Experience the rest of your life with restorative yoga, the supported poses and breathing practices that will help you heal the effects of chronic stress. In Relax and Renew, the first book exclusively devoted to this work, you'll find: in-depth guidance in Basic Relaxation Pose (Savasana), the heart of restorative practice, as well as the Centering Breath a general restorative sequence that explores backbends, an inverted posture, a twist, cooling forward bends, and a variation of Basic Relaxation Pose (Savasana) sequences for busy days, including a fifteen-minute practice, yoga at your desk, and the Totally Invisible Relaxation programs for back pain, headaches, insomnia, jet lag, and breathing problems a special section for women during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause a guide to props: what they are, where they go, how to fold and roll blankets, and around-the-house alternatives resources: where to find a yoga teacher, as well as recommended books, magazines, newsletters, audio programs, props, yoga vacations

A unique vocabulary exists that ascribes a variety of emotions to the belly: "my guts are in a knot," "I knew it in my gut," "gut-wrenching," and "no guts, no glory." Yet too often, more emphasis is placed on the way the abdomen looks than how it feels and functions - a sterling six-pack can mask true abdominal trouble. Yoga Abs outlines a series of exercises, yoga poses (asana), and breathing practices designed to achieve optimal health for this crucial area, which houses the organs of both digestion and procreation. Drawing on her experience as a yoga instructor and physical therapist, Judith Hanson Lasater discusses the anatomy and philosophical aspects of the abdomen and offers a set of movements that create awareness of important muscles while developing and maintaining abdominal strength. Each exercise and asana lists the props or supports needed, safety guidelines, and practice instructions, and the book includes practical guidelines for moving mindfully through everyday tasks.

If you think that you have to retreat to a cave in the Himalayas to find the enlightenment that yoga promises, think again. In this second edition of Living Your Yoga, Judith Hanson Lasater stretches the meaning of yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques to include the events of daily life--all of them--as ways to practice. This edition includes three new chapters (Relaxation, Empathy, and Worship), a full index, and new interior and cover designs. Using the time-honored wisdom of the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita to steer the course, she serves up off-the-mat practices to guide you in deepening your relationships with yourself, your family and friends, and the world around you. Inspiring and practical, she blends her heartfelt knowledge of an ancient tradition with her life experiences as a daughter, sister, partner, mother, friend, and yoga practitioner and teacher. The result: a new yoga that beckons you to find the spiritual in everyday life.

Judith Hanson Lasater has been teaching an annual yoga retreat at Feathered Pipe Ranch, in Helena, Montana, for 28 years. When she learned that one of her students was collecting Lasater s thoughts which she called Judith s aphorisms Lasater decided to collect them in this book. Featuring one thought for each day of the year, along with a suggested practice, these brief, powerful insights reflect the author s knowledge of classic yoga philosophy and years of experience. Humorous, inspiring, and surprisingly down-to-earth, they guide seekers both on and off the yoga mat. These aphorisms address love, asana, fear, trust, expectations, pranayama, suffering, laughter, presence, the Yoga Sutra, and much more. They emphasize the experience of being present to one's self and to life s ups and downs day by day, breath by breath, moment by moment. "A Year of Living Your Yoga" is a gentle invitation to readers to know themselves on a deeper level."

In "Yogabody, " author Judith Hanson Lasater writes, "You can't fully understand the dynamic movement of asana without first understanding the basic structure of the human body." Drawing on almost 40 years' experience as a yoga teacher and physical therapist, she focuses here on macroanatomy and kinesiology in relationship to asana practice and teaching. Organized into five parts -- the locomotor system, the vertebral column, the lower extremity, the trunk, and the upper extremity, "Yogabody "covers the body's bones, joints, connective tissue, nerves, and muscles. This valuable guide builds on what yoga teachers already know and enables them to quickly decide what might help their students move with more enjoyment and less difficulty. It helps yoga students understand how their own body functions. Packed with color anatomical drawings, black-and-white diagrammatic asana illustrations, and helpful charts, "Yogabody "is the "Gray's Anatomy" for yoga teachers and students.

In 30 Essential Yoga Poses, Judith Lasater draws on her wealth of yoga practice and teaching experience, as well as her training as a physical therapist, to present this comprehensive guide for beginning students and their teachers. The author discusses yoga's ancient eightfold path and its relevance in today's world, and goes to the heart of yoga-the all-important student-teacher relationship. Thirty essential yoga poses (asana), their variations, and breathing practices (pranayama) are also provided, with guidance for the student practicing at home, and points for the classroom teacher. Sequences are presented with photographic charts for easy visual reference, and a "Mantra for Daily Practice" and glossary of anatomical terms and resources for further study are also included.

This expert guide provides yoga teachers with the skills they need to understand how to care for and improve their voices technically, as well as how to express themselves authenticity and effectively as a teacher. Being able to give instruction clearly and with emotional intelligence is part of the personal development that each yoga teacher goes through. This book offers instruction, support and ideas on how to embark on the journey of yoga teaching with greater confidence and mindfulness. After the basics in vocal projection, inflection and intonation are covered, the book details the psychological significance of believing in your own value and finding what makes each teacher unique and accessible to their students. It includes advice on safe boundaries in the student/teacher relationship, self-care, and tips on how to deal with common teaching mishaps with grace and humour. Improvisation techniques and personal stories from other teachers help to expand the reader's skills further to create an affirming, practical guidebook for all yoga teachers.

"The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health is the first comprehensive book about women's health issues and how to treat them with yoga. The authors offer a complete yoga program for general health as well as pose sequences that address specific health problems-all in the Iyengar tradition, which targets health needs more than other forms of yoga. For example, in the first part of the book, Patricia Walden has organized three chapters showing yoga poses with clear instructions that tell how to get into each pose and describe its benefits: chapter one is the Essential Sequence for all women, and includes modifications for people who cannot or should not do all the poses; chapter two is the Restorative Sequence for stress relief and relaxation; chapter three contains advanced poses that energize and tone.
The second part is presented in four sections that broadly represent the stages of a woman's life: teen years and early twenties, later twenties and thirties, midlife, and wisdom years. Each section contains chapters offering specific information about a particular health issue from author Linda Sparrowe, as well as sequences of yoga poses from Patricia Walden that address the problem. For example, the back care chapter includes information about common back problems and their causes (scoliosis, arthritis, lordosis, sciatica, kyphosis, among others) with an emphasis on: emotional and psychological roots of some back problems; physiological information about the spine and back muscles; general information about how yoga addresses different areas of the back; and finally, Patricia Walden's sequences of poses that target different back problems with the goal of not only relieving back pain butof strengthening, and healing old injuries and misalignments.
Sections of the book include:
-Teens and Early 20s: Eating disorders, menstrual health, immune support
-20s and 30s: Back care, pregnancy, headaches
-Midlife: Depression, menopause, digestion
-Wisdom Years: Osteoporosis, postmenopause, the heart
The final section of the book includes listings of yoga centers, instructional videos, yoga equipment, and where to go for more information about yoga.