| Yoga Study Books | |
The 196 yoga sutras, or little lessons, were compiled some 500-800 years before Christ. You can find many translations and interpretations on the Internet for free if you'd like to follow along. Sanskrit is hard to translate into English. However, I enjoy these two translations as the commentators often set the lessons in a Christian context. Here are my picks for the best two:
How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali
by Swami Prabhavananda by Vedanta Press & Bookshop
Paperback 
List Price: $10.95
Our Price:
New and used from $7.55 Buy Now
Below is a brand new translation/commentary--the one above was written in the 1930s I believe. The cover is a bit scary for Westerners, but the commentary makes the sutras, well--rather enlightening!
The Wisdom of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide by Ravi Ravindra
by Ravi Ravindra by Morning Light Press
Hardcover
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $11.21 Buy Now |
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Yoga Lesson | |
Yoga Sutra 2.43 Self-discipline leads to the destruction of impurity and to the perfection of the body and the senses.
The Ravindra text (left) asks an interesting question to guide your thinking on this lesson. "What is needed for me to be able to turn towards what really matters?" In most cases, it is the self-control needed to give up all those mindless or harmful distractions that lead us away from God. |
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TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Peter 1 | |
Key Bible Verse: 2 Peter 1:5-8
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I love Peter's hierarchy of virtues here. Trying to do good brings us a higher awareness. Through knowledge, we come to understand why we need self-control as we work toward godliness and the ultimate expression of God--love. |
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TODAY'S MEDITATION | |
Ask yourself Ravindra's question today to guide you in prayer. What do you need today to put you on the path toward love? |
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| Sleep: The Secret Weapon in Weight Management |
It's no secret that Americans are growing fatter by the minute. It's also no secret that the majority of working Americans, especially working parents, are sleep deprived. Only recently have scientists put two and two together and figured out that sleep deprivation and obesity are linked.
Two years ago, Glamour Magazine published a landmark study that suggested you could lose weight simply by sleeping more and better. Overweight women in the study agreed to make no changes in their eating patterns or lifestyle except to get at least 7 1/2 hours of sleep per night. At the end of 10 weeks the women had lost between 6 and 15 pounds!
Why is this possible? It is the relationship between sleep and hormones. Two key hormones regulate our appetite: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin signals your brain that you've taken in enough nutrition. Ghrelin is released in your intestinal tract and stimulates appetite. Lack of sleep decreases leptin and raises ghrelin.
More is at play here, though. People who stay up later tend to have poorer eating habits, snacking through the evening. Combine that with other research that shows people who eat heavy fat-laden diets have more trouble sleeping, which turns into what my husband calls "a self-eating watermelon." Study results here.
If you need a radical shift in your weight and energy levels, you might try a radical shift in your schedule to balance these hormones. Try to get to bed at least an hour earlier. Rise earlier in the day and devote that extra morning time to meditation and exercise and see what happens!
I've written at length in this column about how to get a better night's sleep so I won't repeat that here. If chronic sleep deprivation is truly a problem for you, march yourself down to the Sleep Center at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. They'll fix you right up!
If you have moderate insomnia, try a nightly ritual leading up to bedtime, and begin it earlier each night. Just before you go to bed, try the great yoga pose, Legs Up The Wall--a very popular relaxation and sleep-inducing pose.
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POSE OF THE WEEK: Legs Up the Wall | |
OK, folks, you don't need the spa accessories below to make this an effective pose. We use this pose at the end of a class when we do heavy-duty leg workouts. At first, your legs will feel wobbly but as you relax and learn to trust that the wall will support your legs, your legs will "disappear" and seem to float effortlessly. The trick to getting into the pose is to park one hip directly at the wall and then rotate the legs up the wall as you twist your upper body into position so that your glutes are firmly against the wall when you arrive. Don't forget to breathe!
For instructions on this pose, click here (photo and instructions courtesy of Yoga Journal).
If you'd like a more structured way to practice yoga, try the new Redeeming Yoga Workbook and Journal, now available for sale on-line. It contains an 8-week program of meditations, health tips, Bible study, plus room for journaling. Click here to order now! |
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Thank you so much for spending time here today. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to E-mail me at sarah@redeemingyoga.com. I'm obligated to say that none of the information contained in this E-letter should be construed as medical advice. Before you modify your diet or fitness regimen, please check with your doctor.
Sincerely,
Sarah Riehm
Redeeming Yoga |
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