Acclaimed yoga and meditation teacher Sarah Powers is known and loved for her unique approach—Insight Yoga—which combines traditional yoga with the meridians of Chinese medicine, as well as Buddhist meditation. Using Yin (passive) and Yang (dynamic) poses, she demonstrates a series of different yoga sequences that bring benefit to organs, muscles, joints, and tendons—as well as the mind. She also provides a foundational explanation of traditional Chinese medicine theory and mindfulness meditation instruction. Sarah Powers brings us on an inspiring journey inward, and shows the path for cultivating a lasting relationship with yoga that cultivates and strengthens our physical well-being and our mental and emotional clarity.
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“Sarah Powers seamlessly integrates her unique expressions of yin and yang yogas, with traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism, and Buddhism, to create one of the most complete and balanced systems of modern yoga. This is a teaching of great warmth and intelligence that will heal your body, invigorate your mind, and inspire your soul.”—Richard Rosen, author of The Yoga of Breath
“Sarah Powers brings us a truly brilliant integration of yin and yang yoga, mindfulness, Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and the genius of traditional Chinese medicine. This book belongs in the library of every serious practitioner of yoga and meditation.”—Stephen Cope, Director, Kripalu Institute, author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self
“When I first met Sarah it didn’t take me long to figure out that she was a yogini of relentless curiosity and great depth. In Insight Yoga she lets the reader into her thinking, her practice, and her life in a way that both inspires and instructs. Insight Yoga is destined to become a classic.”—Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT, author of A Year of Living Your Yoga
“Sarah Powers’s synthesis of wisdom traditions is awesome. Indeed, each tradition is like a transparent map, which when overlaid one upon another, gives a more complete rendering of the Living Event in which we are all participants. Insight Yoga will be of tremendous interest and benefit to many people.”—Erich Schiffmann, author of Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness
“Sarah Powers brings us a truly brilliant integration of yin and yang yoga, mindfulness, Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and the genius of traditional Chinese medicine. This book belongs in the library of every serious practitioner of yoga and meditation.”—Stephen Cope, Director, Kripalu Institute, author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self
“When I first met Sarah it didn’t take me long to figure out that she was a yogini of relentless curiosity and great depth. In Insight Yoga she lets the reader into her thinking, her practice, and her life in a way that both inspires and instructs. Insight Yoga is destined to become a classic.”—Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT, author of A Year of Living Your Yoga
“Sarah Powers’s synthesis of wisdom traditions is awesome. Indeed, each tradition is like a transparent map, which when overlaid one upon another, gives a more complete rendering of the Living Event in which we are all participants. Insight Yoga will be of tremendous interest and benefit to many people.”—Erich Schiffmann, author of Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness
About the Author
Sarah Powers has been teaching yoga since 1987. She leads yoga retreats throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. She lives with her husband, Ty Powers, and their teenage daughter in Marin, California.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been waiting a long time to read Sarah's new offering to the world of yoga. She didn't disappoint. I highly recommend Insight Yoga to everyone who loves Yin Yoga. However, the book is not just about Yin. It is a complete book on Yoga, both the active, dynamic yang style and the deeper, allowing yin style. Sarah's eloquence shines through in her writing as clearly as it does in her classes.
Insight Yoga offers a very good description of the Daoist philosophy of chi and the organs. Sarah does a great job of explaining the role of the organs from our Western understanding and from the Daoist view of their importance to our physical, mental and emotional health: it is the best description I have come across. Many students are curious as to which organs are related to which emotional imbalances. Their questions are answered clearly here. Sarah also does a wonderful job of showing how the various postures affect the meridians and their related organs. There are several flows that anyone can follow: both yin and yang. The yang sequences range from easily accessible to challenging. The photos are large, clear and very helpful in describing the postures and variations.
