Elena Brower - Art of Attention: A Yoga Practice Workbook for Movement as Meditation

Sounds True

Boulder, CO 80306

2016 Elena Brower and Erica Jago

Foreword 2016 Linda Sparrowe

Illustrations and Design 2016 Erica Jago

Sounds True is a trademark of Sounds True, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author(s) and publisher.

Published 2016

Teachings by Elena Brower, transcribed from YogaGlo.com

Art direction, illustrations, and design by Erica Jago

Photography by Michael Chichi ()
Mandala Artwork by Sofia Escobar
Portals by Harlan Emil
Editing and foreword by Linda Sparrowe

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following for permission to quote from their works: From The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff, by Jeanne de Salzmann, 2010 by the Heirs of Jeanne de Salzmann. Reprinted by arrangement with The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston, MA. shambhala.com.

Images of Black Rock City are used at the sole discretion of and are the exclusive property of Burning Man. Reproduction is prohibited. With gratitude for your respect.

Printed in Korea

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brower, Elena, author.

Art of attention : a yoga practice workbook for movement as meditation / Elena Brower and Erica Jago.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-62203-593-9
1. Hatha yogaHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. ExerciseHandbooks, manuals, etc. 3. YogaHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Jago, Erica, author. II. Title.
RA781.7.B7576 2016
613.7046dc23

2015034113

Ebook ISBN 978-1-62203-653-0

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

by LINDA SPARROWE

preface by MC YOGI // photography by MICHAEL CHICHI

preface by GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN // photography by CHLOE CRESPI

preface by DONNA KARAN // photography by ALICE MARSHALL // mandala artwork by SOFIA ESCOBAR

preface by GWYNETH PALTROW // photography by MICHAEL CHICHI and DOMINIC NEITZ // portals by HARLAN EMIL

preface by CHRISTY TURLINGTON BURNS // photography by DOMINIC NEITZ

Slow everything down in your brain

make space between thoughts and actions

Notice how this increases your sensitivity

keeping you soft

Serving

your family, friends, work

Practice patience in transition

find forgiveness in every context

Emanate consistently

expand consciously

Stay

in the flow

Extend willingness

in all you do

WELCOME

Thank you for holding this in your hands. With this book, we hope you take your time, find your own voice in it, ask your questions all over it, and make it a home base for your practice and your heart. May these practices remind you that loving yourself is the only prayer, the only practice.

The most spiritual and powerful aspect of human nature is our faculty of attention. CONSCIOUSNESS. Attention is what allows us to see ourselves, and see within ourselves, in order to learn how we can elegantly approach anything, everything. Our ability to see ourselves and how we behave is key to harmonizing the dissonance between our inner conversation and our outer conversation, and learning how to love ourselves. May these practices spark that harmony.

To make art of our attention is to be elegant and true to ourselves. So we can be that way for other people. We still dont know how to listen or respond appropriately sometimes. We forget to be grateful. We forget to be soft. This compilation of practices is inspired by several traditions of Hatha yoga, yoga philosophy, Fourth Way teachings, and the Handel Method. Each sequence points us toward the inner work of listening, respecting, trusting, and healing.

Practice is distilled into three elemental aspects. SANKALPA explains the intention for the practice. The THREE WAVE SEQUENCE introduces a specific opening into your body through the progression of postures. And the AWAKENING pages conclude and close your practice. Pages at the end of each chapter invite your practice notes, intentions, and sequences.

Amidst the physical postures and transitions in these practices, we release tension, and find forgiveness. We repattern blame and shame into restful gratitude. We watch our thoughts at a distance, softly separate ourselves from them, and consequently see the unity that we are. Rather than blindly hold assumptions, we explore the very highest possibilities in our behavior, our thinking, our commerce. We cultivate an ecology of gratitude in our being, in our home, and in our practice. We set an example for everyone around us.

Whether youre a student or a teacher of yoga, youre invited to slow down, reflect, and design your experience.

May these practices bring listening, courage, and connection.