Bell - Yoga for Meditators Poses to Support Your Sitting Practice

Praise for Yoga for Meditators

I am sure Charlotte Bells jewel of a book will become a classic for meditators. Whether new to the practice or a long-time practitioner, readers will find quick, simple, and practical solutions for finding ease in sitting. What shines through in this book is the balance of compassionately tending to (and in many cases preventing) the common aches and pains that can arise in meditation with the genuine practice of mindfulness.

Donna Farhi, author of Teaching Yoga

Yoga for Meditators is friendly, clear, and full of the wisdom of experience, just like its author, my friend, Charlotte Bell, longtime meditator and experienced yoga practitioner. I cannot think of a better book to recommend to anyone wanting to sit with ease on the cushion. Charlotte offers the reader the comfort of her warmth and knowledge, and it is a much needed and welcome gift. Highly recommended for all levels of practitioners.

Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T., coauthor of What We Say Matters

Yoga for Meditators is an invaluable support for any practitioner who meets the inevitable discomforts of sitting still for long periods of time. Charlottes book is a comprehensive guide to achieving a well-balanced posture that serves as a foundation for a mind of calmness. The instructions for the postures are accessible for all, including those who have never ventured into the discipline of yoga. I highly recommend this book.

Christina Feldman, author of Compassion: Listening to the Cries of the World

Finally, a book in an easy-to-understand format for todays yoga students and teachers that will illuminate and support their meditation practice. I love this book and will recommend it on my website and in teacher trainings.

Jenny Otto, Body Balance Certification Program and Trainings

This is an extremely useful book. I wish I had had it when I began my meditation practice and will recommend it to my students. It is patient, kind, intelligent, and down to earth. It is a great pleasure to read this book for its valuable teaching and also to spend some time with this wonderful teacher.

Daniel Doen Silberberg, Sensei, author of Wonderland: The Zen of Alice

In an age when yoga has become a fitness fad, Yoga for Meditators provides a much-needed glimpse into the deeper dimensions of yogic practice. Without imposing any doctrine, this book provides real and practical aids to add a spiritual dimension for the yoga practitioner and an honored place for the body in any meditative practice. A must-read for those serious about the interior life.

The Reverend Michael Mayor, Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director of All Saints Episcopal Church, Salt Lake City

In Yoga for Meditators, Charlotte Bell gives simple, concise, and useful information to help readers with their meditation practice. Even for first-time meditators, her teaching will guide your body to be comfortable and your mind to quiet.

Cora Wen, founder of Yoga Bloom, Cupertino, CA

This book is what has been missing from all the how-to books out there on yoga. Charlotte not only tells us how to practice specific poses, but also reminds us why we practice them in the first place. A wonderful how-to-take-it-to-the-next-level yoga book that you will definitely want in your library. You can feel comfortable while sitting in meditation; this book gives you the map to get there.

Dana Baptiste, founder of Centered City Yoga, Salt Lake City

YOGA FOR MEDITATORS

YOGA

FOR MEDITATORS

POSES TO SUPPORT YOUR SITTING PRACTICE

Charlotte Bell

Shambhala Publications, Inc.
4720 Walnut Street
Boulder, Colorado 80301
www.shambhala.com

Yoga for Meditators: Poses to Support Your Sitting Practice; copyright 2012 by Charlotte Bell. Asana illustrations copyright 2012 by Sharon Ellis; anatomy illustration copyright 2012 by Lauren Keswick. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bell, Charlotte, 1955

Yoga for meditators : poses to support your sitting practice

/ Charlotte Bell.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-930485-78-5

1. Yoga. 2. Sitting position. I. Title.

B132.Y6B4228 2012

613.7046dc23

2011046368

ISBN-13: 978-1-930485-78-5

Editors: Holly Hammond, Linda Cogozzo

Design: Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

Indexer: Ty Koontz

Asana Illustrations: Sharon Ellis

Anatomy Illustration: Lauren Keswick

Author Photo: Roz Newmark

Lithographer: Kwong Fat Offset Printing Co., Ltd.

Page numbers from the original print edition have been retained and linked for the readers reference.

Ive been exploring the intersection between yoga asana and meditation since the mid-1980s. So when Linda Cogozzo suggested the idea of this book to me, it immediately felt like a perfect fit. Im forever grateful for Lindas insight and support. So, first and foremost, thanks to copublishers Linda and Donald Moyer for offering me the opportunity to share these ideas that are so precious to me.

This book would not be possible had I not had the good fortune to explore practice with so many wise and insightful teachers. To my meditation and yoga teachers, Pujari and Abhilasha, I am infinitely grateful for your unconditional love and support for so many years. Every trip to their Last Resort Retreat Center has been a life-changing experience. Thanks also to Christina Feldman, Daniel Silberberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Reverend Michael Mayor.

In the realm of yoga asana, Im grateful to the many wise teachers with whom Ive had the opportunity to study. These six mentors and friends have been especially inspiring: Donna Farhi, Judith Hanson Lasater, Elise Miller, Jenny Otto, B.K.S. Iyengar, and the late Mary Dunn. Special thanks to Donna for teaching me about the dynamic relationship between breath and asana, and for teaching me how to live in partnership with gravity. Without these two insights, my asana and meditation practices would be far less graceful.

I wish to express immeasurable gratitude to my longtime teaching colleagues and dharma friends in Salt Lake City: Roz Newmark, Marlena Lambert, Lorie Nielson, Kathy Lung, Heidi ODonoghue, Joan Degiorgio, Erin Geesaman-Rabke, Yael Calhoun, Jacqueline Morasco, Mary Johnston-Coursey, Lin Ostler, and Jay Jones. Additionally, many thanks to Roz for shooting the photos that served as resource material for the wonderful illustrations in this book.

Thanks also to my Red Rock Rondo cohorts for allowing me to practice musical meditation every time we play together: Phillip Bimstein, Hal Cannon, Harold Carr, Flavia Cervino-Wood, and Kate MacLeod. Warm, fuzzy thanks to my feline friends, Jazzy, Pushkin, and Lily, who took turns camping out in my lap and spiced up my typing during their occasional traverses across the keyboard.