Deepen Your Yoga Experience with the Origin Stories of 64 Common AsanasExplore the stories from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology that nurtured the idea of yoga and shaped the development of its most iconic asanas. Learn how svana-asana (dog pose) is connected to Shiva, bhujanga-asana (cobra pose) was inspired by shape-shifting beings who live below the earth, and much more.Many practitioners are unaware of yoga's underlying philosophy, symbols, and ritua...

Deepen Your Yoga Experience with the Origin Stories of 64 Common AsanasExplore the stories from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology that nurtured the idea of yoga and shaped the development of its most iconic asanas. Learn how svana-asana (dog pose) is connected to Shiva, bhujanga-asana (cobra pose) was inspired by shape-shifting beings who live below the earth, and much more.Many practitioners are unaware of yoga's underlying philosophy, symbols, and ritua...

The popular names of many yogic asanas -- from Virbhadra-asana and Hanuman-asana to Matsyendra-asana, Kurma-asana and Ananta-asana -- are based on characters and personages from Indian mythology. Who were these mythological characters, what were their stories, and how are they connected to yogic postures? Yog Puran, the Hindi translation of Devdutt Pattanaik's Yoga Mythology (co-written with international yoga practitioner Matt Rulli) retells the fascinating tales from Hi...

Deepen Your Yoga Experience with the Origin Stories of sixty-four Common AsanasExplore the stories from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology that nurtured the idea of yoga and shaped the development of its most iconic asanas. Learn how svana-asana (dog pose) is connected to Shiva, bhujanga-asana (cobra pose) was inspired by shape-shifting beings who live below the earth, and much more.Many practitioners are unaware of yoga's underlying philosophy, symbols, a...

The most accessible and informative version of the Buddhist classicavailable in English, with instruction in meditation, illuminating commentary, and guidance in the practical use of the prayersThe so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead” has been renowned for centuries as a cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom and religious thought. More recently, it has become highly influential in the Western world for its psychological insights into the processes of death and dy...

In this classic scripture of Tibetan Buddhism—traditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberation—death and rebirth are seen as a process that provides an opportunity to recognize the true nature of mind. This translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead emphasizes the practical advice that the book offers to the living. The insightful commentary by Chögyam Trungpa, written in clear, concise language, explains what the text teaches us about human psychology. This ...

Discover one of the world's most popular belief systemsHinduism is a fascinating and widespread religion with a diverse array of traditions, practices, scriptures, and deities. In Hinduism For Dummies, 2nd Edition, you'll get a clear view into this widely-practiced and ancient creed. The book contains an easy-to-follow introduction to Hinduism, including its four different sects—Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism—it's major rituals, and its most...

A fifth-century Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen to China. Although the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death, today millions of Zen Buddhists and students of kung fu claim him as their spiritual father.While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and believed that it had a p...

The ancient lore behind yoga poses: "Transports us to a world where gods and goddesses, saints, and enlightened animals serve as our teachers." —MC YogiPractitioners around the world reap the physical benefits of yoga, assuming poses frequently called by their Sanskrit names. While many know that hanumanasana is named for the deity Hanuman, few know why. But behind each asana and its corresponding movements is an ancient story about a god, sage, or sacred ...

In this book, two great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries challenge us to critically examine our materialistic preoccupations and think carefully about how we want to spend the rest of our lives. At the same time, they provide practical guidance in following the Buddhist path, starting from the most basic motivation and culminating in the direct experience of reality beyond the reach of conceptual mind.The root text is a teaching in verse written in...

Achaan Chah spent many years walking and meditating in the forest monastery of Wat Ba Pong, engaging in the uncomplicated and disciplined Buddhist practice called dhudanga. A Still Forest Pool reflects the quiet, intensive, and joyous practice of the forest monks of Thailand. Achaan Chah's humble words, compiled by two Westerners who are former ordained monks, awaken the spirit of inquiry, wonderment, understanding, and deep inner peace.Attachment, according to Achaan Chah...

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Awakening Upon Dying, with introductory commentary by Dzogchen Buddhist master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, is a new translation of the ancient text also known as The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State. Both a practical guide and intriguing historical, cultural, and spiritual document, this new version incorporates recent discoveries that have allowed for a better translation of previously ambiguous passages.Revealin...