Sit Down, Be Quiet: A modern guide to yoga and mindful living. Michael Wong James
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Название: Sit Down, Be Quiet: A modern guide to yoga and mindful living
Автор: Michael Wong James
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Здоровье
isbn: 9780008249649
isbn:
My biggest wish is that this book helps get you or your brother, boyfriend, dad, work colleague, sceptic or whoever onto the mat for the first time.
The yoga will do the rest.
‘YOGA WILL BENEFIT YOUR LIFE, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE WILLING TO GIVE IT A TRY’
Front Row: Johnny Vasilj, Adam Whiting
Back Row: Benny Gould, Anwar Gilbert
We live in a world that is always on – online, on loud, on show, on high alert. In today’s society, we’re overloaded with things to do, meetings to be had, calls to be made and coffees to be shared. We thrive on busy schedules, busy lives and just the idea itself of being busy. We talk more than listen. We speed up without ever thinking about slowing down. We’ve become accustomed to thinking that this is how life is meant to be.
But a growing number of us are starting to see that maybe it’s time to turn the volume down and step into something less chaotic.
Over the past decade yoga has become increasingly popular in the Western world. These days it feels like there is a yoga studio popping up on every street corner and pretty soon there will be more of them than Starbucks branches in America alone (we can only hope). Look around and you’ll see that yoga is now in the mainstream, helping lead the wellness revolution, and it’s about time. The world is starting to wake up to the benefits of the practice and a more mindful way of living. But don’t be fooled into thinking that yoga is some new fad. Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and it’ll be around for thousands more to come. Right now, as yoga enjoys its place in the zeitgeist, it’s a great time to pay attention and get started.
It’s hard to miss the conversation because it is everywhere: yoga is mindful movement; it is functional mobility for our bodies; it is calming for our minds; it is everything we want and need it to be. This all might sound too good to be true, or come cloaked in language you find unfamiliar, but getting started is much easier than you might think.
You might not realise it, but you’re probably already doing it.
Scott Schwenk
So You Say I’m Already Doing Yoga?
As children, most of us spent our time playing, running around and getting dirty in the outdoors. We didn’t take life too seriously. We acted the fool and liked to have a good time, no matter the consequences. It’s also likely that when we got angry or frustrated our parents taught us to take a few deep breaths to calm down (usually after being sent to our rooms).
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Think back to when you were younger. You played football, basketball, hockey, rugby or some other sport. You’d wake up on game day and head to the field ready to play. But when you got there, you didn’t just run on the field and jump straight in. It’s likely you started with a team talk, a moment when you aligned your focus and talked about intentions, such as trying your best and working together. You did a few stretches, nothing too vigorous; just a few minutes to warm up the entire body, become aware of the moment and move simply.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Davin Jones
‘THIS IS YOGA. YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE BEEN CALLING IT BY A DIFFERENT NAME’
Or when you wake up at home, ready for the day ahead, you don’t just pop up from the mattress and run out the door. It’s likely you take a moment to stretch the arms, move the body gently, roll out the neck a few times and ease yourself into the day.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Try to remember a time recently when you’ve been angry or frustrated. It might be when someone cut you off on the road or you didn’t get the job you wanted or your next-door neighbour decided to throw a party on a week night. You may have wanted to scream out a few choice words or throw your middle finger in the air in protest. But you stopped, took a breath, chose to be the bigger person and just let it go.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Physically, yoga is a dynamic stretching of the body. Off the mat, it’s not taking life too seriously; it’s slowing down, taking deep breaths, fighting frustration, keeping a level head, calming the mind, easing social tension, living in the moment, strengthening your focus, enhancing your relationships, learning to communicate, dealing with stress, overcoming challenges, living in the now, paying attention to what you’re doing, caring deeply and taking the time to breathe.
If you can relate to any of the above, then you’re already doing yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
What Does Yoga Actually Mean?
Specifically, yoga means ‘union’. It is translated from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit as ‘yuj’, or ‘yoke’, like that which is used to connect an ox to a cart. In Western translation, yoga is a connection: to our bodies, minds and breath; to each other and the world around us.
So to practise yoga is to connect, on all levels. If you’re on the mat, connect with what you’re doing and how you’re breathing: every action and pose. Don’t just ‘do’ the poses. Feel them. Notice the details – push, pull, ground and lift – feel the muscles engage, feel the floor, feel it all. Connect to every bit of the body in action. It’s often said that yoga on the mat is meditation in motion.
If you’re off the mat, connect with the conversation you’re in, put your phone down and pay attention, be mindful in your actions, acknowledge your feelings and emotions, be nice to others, listen like you mean it, stop talking so much and treat everyone you meet with kindness.
This is yoga.
Travis Eliot, Los Angeles
‘Yoga is freedom. Every human being is looking for freedom. Some do it through negative means and others do it through positive means. But we all want to be free. And yoga helps us achieve this.’
Josh Blau, Melbourne
‘Yoga СКАЧАТЬ