YogaIowa Recommendations: Winter 2018
Books
The Yogi Assignment: A 30-Day Yoga Program for Bringing Yoga Practice and Wisdom to Your Everyday Life by Kino MacGregor
Ashtanga yoga star Kino MacGregor offers an enjoyable bit of homework with The Yogi Assignment. Whether you’re new to yoga or have trouble keeping a consistent practice, MacGregor leads you through daily asanas and meditations designed for physical and emotional growth. Your limitations will be tested, but MacGregor’s caring voice will take you further than your own New Year’s resolve.
Know Where You’re Going: A Complete Buddhist Guide to Meditation, Faith and Everyday Transcendence by Ayya Khema
The German-American Khema was a pioneer for women in Buddhism until her death in 1997. Her bestselling 1987 book Being Nobody, Going Nowhere started yoga teacher Daishin Eric McCabe on his studies as a Soto Zen Buddhist; Know Where You’re Going, previously published as When the Iron Eagle Flies, continues Khema’s mission of introducing Westerners to Buddhist philosophy and mindfulness, free of jargon and rich with thoughtful meditations.
Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Searchers by Suze Yalof Schwartz
No, meditation doesn’t mean sitting quietly for hours on end. No, you do not need to perform the superhuman feat of turning off your brain. Schwartz, founder of L.A.’s Unplug Meditation studio, serves as a meditation mythbuster while offering practical, science-based advice for modern professionals seeking the benefits of daily meditation. Unplug also features interesting sections on aromatherapy, crystal healing, meditation for kids and other variants.
Podcasts
Sivana Podcast
“Before you bring home the statue of any deity, ask yourself, would you want that person as your roommate?” This thought begins the sixth episode of the Sivana podcast, exploring mystical symbols; others touch on Ayurvedic life hacks, ancient mythology, spiritual tea-drinking, our metaphysical connection to animals, sacred cannabis, Kundalini, tantric love and much more. Created by YouTube yoga star Brett Larkin, Sivana’s half-hour episodes present interesting facts and advice gleaned from Eastern philosophy.
espnW’s Free Cookies
Kate Fagan is an ESPN writer and former college basketball player. Kathryn Budig is a yoga instructor and author who has appeared on the covers of top yoga magazines. They’re also dating. The two women discuss sports, wellness, pop culture, gender, sexuality and more, filling the conversation with “free cookies” — fun tidbits concerning their guests (from soccer’s Abby Wambach to yoga’s Seane Corn), themselves and you, the listener.
Modern Love
Love is infinitely complex, even if Valentine’s Day tends to reduce it to hearts and diamonds. The New York Times and WBUR Boston’s Modern Love podcast presents 15-20-minute audio essays (read by celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal and Julia Stiles) telling stories of love, loss and redemption: a marriage in which one partner undergoes gender reassignment; a tale of dirty talk gone awry; the journey of a woman reclaiming her body; and more. You’ll laugh, cry and commiserate.
This article was originally published in YogaIowa’s Winter 2018 issue.
