Books published by Shambhala Publications Inc

It is time to address the dissonance between the often superficial way yoga is currently being practiced and the depth of yoga’s ancient universal spiritual teachings. In this clarion call to action, Jivana Heyman offers a blueprint for cultivating a practice based in the ancient wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras in service of those experiencing exclusion and oppression.Heyman illuminates the yogic mandate of seva—or acts of service that see, care for, and uplift those around us—as a way to serve the world without losing your way. Through pose sequences, practice prompts such as “Embracing Failure,” and stories from yoga teachers who are implementing seva in their classes, Heyman shows you what it means to serve, how to serve, and how to promote inclusivity through your service. Our job, says Heyman, is not to clear our mind through yoga practice, but rather to expand it so widely that it can embrace the entire universe.

Celebrate the diverse work of people of color in the craft community and explore the personal, political, and creative potential of textile arts and crafts.In early 2019, the craft community experienced a reckoning when crafters of color began sharing personal stories about exclusion and racial injustice in their field, pointing out the inequity and lack of visible diversity within the crafting world. Author Jen Hewett, who is one of a few prominent women of color in the fiber crafts community, now brings together this book as a direct response to the need to highlight the diverse voices of artists working in fiber arts and crafts. Weaving together interviews, first-person essays, and artist profiles, This Long Thread explores the work and contributions of people of color across the fiber arts and crafts community, representing a wide spectrum of race, age, region, cultural identity, education, and economic class. These conversations explore techniques and materials, belonging, identity, pride of place, cultural misappropriation, privilege, the value (or undervaluing) of craft, community support structures, recognition or exclusion, intergenerational dialogue, and much more.Be inspired by the work and stories of innovative people of color who are making exceptional contributions to the world of craft. The diverse range of textile artists and craftspeople featured include knitters, quilters, sewers, weavers, and more who are making inspiring and innovative work, yet who are often overlooked by mainstream media. 

Build an integrated, deeply personal practice to cultivate transformation, self-trust, and awakening with insights and techniques from beloved teacher Sarah Powers.More than just physical poses on a mat, yoga can be a profound path of self-realization. Lit from Within encourages readers to pursue yoga in its fullness, examining conscious and unconscious habits, connecting to our inner landscapes, and freeing us to relate to ourselves and our world with a sacred outlook. Sarah Powers helps readers relate to five levels of our human experience--physical, energetic, emotional, mental, and interpersonal. Each section offers an opportunity for self-inquiry and practices to fuel our growth, including yin yoga, meditation, emotional intelligence exercises like creating connection with an inner critic, and interpersonal dynamics drawn from the Internal Family Systems approach. Learning to recognize, reflect on, and at times re-direct these different levels of experience adds a vital dimension to the practice. The book draws on Sarah''s many years of practice and teaching, influenced by the rich tapestries of yin yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and psychology.In these challenging times, Lit from Within offers a path to health, wholeness, and connection--from the inside out.

Maitrīpa (986–1063) is one of the greatest and most influential Indian yogis of Vajrayāna Buddhism. The legacy of his thought and meditation instructions have had a profound impact on Buddhism in India and Tibet, and several important contemporary practice lineages continue to rely on his teachings.Early in his life, Maitrīpa gained renown as a monk and scholar, but it was only after he left his monastery and wandered throughout India as a yogi that he had a direct experience of nonconceptual realization. Once Maitrīpa awakened to this nondual nature of reality, he was able to harmonize the scholastic teachings of Buddhist philosophy with esoteric meditation instructions. This is reflected in his writings that are renowned for evoking a meditative state in those who have trained appropriately. He eventually became the teacher of many well-known accomplished masters, including Padampa Sangyé and the translator Marpa, who brought his teachings to Tibet.Drawing on Maitrīpa’s autobiographical writings and literary work, this book is the first comprehensive portrait of the life and teachings of this influential Buddhist master. Klaus-Dieter Mathes also offers the first complete English translation of his teachings on nonconceptual realization, which is the foundation of Mahāmudrā meditation.

An Ancient Collection ReimaginedComposed around the Buddha’s lifetime, the original Therigatha (“Verses of the Elder Nuns”) contains the poems of the first Buddhist women: princesses and courtesans, tired wives of arranged marriages and the desperately in love, those born into limitless wealth and those born with nothing at all. The authors of the Therigatha were women from every kind of background, but they all shared a deep-seated desire for awakening and liberation. In The First Free Women, Matty Weingast has reimagined this ancient collection and created an original work that takes his experience of the essence of each poem and brings forth in his own words the struggles and doubts, as well as the strength, perseverance, and profound compassion, embodied by these courageous women.

