Teacher's Book Stand: Shoshana's Anxiety Balm

We asked our teachers to snap a picture of their nightstands and tell us what they're reading. Here is a glimpse at Shoshana's favorites.

If I had to pick one from this stack, it would be Change Me Prayers by Tosha Silver.

This is my favorite go to book for a shift in perspective to a place of peace. It reminds me to surrender to a power greater than myself in a really deep way. It's like a balm for anxiety, gripping and that sense of separateness that I often find myself in this wild life.

Teacher's Book Stand: Hannah's Eclectic Recommendations

We asked our teachers to snap a picture of their nightstands and tell us what they're reading. Here is a glimpse at Hannah's recommendations.

Pictured here is a very clean version of my nightstand table – normally you would also see a collection of cups, receipts, and potentially important pieces of paper that I haven’t figured out how to categorize yet.

Currently I am making my way through the hard cover book you see, The Goddess Pose by Michelle Goldberg. I’m extremely excited to recommend this book to anyone in the yoga world, or just anyone interested in history.  Yoga as we know it now grew out of a complicated dialogue between the East and West.  Around the 1930’s in India, the practice of Hatha yoga was being newly revitalized. One of the Yogis leading the way was a teacher named Krishnmacharya. During his long journey as a teacher, he had four illustrious pupils who went on to become famous teachers in their own rites: Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar, and Indra Devi.

These four instructors helped to disseminate yoga to the rest of the world, and started their own lineages of the tradition. The only woman among them was Indra Devi. As the author writes, her life was “audacious” to say the least. Born Eugenia Peterson, a Russian actress before the Bolshevik revolution, she made her way across Europe, and eventually to India, what she considered her spiritual home. She didn’t begin her study of yoga until well into her thirties, and from there took her teaching to China. Did you know that in the Japanese concentration camps set up in China during WWII there were yoga classes going on thanks to Indra Devi?

After the war, she arrived in Los Angeles where she was able to ingratiate herself into society and began sharing her knowledge of yoga once again. So much of what we now see in the modern Yoga world is thanks in large part to Indra Devi. Before her tutelage with Krishnamacharya, it was relatively unheard for a woman to have anything to do with the practice of Hatha Yoga. Indra Devi introduced what we now recognize as vinyasa yoga to women (and men) all over the world.

The second book is Quiet (The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking) by Susan Cain. If nothing else, this book is vindicating for an introvert like me. So much in our world is focused on Personality rather than Character. Often times we tend to value the biggest voice over the wisest voice. This book helps to explain the psychology of our society at present, and gives some insights as to how introverts can functionally navigate our noisy world. Roughly half of the U.S. population considers themselves to be introverted, so this is a great book for everyone to read, even you if you happen to be more of an extrovert.

Not pictured here (because it’s already out on loan) is my favorite fiction series: Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. They made one of the books into a movie some time ago…but if you saw the movie, forget what you watched and read the books instead. The books have a fascinating message that weaves together physics, religion, and the mysteries of the universe with a heart stopping adventure tale. There’s even romance. Though technically these are children’s books, I get more out of them every time I re-read them, and would recommend them to any adult who wants to enjoy a well told piece of fiction that also feeds their mind and inspires their heart.

My Final Book recommendation (Also not pictured, also on loan) is Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss. Caroline Myss might be categorized as  “self-help” writer, except that she asks questions rather than providing all the answers. Anatomy of the Spirit gave me what I still consider to be the best introduction to the human chakra system. She draws parallels between human anatomy, spiritual well being, and rights of passage seen in different traditions and cultures. Every chapter is concluded with a list of provocative and thoughtful questions. The intention with this book is for the reader to develop their awareness, and to become their own spiritual healer. I always find myself coming back to this book when I feel that I have slumped into a spiritual malaise or that my body has become unwell. If you’re curious about the chakras or looking for a way to inspire your own spiritual growth, get your hands on this book. I promise it’s worth the read.

Teacher's Book Stand: Bethany's books

We asked our teachers to snap a picture of their nightstands and tell us what they're reading. Here is a glimpse at Bethany's very full list.

I swear this wasn't staged. This is actually what my nightstand has looked like for months as I dig through some incredibly sacred texts (and some modern self-help nonsense). Here's what I'm reading and why:

• The Living Gita is a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu song-story about the warrior Arjuna and his guide, Krishna. I first read this book probably seven years ago, when I was starting my yoga and sobriety journey. The message of needing to totally "kill" some things, even some things you have loved in the past, was powerful and resonant with me as I started such a major life change. Recently, I've been rereading this translation as part of a self book-study, using a guide book to read and answer questions about the text.
• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a book most yoga teachers are constantly reading, reflecting on and referring to. Every so often in my classes, I go back through the themes of the Sutras with my students, helping people to understand the broader messaging of yoga. To me, that messaging is not about uniting body and mind but rather about discerning the fact that there is an element of life and self that is separate from body and mind. I am also rereading the Sutras right now as part of my self book-study.
• Five Good Minutes is the hokey self-help book on my nightstand. It suggests an exercise to do each morning to set out with intention. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't, but I always try to get at least five minutes (and typically a whole lot more) out of my morning for my own personal practice. 
• The (upside down) Complete Guide to Yin Yoga is something I turn to at night when I want a few Yin poses before climbing into bed. I also use it a lot for Yin sequence inspiration. 
• Then, two iPads. Because, for real, I also watch old episodes of Friends at night when I have insomnia. It's a practice I started in college when my insomnia was terrible. I know all the episodes, so I never have to focus too much. I just lay there and listen to the familiar voices as my eyes close. I'll go through years at a time without insomnia, and I won't need this. With my health issues, I've been having sleep trouble recently. Watching stupid television beats taking sleeping pills as far as I'm concerned.
• Finally, you'll see my very well-worn copy of When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. This book has been my best companion for the past year. Many of you know I've been through the ringer with health and infertility. The traditional messaging I'd heard for hard times, things like "it happens for a reason" or "it's all part of the plan for you," well those things just didn't seem to work for me. Chodron's message is something more attuned to "shit happens, sometimes lots of shit happens, but it will help you understand life and be a better teacher." That was something I could get behind. I've probably themed more yoga classes from this one book than from any other. So, yea, I'm that teacher. The teacher who runs around telling everyone, "Man, life is gonna be so shitty!" when all the others say, "Man, life is ALL GOOD!" I'm okay being that teacher. It's more real for me.

I'll add that reading is a huge part of my personal daily practice. Before I do any yoga or meditation each morning, I sit down and read passages from my books. I always come to class with a message I want to share from what I've been reading. Whoever invented books, you have my never ending gratitude. They have been there for me in the deepest trenches.