Off The Mat: Thoughts From a Yoga Practice [Paperback]

Nicole Billa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2006

Most people think of Yoga as a physical exercise, good for flexibility and maybe even relaxation. But Yoga has so much more to offer than that. In this inspiring volume of essays, Yoga teacher Nicole DiSalvo Billa, shares insights into how the effects of Yoga practice can be even more powerful off the mat. Weaving together Yoga philosophy and personal experience, these essays offer wisdom regarding how Yoga can enrich and enlighten our daily lives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicole Billa, RYT, graduated from Bard College after studying creative writing and philosophy. She has been practicing Yoga for six years, and began her Yoga teaching career in 2003. Nicole believes the practice of Yoga has the potential to transform lives. She lives in northern New Jersey with her husband, Mike, sons, Julian and Kai, three turtles, a snake, a frog, and a crested gecko. Visit her website at www.beyouyoga.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 78 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (October 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059541740X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595417407
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle wisdom in the things of everyday life, June 17, 2007

By 

William Courson "William Courson" (Montclair, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Off The Mat: Thoughts From a Yoga Practice (Paperback)

Non-practitioners of yoga usually conceive of the ancient practice as a means to physical fitness, promoting youthful vitality, flexibility and defeating the effects of stress.

Yoga is indeed these things, but so very much more that one hardly knows where to begin: perhaps it is best to begin by saying that yoga is first of all a way of life, a means of integrating body, mind and spirit to achieve the optimal functioning of each. Yoga sharpens the intellect, makes the heart grow more tender and compassionate, and heightens sensitivity to others and to situations, all while promoting physical health.

In this delightful and inspiring collection of essays, Nicole Billa beautifully illustrates some of the many ways that the practice of yoga has impacted on her life and the lives of her students, among many others. She shares her thoughts about how practitioners take yoga's teachings "off the mat" and out into the everyday world of spouses and children, business and family and social obligations, jobs and traffic jams and grocery shopping. Using the experiences of everyday living, the author weaves the subtle wisdom of yogic philosophy, like a golden thread, throughout her anecdotes.

This is a delightfully readable book and I very much appreciate the author's casual, conversational style: I read it from cover-to-cover in the course of a day. It is also an important book, one that in a very few pages (65) manages a Herculean task: to convey the "flavor" of yoga to the non-initiate.

If there were any "first book" that I would recommend to someone new to the world of yoga, this is it. It is also a joy for the experienced yogi to read helping to remind us (and we sometimes need reminding) of the reasons we do what we do.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary aphorisms on ancient wisdom, October 17, 2007

By 

Chexpeare "Chexpeare" (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Off The Mat: Thoughts From a Yoga Practice (Paperback)

Are you either developing, or starting, a yoga practice? Perhaps you are an advanced practitioner, or even a yoga teacher, looking for a little bit of earthy wisdom and insight. If so, then buy "Off The Mat" and keep it on your mat. This little book is so simple, intelligent, honest and unpretentious that it is hard to put down once you start. In a series of short essays, Nicole DiSalvo Billa encapsulates the lessons learned through her yoga practice over the years. The reader can easily relate to the challenges of past, present, future, family, work and living. In effect, this anthology forms a cohesive tale of anyone's journey through the labyrinth of obstacles that life, mind and body throws at us along the way. It's all here: struggles, joys, goals, doubts, uncertainties, trials, tribulations, humor and the resulting epiphanies precipitating from the experience. Through it all runs the thread of love, acceptance and understanding. As she confronts her challenges with curiosity, courage and forebearance, Nicole generously shares some private snapshots with whomever is in need of inspiration and reassurance. This effort was obviously born out of love, dear reader. Buy the book. Read the book. It's human...all too human. It encourages us to release any expectations and prejudices we may be harbouring in our minds about ourselves and, thereby, plant the seeds for growth. This author will inspire you...you may even experience an empathetic wink and a smile.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yoga...not just for the limber hippy anymore!, January 28, 2007

By 

Carl DiNapoli (Elmwood Park, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Off The Mat: Thoughts From a Yoga Practice (Paperback)

I bought this book for my wife and after listening to her go on and on about it, she told me I just have to read this. So, just as every whipped husband should do, I did what I was told...and loved it. Really. The author's ideas of how yoga doesn't have to be limited to folding yourself in ways that would make a contortionist cringe are actually really interesting. The author focuses on the spiritual, everyday aspect and really opened my eyes to a whole different side of yoga. This is a collection of essays that anyone can identify with. An annoying neighbor, kids driving you to the brink of insanity and so on. She discusses how yoga practices and spirituality helped her through it. It's frank, personal, and involving, and in the tradition of other essayists, it can be absorbed in whole or in parts. Definitely worth the read.

My wife would also like me to add that it's a great way for anyone...young or old, the busy executive or the stay-at-home mom to get in a little dose of peace, exercise and general well being anytime of the day or night.

I couldn't agree more.