2022 National Parenting Product Award WinnerEmpower kids to explore the world inside themselves and let their imaginations take flight!You are COLORFUL like a Rainbow after a storm.You are BRAVE as a Butterfly spreading its wings.You are a force of nature.This board book encourages kids ages 1-3 to be curious about the world around them and to recognize the same brave, playful, colorful, and crabby qualities found in animals and nature within themselves. Discovering these qualities can pique their curiosity about the world around them while giving them a sense of richness and confidence about who they are. Beginning with the shining sun, each page intentionally shifts the energy to bring the child to a state of rest and ease at the end of the book, ready for sleep.

The first and only commentary on the Buddhist master Longchenpa''s essential text on Dzogchen by modern scholar and Nyingma master, Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk.Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), also known as Longchenpa, is a great luminary of Tibetan Buddhism. Regarded as a master of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, Longchenpa''s prolific writings have made him one of Tibet''s most renowned and precious teachers. In clear and elegant verse, Longchenpa''s Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature establishes the definitive view of the ultimate nature of mind according to the secret class of pith instructions of the Great Perfection. Aside from the auto-commentary composed by Longchenpa himself in the fourteenth century, the first and only commentary ever to have been written on this work was composed in the twentieth century by Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk, a teacher, scholar, and preserver of Buddhist monastic and scholarly culture in Tibet. This work marks the first step in translating the collected works of this modern Nyingma master. In this commentary, Khangsar Khenpo guides Dzogchen practitioners to experience and understand the phenomena of the outer world detected by the senses as well as the subjective mental and emotional states that apprehend them in order to bring the student to a recognition and stabilized experience of ultimate truth.

Winner of the 2022 Eating the West Award! An accessible guide to time-honored Indigenous wisdom, healing recipes, and wellness rituals for modern life from an experienced curandera.In Earth Medicines, Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, a curandera (or traditional healer) who is a Xicana with Tewa ancestry, combines Indigenous wisdom from many traditions with the power of the four elements. This modern guide is designed to support readers on their path to wellness with lifestyle practices and recipes perfected by Ruiz in her twenty-five years of training and working as a curandera. Ruiz teaches readers to be their own healers by discovering their own ancestral practices and cultivating a personal connection to the elements. These healing recipes and rituals draw on the power of Water, Air, Earth, and Fire—a reminder that the natural elements are the origins of everything and can heal not only our bodies, but the mind and spirit as well. In chapters organized by each element, readers will first find recipes and advice for:Promoting inner harmony through Hydrotherapy for Headache Relief, Mayan Tea to Calm the Mind, or Ginger Fire Honey ChewsNurturing beauty inside and out with Tepezcohuite Honey Mask, Salt of the Earth Deodorant, or Sweetwater Herbal Mouth RinseTaking care of the spirit by creating an ancestral altar, making loose incense, or performing a Mayan Bajo Steaming Ritual

Travel with Bodhi through seek-and-find illustrations as she takes a plane, boat, and tuk-tuk to explore a new country and culture in vibrant, bustling Bangkok, Thailand.Bodhi is high above the clouds, in a plane on her way to Thailand. She's never been to the city named Bangkok, and she's not certain what sights, sounds, and experiences await her there. Stepping into the streets, Bodhi suddenly finds herself a long way from home and not sure if she belongs in this new place. The city is a symphony of noises with horns beeping, engines roaring, and people speaking in Thai. But after visiting the golden temple and quieting her mind, Bodhi begins to see that Thailand is not that different from home after all. Trees still grow tall, kids play games just like her friends, and a smile is the same in every language. With this new outlook, Bodhi opens her heart to the kindness and compassion already within and realizes that even though she is far away from the place she calls home, she is right where she belongs amongst the busy streets, Loi Krathong celebrations, and floating markets of Bangkok. Bodhi Sees the World shares with children:A list of facts and information about the important landmarks and places Bodhi visits, including the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, the Chao Phraya River, and the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market;How to say basic greetings and phrases in Thai;And introduces a new culture and customs.

The human heart forms the essential link between body and spirit. In Heart Open, Body Awake, master somatics teacher Susan Aposhyan presents a simple yet richly detailed four-part practice to experience this link in all its unfolding wonder: opening our hearts, feeling our bodies, allowing ourselves to move and be moved, and connecting with the world in its fullness. Aposhyan weaves together insights from a range of scientific, psychological, and spiritual traditions to present a practical path toward embodied spirituality. Beautiful anatomical illustrations help readers to visualize the body systems, processes, and movements described in the book. Through the practices offered in Heart Open, Body Awake, your sense of spiritual wellness can become as near and palpable as your sensitive, beating heart.