This book is not just about postures, energy or Yin Yoga. Sarah also blends her unique meditative teaching into the full yogic journey. She explains pranayama and meditation. She has a complete section on mindfulness training preceded by an introduction to the teachings of the Buddha (Buddha Dharma). This book should be on the shelves of every yogi, whether a yinster or a yangster. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Insight Yoga offers a very good description of the Daoist philosophy of chi and the organs. Sarah does a great job of explaining the role of the organs from our Western understanding and from the Daoist view of their importance to our physical, mental and emotional health: it is the best description I have come across. Many students are curious as to which organs are related to which emotional imbalances. Their questions are answered clearly here. Sarah also does a wonderful job of showing how the various postures affect the meridians and their related organs. There are several flows that anyone can follow: both yin and yang. The yang sequences range from easily accessible to challenging. The photos are large, clear and very helpful in describing the postures and variations.
This book is not just about postures, energy or Yin Yoga. Sarah also blends her unique meditative teaching into the full yogic journey. She explains pranayama and meditation. She has a complete section on mindfulness training preceded by an introduction to the teachings of the Buddha (Buddha Dharma). This book should be on the shelves of every yogi, whether a yinster or a yangster. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By D. Christie
Format:Paperback
This is a book I can grab onto as a guidebook for developing my Yoga practice, as well deepening and expanding my practice. The photos allow me to have a clear vision of each posture and modifications of the pose. That really helps me and answers the questions of how to do the poses correctly. Everyday, when I roll out my yoga mat I open Sarah's book as a security blanket and a guide. Sarah has a way of helping me to learn about myself on all levels, by being curious and continually inquisitive. She invites you to experience mini-meditations in the yin yoga poses, stimulates your mind by explaining Chinese meridian lines and how we can affect them; and she offers creative ideas for a flow series to compliment the long, slow holds of yin yoga.
Sarah clearly reveals her development and passion for yoga. She invites the student to create a practice that can stir deep feelings of what being vibrantly alive really means.
Learning about the Chinese meridians and how yoga poses can clear, open and increase the amount of energy moving through the body, is invigorating and calming at that same time.
This book is terrific. I like that there are poses and sequences of poses, Chinese Meridian and organ health theory; and a collection of Pranayama breathing techniques to work with.
Sarah's explains mindfulness training clearly and gives guideline including the Four Foundations of Mindfulness explained in depth. This book is a MUST in your yoga library and yoga studio and by your yoga mat. It weaves an understanding of Yoga, Chinese Medicine and Buddhism into one guidebook that is a joy to open and explore again and again I learn something new every time I open Insight Yoga.. It is a wealth of practical and personal information for increased healing and well being.
Sarah clearly reveals her development and passion for yoga. She invites the student to create a practice that can stir deep feelings of what being vibrantly alive really means.
Learning about the Chinese meridians and how yoga poses can clear, open and increase the amount of energy moving through the body, is invigorating and calming at that same time.
This book is terrific. I like that there are poses and sequences of poses, Chinese Meridian and organ health theory; and a collection of Pranayama breathing techniques to work with.
Sarah's explains mindfulness training clearly and gives guideline including the Four Foundations of Mindfulness explained in depth. This book is a MUST in your yoga library and yoga studio and by your yoga mat. It weaves an understanding of Yoga, Chinese Medicine and Buddhism into one guidebook that is a joy to open and explore again and again I learn something new every time I open Insight Yoga.. It is a wealth of practical and personal information for increased healing and well being.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sarah Powers takes us to the next level where yoga can truly impact many aspects of our lives. Her intelligence, eloquence and beauty shine through on every page in simple, clear text alongside informative pictures of her innovative poses. Central to her Insight Yoga are the connections between our body, emotions and mind. Through a customizable mixture of yoga -- Yin (invented by Sarah and Paul Grilley which targets joints, tendons and ligaments and is more passive with poses held for about 3 - 5 minutes) and Yang (Hatha which targets our muscles and is more active) as well as Mindfulness Meditation, she makes it easy for us to self-regulate our energies and self-heal physically and emotionally. For anyone who wants to radiate from a core of well-being, Insight Yoga is a must.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Primer for yoga, breathing, meditation, Buddhism and Traditional Chinese Medicine
August 7, 2009
Format:Paperback
An ambitious undertaking, and even more impressive that so much information is covered in 192 pages, albeit oversized.
