relate to our physical, mental and emotional health. It also will include popular and widely practiced sequences and forms such as the 8 Brocades, Five Animal Frolics, Tai Chi Qigong 18 Forms and Five Element Qigong practices and explore how these lead to wholeness, nourishment and health. Part I: Wood Element: Nourishing our Roots Part 2: Fire Element: Nourishing the Heart Part 3: Earth Element: Nourishing the Mind Part 4: Metal Element: Nourishing the Spirit Part 5: Water Element: Nourishing our Deepest Wisdom

The Tai Chi Concepts and Experiments book clarifies and makes accessible critical aspects of the art that only a small number of high-level practitioners currently understand and manifest. Numerous step-by-step experiments are provided for readers to experience and perfect these critical tai chi aspects. Contents include: The meaning and importance of releasing tension in movement for stability, health, and spirituality. The differences between contractive and expansive strength including a promising mechanism for the nature of expansive strength. Numerous experiments for readers to recognize and experience expansive strength and to confirm that they have achieved it. Elucidation of famous master's sayings on mind, strength, and chi. Health and martial advantages of expansion over contraction in tai chi. Protocols using expansion including those for helping an excess curvature of the upper and lower spine and for relieving plantar fasciitis. Quotes from the classics and how they confirm the interpretations of the principles of tai chi. How to achieve optimal balance through an understanding of physical, anatomical, physiological, and mental factors. A detailed analysis of "rooting and redirecting" including physical and internal aspects. Understanding natural movement from physical, philosophical, health, and martial points of view. This interdisciplinary book utilizes, elementary physics, physiology, anatomy, psychology, and spirituality. It contains detailed analyses and explanations for achieving internal, expansive strength, known as nei jin, and for attaining optimal timing and natural movement.