Shapiro - The Art of Mindful Relaxation

PRAISE FOR

THE ART OF MINDFUL RELAXATION

Joanne Sawicki, creator, Channel Health TV: I know Ed and Deb [Shapiro] as their television producer, and they walk their talk.

Bernie Siegel, MD, best-selling author, Love, Medicine and Miracles: Ed and Deb Shapiro are two warm, caring, and capable individuals. Their work makes our planet a safer and more loving place to live.

Sharon Salzberg, author, Lovingkindness and Real Love: Ed Shapiro shows us that deep, mindful relaxation is an art we can all master. By sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra practice, he gives us the keys to live with greater joy and peace of mind. The Art of Mindful Relaxation invites us to reshape how we relate to everyday situations and attain a greater sense of ease.

Stephen Levine, international best-selling author: I hope that your work is reaching many. It deserves it, and so do they.

Seane Corn, cofounder, Off the Mat, Into the World: Ed Shapiros informative and inspired book should be on every yoga practitioners shelf! I have used yoga nidra since I first began yoga and can vouch for its brilliant effectiveness. Transformation is not possible without first being deeply relaxed, and this book provides the skills that can help get you there. Highly recommended!

Ram Dass, author, Be Here Now and Still Here: Ed and Deb [Shapiro] bring compassion and heart to a modern world where it is sorely needed. Gangaji, American spiritual teacher: Ed and Deb Shapiro are long-term leaders in the international spiritual community. Eds new book demonstrates the weight behind that leadership. With intelligence and great humor, he reveals what appears to be hidden to, in fact, be obvious. His writing supports the reader in directly discovering what too often feels out of reachthe wonder of true peace. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH): Change is inevitable and can be transformative in positive ways, but if we put it off, then we put living on hold, fixed in old ways of being. Ed Shapiros new book shows us how to have the courage to embrace change. This is a necessary and timely book.

Cyndi Lee, author, May I Be Happy: Ive never read a book like this before! The wisdom of mindful yoga nidra goes far beyond telling us that chilling out is good. Ed Shapiro guides us through profound dynamic relaxation, helping us uncover layers of who we think we are, while giving us the rich practices that help us live into who we want to be, through the mindful, loving practice of truly becoming familiar with ourselves. This is intelligent, spiritual self-care for the whole world.

Kitaro, Golden Globe and Grammy Awardwinning musician: Ed and Deb [Shapiro] make a connection to their friends spirit. They then bring their spiritual energy all over the world for world peace.

Judith Ansara, teacher, coach, author, The Bones We Once Belonged To: Ed Shapiro is a wise guide, gently reminding us how to live a mindful and peaceful life, no matter what our circumstances. If you embrace the practices he offers, I have no doubt you will find yourself happily on the path he has already traveled.

Andy Puddicombe, cofounder, Headspace: There are many teachers of meditation, but there are few who can so effortlessly translate such profound and ancient techniques. An authentic, accessible, and enjoyable guide to relaxation.

Chloe Goodchild, singer, spiritual teacher, author, The Naked Voice: This book reveals the essential components of perennial wisdom in an accessible form that enables you to live safely, courageously, and compassionately. Ed Shapiro is a multifaceted, modern-day mystic with a wild sense of humor, who has dedicated his life in service to humanity. He invites you to relax, remember, and live in the NOW, with the skills to unify breath, body, heart, mind, and soul. These are transformative teachings of a rare contemporary spiritual teacher.

Lord Andrew Stone of Blackheath, United Kingdom: In understandable language, this book gives us the theory and knowledge of mindfulness, why we need to practice, and the compassionate and loving benefits that ensue. I have been practicing mindfulness for many years, yet here I found new knowledge, greater compassion for myself, and learned to deepen my awareness.

Deva Premal and Miten, musicians, recording artists: There is a special music that arises from the sound of silence. Ed Shapiro invites us into this sacred dimension, which is so essential in the midst of this very busy world.

Mark Matousek, author, Sex Death Enlightenment and Writing To Awaken: As a prolific author, ordained swami, and spiritual provocateur, Ed Shapiro has spent the past thirty years carving out a place for himself among mindfulness teachers thats both dogma-free and refreshingly unique. If youre interested in reducing stress, increasing your joy, and deepening wisdom in your life, buy this book!

Jonathan and Andi Goldman, authors, sound healers: Just the act of reading this magnificent book creates deep relaxation and mindfulness. Applying the information and exercises within it brings even more centering and inner peace. What a blessing!

Margo King and John Steiner, transpartisan and sacred activists: Ed Shapiro shows us how to deeply relax and be at peace, so we dont squander the immense gift of our life. Then we can awaken to our true self!

Christine Stevens, author, Music Medicine: Modern-day-meditation author Ed Shapiro shows us the art of relaxation, the space between the notes, in this masterpiece from ancient India to daily life.

Dr. Lex Hixon: The wonderful Shapiros are a conduit of joy and spiritual energy that heals hearts on their subtle level.

Copyright

Copyright 2018 by Ed Shapiro

All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note

The Art of Mindful Relaxation is a new work, first published by Ixia Press in 2018.

International Standard Book Number

ISBN-13: 978-0-486-82441-3

ISBN-10: 0-486-82441-1

Ixia Press

An imprint of Dover Publications, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States by LSC Communications

82441101 2018

www.doverpublications.com/ixiapress

Dedicated to the Truth within all beings

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am deeply grateful to my wife, Deb, who has helped beyond words; I couldnt have done this without her. Thanks to our editors, Fiona Hallowell, Stephanie Castillo Samoy and Nora Rawn, who have been there every step of the way, and to Bill Gladstone, my great agent. To Jimmy, Jane and Splash Cronin; Megan, Rob and Dakoda Larson. To Ruth and Ken Leiner, Mort Shapiro, Parmita Pushman, Anne Bancroft, Julie Carpenter, Andy and Mary Dinsmoor, Margo King and John Steiner, Elvira Bernier, and Raji and Rani. A special thank you to the magical Johnny Fox and to all my teachers, both past and present.

PART 1

MINDFUL RELAXATION

SEEKING PEACE

E ver wonder what the biggest problem in life really is? Yes, its stress! And the remedy? Profound dynamic relaxation. This is a true story: I met John at a stress-release workshop I was teaching in Scotland. He was a schoolteacher in a run-down area of Glasgow. As if that wasnt hard enough, he was a history teacher, a subject that most of his pupils were completely uninterested inperhaps the history of rap music but certainly not of kings and queens! Teaching had become a source of immense stress; John would regularly lose his temper and was planning to quit. I saw him again a year later at a follow-up workshop. John looked refreshed and radiant, so I fully expected to hear that hed gotten a different job. Instead, he told me that hed become head of the department. The difference? John had done nothing other than Yoga Nidra, the relaxation practice this book teaches you, and he did it every morning before going to school. This had led to a state of deep acceptance and mindful relaxation. As a result, both his attitude and approach at work had radically improved. Being mindfully relaxed is the ultimate life-changing gift we can give ourselves.