This is not the first offering for Yin Yoga (a synthesis of Hatha Yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine which sequences postures based on the targeted meridians and requires postures to be held for up to five minutes). What makes her unique is her offering of both Yin- and Yang-style yoga. A smart move, because while quieter, yin styles of yoga have started to regain some popularity, most of the yoga still being practiced in classes is of the vigorous, yang style, and most of it's participants will probably still want to find a way to include that into their practice in a time-efficient way. In addition to offering instruction for a variety of postures in both styles, she also offers several sequence suggestions at the end of the book to start tailoring your personal practice.
I have been a yoga instructor for several years, so while I found the instructions for the postures technically accurate, there wasn't too much new information for me. What I really enjoyed reading about was the information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, particularly Meridian Theory (lines of energy linked to organs of the body). In addition to information about the physical and energetic attributes of each meridian pairing, Powers also gives diagrams for where the meridians flow from, through and to. These are worth close study, because some of it is not intuitive (for me, anyway). After that, Powers goes on to provide a practice specific to each pairing, where she also superimposes lines to make clear why a certain posture is appropriate for that pairing.... Read more ›
This is not the first offering for Yin Yoga (a synthesis of Hatha Yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine which sequences postures based on the targeted meridians and requires postures to be held for up to five minutes). What makes her unique is her offering of both Yin- and Yang-style yoga. A smart move, because while quieter, yin styles of yoga have started to regain some popularity, most of the yoga still being practiced in classes is of the vigorous, yang style, and most of it's participants will probably still want to find a way to include that into their practice in a time-efficient way. In addition to offering instruction for a variety of postures in both styles, she also offers several sequence suggestions at the end of the book to start tailoring your personal practice.
I have been a yoga instructor for several years, so while I found the instructions for the postures technically accurate, there wasn't too much new information for me. What I really enjoyed reading about was the information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, particularly Meridian Theory (lines of energy linked to organs of the body). In addition to information about the physical and energetic attributes of each meridian pairing, Powers also gives diagrams for where the meridians flow from, through and to. These are worth close study, because some of it is not intuitive (for me, anyway). After that, Powers goes on to provide a practice specific to each pairing, where she also superimposes lines to make clear why a certain posture is appropriate for that pairing.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent resource
A very intersting concept of self accupressure though yoga. I love it and use it as a resource for my own yoga classes.
Published 26 days ago by M. Colner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
This is an excellent book for anyone that wants to do Yin Yoga at home. I do yoga 6 times a week and a yin yoga class every other week. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Linda Karner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this book!
Sarah Powers does a clear and precise job guiding one in the understanding and practice of Yin Yoga. I take this book on the road with me as a self care reference. Read more
Published 3 months ago by MntSunShine
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great resource & food for thought
I bought this because I was looking for a more meditative approach to my fitness & health concerns - a lot of great information here, probably most valuable for those who are... Read more
Published 5 months ago by aco46
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
The information and descriptions in the book are very good. Alternative poses covering different levels of difficulty is very useful.
Published 6 months ago by B J SMITH
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book
Sarah Powers has a rare and wonderful gift for writing. I have been teaching yoga for 11 years and am always thrilled to find deeper inspiration through other's teachings, but it... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Yoga off the mat
4.0 out of 5 stars
Needs an index to achieve five stars
First, the negative. I'm a big believer in, and user of indexes. This book has a rudimentary index of yoga postures and that's not enough. Read more
Published 10 months ago by lonebeaut
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE...BEST...BOOK...EVER!!!!
The MOST amazing book and style of yoga EVER!!! Sarah is so eliquant in her writing, I love it! This style of yoga has inspired me and got me through the hardest times in life,... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Meli
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insight Yoga
I am enjoying reading this book as I am taking yoga classes. It helps with the various poses and the detailed explanations of the benefits for each pose.
Published 20 months ago by Ornella Yasuhara
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yoga book full of information
My yoga instructor suggested this book to me as she thought it would target some body issues I am having and it would slow me down. Read more
Published 23 months ago by LMB
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