A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West.All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth.Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.

“There’s so much to learn and so much to know. It’s good to keep moving forward. And yet whatever we have is, in a very profound way, absolutely complete and always enough.”—Kyogen Carlson   Kyogen Carlson (1948–2014) was a Soto Zen priest whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue supported and inspired countless Buddhist, Christian, and other spiritual practitioners. Set to the rhythm of the seasons, You Are Still Here is the first published collection of Carlson’s dharma talks. It illuminates key elements of contemporary Zen practice, such as the experience of zazen meditation, the pitfalls and intimacies of the teacher-student relationship and of sangha life, the role of community in personal practice, and the importance of interfaith dialogue reaching across political lines. Carlson’s teachings also underscore his commitment to lay Buddhist practice and women’s lineages, both significant contributions to American Buddhism. The beautifully distilled talks have been carefully edited and introduced by Sallie Jiko Tisdale, a respected writer, teacher, and Dharma heir to Carlson. Her masterful presentation highlights the significance of these illuminating teachings, while preserving Carlson’s distinct style of authenticity, humor, and conviction on the Zen path.

Whether he's conscious of it or not, a man's mother is the model for just about every relationship with a woman he has for the rest of his life. Sometimes it's obvious (just ask his wife or girlfriend), sometimes it's more subtle, but when you see it, it becomes crystal clear. For fifteen years, this book has helped men understand their mothers' pervasive influence over the way they relate to women-both the positive and negative aspects of it. But more than that, it has helped thousands of men break free of old relationship patterns. Gurian gives men a wealth of practical exercises and meditations they can use to recognize their mothers' influence in relationships, and to establish a healthy and rewarding new basis for relationships that will benefit themselves and the women in their lives as well. This new edition of the book formerly titled Mothers, Sons, and Lovers includes a new preface and study questions by the author.

From the author of The Healing Power of Mind, an accessible guide to Tibetan Buddhist loving-kindness meditation--with downloadable guided meditations.All Buddhist traditions teach that the practice of loving-kindness can transform our lives. Here, Tulku Thondup offers a step-by-step guide to a Tibetan Buddhist approach to loving-kindness meditation, which focuses on connecting to Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Dividing the practice into twelve simple steps, this book provides everything readers need to uncover their innate joy and compassion. The accompanying downloadable audio program guides meditators through the steps of visualizing Avalokitesvara, generating devotion to the ideals he embodies, and radiating loving-kindness to all beings in the universe.

A superb collection of writings on buddha nature by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339) focusing on the transition from ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom, the characteristics of buddhahood, and a buddha's enlightened activity--now in paperback.The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, propounded a unique synthesis of Yogacara, Madhyamaka, and the classical teachings on buddha nature. His work occupies an important position between its Indian predecessors and the later, often highly charged, debates in Tibet about rangtong ("self-emptiness") and shentong ("other-emptiness"). The Third Karmapa is widely renowned as one of the major proponents of the Tibetan shentong tradition. This book contains a collection of some of his main writings on buddha nature; the transition of ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom; and the characteristics of buddhahood.Though relying strictly on classical Indian sources, the Karmapa's texts are not mere scholarly documents. Their topics and styles bear great significance for practicing the Sutrayana and the Vajrayana as understood in the Kagyü tradition to the present day, thus making what is described in these texts a living experience.

A fresh translation and commentary on a classic collection of 100 koans from thirteenth-century China.The Record of Empty Hall was written by Xutang Zhiyu (1185-1269), an important figure in Chinese Linji Chan (Japanese Rinzai Zen) Buddhism and in its transmission to Japan. Although previously little-known in the West, Xutang's work is on par with the other great koan collections of the era, such as The Blue Cliff Record and Book of Serenity.Translated by Zen teacher Dosho Port from the original Chinese, The Record of Empty Hall opens new paths into the earthiness, humor, mystery, and multiplicity of meaning that are at the heart of koan inquiry. Inspired by the pithy, frank tone of Xutang's originals, Port also offers his own commentaries on the koans, helping readers to see the modern and relatable applications of these thirteenth-century encounter stories. Readers familiar with koans will recognize key figures, such as Bodhidharma, Nanquan, and Zhaozhou and will also be introduced to teaching icons not found in other koan collections. Through his commentaries, as well as a glossary of major figures and an appendix detailing the cases, Port not only opens up these remarkable koans but also illuminates their place in ancient Chinese, Japanese, and contemporary Zen practice.