Resources

Reading & Writing are powerful practices and ways to train the mind.

books we've written

We hope you enjoy our books!

Writing is a practice and a powerful way to train the mind.

books we've written

buy now
​​Written without “yoga jargon,” Feeling Happy explores the nature of happiness as a basic human capacity—and illuminates how suffering, imbalanced emotion, and confusion can cast a veil over one’s ability to truly feel happy.
 
What is the fully embodied experience of happiness, and is there any way for it to last? Feeling Happy helps you explore what happiness is and offers practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life and connection to others. Using familiar examples from everyday life, traditional understanding of one’s search for happiness, stories, and humor, Freeman and Taylor demonstrate how to find your way back home to the essence of who you are, and the direct experience of what it feels like to be truly happy. 
 
The book offers 24 accessible practices—meditations, simple movements, and breathing exercises—along with 22 black-and-white illustrative photos as guides along the path toward fully embodying happiness. These practices together with insight into the nature of being, will allow you to wake up and integrate the physical body, heart, and mind through the breath so that even in difficult times, compassion, equanimity, and happiness can emerge. 
 
Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor draw from their years of experience practicing and teaching yoga, meditation and the philosophical interfacing of yoga and Buddhism to explore what happiness is and to offer practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life. They offer insight into the nature of happiness as a basic human capacity—and illuminate how suffering, imbalanced emotion, and confusion can cast a veil over one’s ability to truly feel happy.

Some of the practices included: 
  • Focusing and calming the mind
  • Observing and engaging the breath as a guide
  • Working with difficulty and vulnerability
  • Keeping a tender and open heart
  • Building authenticity and presence
  • Attuning to yourself and to others
  • Cultivating kindness and compassion in complex times
  • And more

Feeling Happy

by Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor

buy now
In uncertain times, the traditional Indian epic the Bhagavad Gita is uniquely suited to guide us through our fear, confusion, and paralysis and help us find the way forward on the path of compassion and love. Here, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, both deeply respected yogic teachers, offer a practical, immediately relevant interpretation of the Gita that emphasizes self-reflection and waking up in our modern world. Following the traditional sequence of teachings in the Gita—from its opening scene in which the protagonist, Arjuna, finds himself in the middle of a battlefield, torn by the various paths of action he might choose in the process of awakening—Freeman and Taylor interweave insight into how these classic teachings are relevant for modern readers struggling with what it means to live responsibly in challenging times.

With quotes, citations, and a full, original translation of the text, they look at how the Gita’s teachings relate to the turmoil that arises for Arjuna, and any of us in the face of crises of conscience, spirit, and form. By exploring the essential themes such as love, wisdom, and karma and offering embodiment exercises to apply the teachings, When Love Comes to Light guides us in the step-by-step process of waking up to our intelligence and toward living a balanced life.



When Love Comes to Light

by Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor

Other languages: Chinese Edition, Spanish Edition

buy now
The Art of Vinyasa: Awakening Body and Mind through the Practice of Ashtanga Yoga takes a look at yoga as a meditation in motion that produces profound inner change. Exploring Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga not as a gymnastic feat but as a meditative form, Richard and Mary reveal that doing the practice—and particularly the vinyasa, or the breath-synchronized movements—in a deep and focused way allows practitioners to experience a profound awakening of the body and mind. It also develops an adaptable, flexible practice that can last a lifetime.

The Art of Vinyasa

by Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor

Other languages: Spanish Edition, Chinese Edition

buy now
The Mirror of Yoga: Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind is a welcome resource to all yoga practitioners who wish to better appreciate the profound philosophy underlying their practice. Richard’s wide-ranging discussion includes the Upanishads and Samkhya philosophies, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, the eight limbs of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, and much more. He also explores the role of the guru, chanting, meditation, and the yogi imperative of offering service to others.


The Mirror of Yoga

by Richard Freeman

Other languages: Spanish Edition, Chinese Edition

buy now
Women have many secrets. But a woman’s secret relationship with food and her body can overshadow other aspects of her life, filling her with obsession, shame, and fear. Many women waste countless years focusing on food and appearance, rather than spending energy on what holds deepest meaning for them.

What Are You Hungry For?

by Lynn Ginsburg and Mary Taylor


BOOKS WE’VE READ OVER THE YEARS AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR CURRENT FAVORITES.

Books That Inspire Us

Featured Read

Reading List

We hope you enjoy our books!

BOOKS WE’VE READ OVER THE YEARS AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR CURRENT FAVORITES.

Books That Inspire Us

Featured Read

buy now
There are many excellent translations of and commentaries on the Upaniṣads and,as with other classic Indian texts, our recommendation is that you add a number of them to your library so you can compare, and contrast ideas put forth by different authors. Principle Upaniṣads by S. Radhakrishnan (Harper Collins) is one of our favorite editions. It contains the 18 principle Upaniṣads, or those that are the most ancient (composed at the end of the Vedas) that have been widely read, influential in Hindu culture, and remain highly relevant to this day. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was an Indian philosopher, statesman and politician who served as the second president of India. At the beginning of his career, he was the chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at Oxford University and in part due to this he was able to translate and comment on ancient Indian ideas and ideals, like those put forth in the Upaniṣads, in ways that are readily understandable to Westerners and modern thought.

The principle upanișads

by S. Radhakrishnan

download PDF

reading list

Download
It’s ideal to go directly to the source when studying any topic. In terms of yoga theory, philosophy, and mythology that would mean that the best path is to read original versions of traditional texts. Original texts often have many layers of meaning that unfold over years of practice and a willingness to read and re-read texts under different circumstances. However, if you don’t speak Sanskrit that can be a problem. Some eager students decide to learn Sanskrit, but still the reading can be slow. So, a reasonable alternative is to read a number of different translations (and commentaries) on the same text and compare them. That way you notice biases that may be reflected in the different versions.

Our list includes:
  • Yoga Sutra
  • The Bhagavad Gita
  • Contemporary Books about Yoga
  • Yoga Practice Books
  • Anatomy Books
  • Contemporary Buddhist Books