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Title details for Yoke by Jessamyn Stanley - Available

Yoke

My Yoga of Self-Acceptance

by Jessamyn Stanley
Jessamyn Stanley
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat.
In Sanskrit, yoga means to "yoke." To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of "yoke" is what Jessamyn Stanley calls the yoga of the everyday—a yoga that is not just about perfecting your downward dog but about applying the hard lessons learned on the mat to the even harder daily project of living.
In a series of deeply honest, funny autobiographical essays, Jessamyn explores everything from imposter syndrome to cannabis to why it's a full-time job loving yourself, all through the lens of yoke. She calls out an American yoga complex that prefers debating the merits of cotton versus polyblend leggings rather than owning up to its overwhelming Whiteness. She questions why the Western take on yoga so often misses—or misuses—the tradition's spiritual dimension. And reveals what she calls her own "whole-ass problematic": Growing up Baháí, loving astrology, learning to meditate, finding prana in music.
And in the end, Jessamyn invites every reader to find the authentic spirit of yoke—linking that good and that bad, that light and that dark.


  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 22, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781649040190
      • File size: 129224 KB
      • Duration: 04:29:12

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Yoga teacher and Black body positive advocate Jessamyn Stanley offers up a collection of personal essays on the subjects of yoga, wellness, and life. She focuses on the beginner's mindset when explaining the benefits and importance of yoga and how the discipline relates to modern society and its struggles. Thoughtful and fun, each piece of writing reveals inspiring and authentic views that support self-love and acceptance using yoga and everything it encompasses. With vulnerability that is both hilarious and profound, Stanley shares her relationship with yoga and avoids the superficial portrayal of the practice that is often displayed on social media. Those who appreciate honesty mixed with encouragement will enjoy this audiobook--part memoir, part homage to yoga. D.Z. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from May 1, 2021

      With her book Every Body Yoga and her online yoga community, Stanley has helped change the idea of the "yoga body" and open discourses about the importance of decolonizing fitness. Stanley's voice is a practical complement to books like Sabrina Strings's Fearing the Black Body or Christy Harrison's Anti-Diet. Here, Stanley shares stories of being excluded from all-white Western yoga spaces, and explains that loving the bodies we inhabit must be a part of any form of antiracist, anti-capitalist work. The book begins with raw discussion of imposter syndrome, and Stanley's experience of it; with each chapter, it becomes clearer that her experiences in yoga have engendered a powerful motivation to interrogate the discourses that made her feel marginal. Her book reads like a conversation with a friend; a friend who drags you to yoga class and calls you out when your negative self-talk functions as microaggression. VERDICT This is a book for all readers, as a practical manual for embodied spiritual activism, a guide to decolonizing wellness, a tool for recognizing privilege, and a reminder that yoga isn't the corporate fantasy businesses make it out to be. Essential reading.--Emily Bowles, Lawrence Univ., WI

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from June 1, 2021
      Yoga teacher and artist Stanley (Every Body Yoga, 2017) continues to inspire audiences with her charm, elegance, honesty, and intelligence. Writing in a straightforward, unapologetic tone that will make readers laugh and feel heard, Stanley explains the history of yoga, the differences between American and classical yoga, and the American yoga industry and its problematic issues, such as cultural appropriation. Stanley teaches readers the yoga of everyday life, which offers flexibility and strength through life's difficulties. As she puts it, "when someone cuts you off in traffic and you resist the urge to road rage on them? That's yoga. Even if you do road rage on them, that's STILL yoga." With conversations on body size, race, sexual orientation, faith, and self-love, Stanley takes readers through a personal journey, covering everything from relationships and cramped apartments to coming out and racist yoga experiences. Readers who have dealt with struggles of impostor syndrome, self-doubt, and the difficulty of fitting into a space where no one looks like them will relate strongly. Abstract, funny, heartfelt, and inspiring, Yoke is a fundamental book for those learning to feel present in their emotions and to take up space for themselves, both on the yoga mat and off.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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