In the last decade, Yoga in Western cultures has largely focused on the physical. But, on the mat, we get a glimpse that there is more to the practice than pretzel-like twists and gravity-defying balances. Our hunger for Yoga, demonstrated by the practice’s surge in popularity, is a testament to our desire for growth and change.
The physical portion of Yoga is an approachable and accessible way into a practice. It’s an opportunity to feel where we are in our body and in our life and then work and use it. Living the Sutras is a tool to make the other aspects of Yoga as approachable and accessible as the asana is today. It’s an opportunity to learn where we are in our mind and spirit and then harness it. It’s a way to make the ancient wisdom found in the Sutras relevant to our modern lives. And it’s a guide for putting it all together so we can live with ease and purpose.
Living the Sutras focuses on the first two books of the Sutras and explores what Yoga is, the vrittis or filters that color our thoughts, the habits and practices we need to establish to create a right attitude, the obstacles to a steady mind like the causes of suffering (kleshas) and personal triggers (samskara), and how to take action through the yamas and niyamas. The authors introduce a sutra or group of sutras on a related theme, provide a brief commentary and offer related writing prompts to help readers make it applicable to their lives.
When we understand how our mind works and where our energy goes we can work to understand it and then redirect our attention so we can live with ease and purpose.
About the Authors:
Kelly DiNardo is a journalist who started a consistent yYoga practice when she was procrastinating on a writing assignment. Parked on a Yoga mat, she cleared her writer’s block and developed a new passion. DiNardo was first certified to teach Yoga through YogaFit in 2003 and later went on to receive her 200-hour RYT through Living Yoga Teacher Training. In 2009 she opened Past Tense Yoga studio in Washington, DC. The popular studio has won several local awards including the Washington City Paper’s Best of Yoga Studios. She is the author of several other books and is a freelance journalist having written for several national publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, O: The Oprah Magazine, Shape, Health, Glamour, and others.
Amy Pearce-Hayden began studying Yoga in 1995 with Iyengar master Gabriel Halpern. She received her first Yoga certification in 1997 before opening her own school in 2003 to teach both 200 & 500-hour Yoga Alliance recognized teacher training programs in her Raja Hatha lineage. Amy has also spent over a decade studying the Yoga Sutras with Rolf Sovik and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait of the Himalayan Institute. As a recognized International Yoga teacher, she is sought out for her expertise in linking classical Yoga with modern living. She has been a regular contributor to Yoga International, and she has cohosted the Times Square Summer Solstice “Mind over Matter” event with 10,000 yogis practicing in the heart of New York City. After returning to the Midwest she opened TANTRA, a wellness studio in Madison, WI, where she lives with her husband and two children. Amy continues to travel to teach and lead healing retreats.
