Carol Krucoff E-RYT - Yoga Sparks: 108 Easy Practices for Stress Relief in a Minute or Less

Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint selections from the following:

The Gita According to Gandhi by Mahadev Desai reprinted by permission of Navajivan Trust.

Conscious Breathing with a Smile from PEACE IS EVERY STEP: THE PATH OF MINDFULNESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE by Thich Nhat Hahn, copyright 1991 by Thich Nhat Hanh. Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission.

Telephone Meditation from PEACE IS EVERY STEP: THE PATH OF MINDFULNESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE by Thich Nhat Hahn, copyright 1991 by Thich Nhat Hanh. Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission.

Take Your Time by Eknath Easwaran, founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, copyright 1994, 2006; reprinted by permission of Nilgiri Press, P.O. Box 256 Tomales, CA 94971, www.easwaran.org

THE SECRET POWER OF YOGA: A WOMANS GUIDE TO THE HEART AND SPIRIT OF THE YOGA SUTRAS by Nischala Joy Devi, copyright 2007 by Nischala Joy Devi. Used by permission of Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission.

In and Out Visualization copyright 2011 by Kate Holcombe. Used by permission.

Riding the Waves adapted from Yoga for Emotional Flow (CD), copyright 2003 by Stephen Cope. Used with permission from Sounds True, Inc.

Yoga of Awareness copyright 2012 by Jim and Kimberly Carson. Used by permission of Jim and Kimberly Carson.

Three Good Things Exercise, copyright 2002 by Martin Seligman. Used by permission.

Boot Up, Download, or On Hold Meditation, adapted from Insight Yoga Earth: Balancing Yin Energy(DVD), copyright 2012 by Sarah Powers. Used by permission.

Sympathetic Joy: the Third Abode copyright 2011 Joan Halifax. Used by permission.

Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness copyright 1996 by Erich Schiffmann. Used by permission. erichschiffmann.com

The Power of Patience by M.J. Ryan 2013 Conari Press. Used by permission.

Me Talk Pretty copyright 1996 Sally Kempton. Originally published in Yoga Journal, May 1996. Used by permission.

This is a wonderful collection of micro-practices designed to elicit the meaning of the teachings [of yoga]. Who would want more? Pause, feel the truth, be glad. Keep it simple, short, and frequent.

Erich Schiffmann, author of YOGA: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness

With a lighthearted understanding and compassion, we are offered 108 easy practices to spark our remembering, connecting us to our spiritual source, each and every moment.

Nischala Joy Devi, international teacher and author of The Healing Path of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga

Krucoffs Yoga Sparks is a simple, powerful tool for you to move from doing yoga to being yoga. For too long in the West weve separated yoga as something we do, when by practicing Sparks you will discover that yoga is in fact what you are, moment to moment. My sense is you will soon be creating your own Sparks as you delight in your realization that 108 is really only just a good start! Let your fire burn brighter with Yoga Sparks!

Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, ERYT, former president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and the mindbody rehab guy bridging traditional rehab with yoga

Yoga Sparks is the perfect book for anyone interested in a practical way to incorporate yoga into his or her daily busy life. Krucoff goes beyond the poses and really provides a guide to experiencing all of the benefits that yoga has to offer for improving health and wellbeing.

Adam Perlman, associate vice president for health and wellness for the Duke University Health System and executive director at Duke Integrative Medicine

Yoga is popularly described as a practice for on and off the mat, but how many people actually integrate and transfer their insights from yoga to ordinary moments? Our reactivity easily eclipses our ease and calm when triggered by the unexpected, or worse, the unwanted details of life. If yoga is to become more than merely exercise, we need to inhabit mini moments with awareness and find ways to reconnect ourselves in body and mind. In Yoga Sparks, Krucoff offers profound wisdom in sparkling bites that can easily be applied while moving through our day, enhancing our capacity for mindful living. She teaches us that our busy life is not in the way of our yoga practice, and in fact the way to live yogically is through the everyday moments of our life.

Sarah Powers, author of Insight Yoga

It is so easy to go from zero to sixty and stay in high gear until you break down. Yoga Sparks generously offers a way for you to make a Uturn: quickies that translate into quick ease of posture, concentration, joy, and presence. Krucoffs sensitive sparks jump off the page and inject moments of repose into your days, nights, and life.

Jill Miller, ERYT, creator of Yoga Tune Up and the Therapy Ball System

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2013 by Carol Krucoff

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Acknowledgments for the use of copyrighted material appear on pages 232, which constitute an extension of the copyright page.

Cover design by Amy Shoup; Text design by Michele Waters-Kermes;

Acquired by Jess OBrien; Edited by Jasmine Star

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Krucoff, Carol.

Yoga sparks : 108 easy practices for stress relief in a minute or less / Carol Krucoff, E-RYT.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-60882-700-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60882-701-5 (pdf e-book) -- ISBN 978-1-60882-702-2 (epub) 1. Stress management. 2. Relaxation. 3. Yoga--Therapeutic use. I. Title.

RA785.K78 2013

613.7046--dc23

2013014405

To my teachers, on whose shoulders I stand,

And to my students, who have taught me so much

The Gita sums up [what] this means in one wordyoga This ancient word is pressed by the Gita into service to mean the entire gamut of human endeavor to storm the gates of Heaven. It is derived from the verb yujwhich has numerous meanings: to join, to attach, to yoke; to direct, to concentrate ones attention on; to use, to apply, to employ. In the Yoga Sutras it is used to mean discipline or control. It thus means the yoking of all the powers of the body and the mind and soul to God; it means the discipline of the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the will, which such a yoking presupposes; it means a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects and evenly.