Description
Book SynopsisWhy do you feel so much better after a yoga class?
What is it that takes yoga beyond being merely a way to physically exercise the body, and instead renders it a tool for effectuating deep and lasting emotional change?
In Yoga Saved My Life psychotherapist and yoga teacher Sasha Bates demystifies both yoga and psychotherapy, exploring the links between them and showing how each can be transformational. This sits alongside personal stories from members of the Fierce Calm yoga community - people who have experienced all manner of difficulties, whether due to neglect, addiction, abuse, anxiety, depression, stress or any of the other myriad ways in which we all struggle with modern life. Here they tell their stories of finding yoga, and thereby discovering a path through the beliefs and behaviours that had been holding them back and keeping them miserable.
If you've ever wondered why you feel so much better after a yoga class, then the explanations of how any why yoga works will enlighten you. Written using down to earth language and in a warm conversational tone, you will come to see how yoga is doing what psychotherapy does: providing a safe, containing, reflective space in which you can access your unconscious, develop self-awareness and find ways to relate to yourself better. This new relationship with your self offers new ways to work with the automatic habits you do without thinking, but which hold you back, practically and emotionally.
'Yoga Saved My Life shows us gently and persuasively that healing the mind is as important as healing the body, and yoga is a great way of doing this' - Vex King, author of Good Vibes, Good Life and Healing is the New High
Trade ReviewYoga Saved My Life shows us gently and persuasively that healing the mind is as important as healing the body, and yoga is a great way of doing this -- Vex King
During this very ugly moment in global history, we all need as much support as possible. Thankfully,
Sasha Bates has gifted us with a magnificent jewel, exploring the physical and psychological benefits of yoga and so much more besides. This extremely readable and engaging book offers essential life-saving wisdom and calm.
-- Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London, and Visiting Professor of Psychoanalysis and Mental Health, Regent’s University London
Such a wonderfully enjoyable - and practical - book. A lovely guided voice making sense in a crowded space. -- Liz Earle MBE
Sasha takes everyday issues of modern life - stress, anxiety, depression, insecurity, overwhelm - and clearly unpacks them psychotherapeutically while revealing how the practice of yoga can help us grow in tolerance, agency, purpose, and compassion. -- Sandra Gillespie, Somatic Therapist, London, UK
Sasha demystifies yoga and gives a refreshing antidote to the off-putting public face that yoga sometimes presents. -- Karen Russell, senior yoga teacher, and adaptive and sports yoga teacher
