I love reading; I was an English lit major in college, and I review books for a living. Most of my life my nose has been in a book.  My favorite author is Jane Austen and I can’t even remember how many times I’ve read Pride & Prejudice.  But lately, I just want to read books about yoga and yoga-related topics. The last novel I read (it shall go unnamed) was so depressing I couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. Lately, I just want to be guided and uplifted.

            In fact, a few years ago, I joined a yoga book club. No, we don’t read while we’re standing on our heads, but we do read yoga and spiritual books and get together every six weeks or so to discuss them.  Talking about yoga books with other yogis is fun and inspiring (most of my non-yogi friends would not be interested in reading about the life of Yogananda or warm to the advice of Yogi Bhajan or BKS Iyengar).

            That said, I wanted to share with you a great new book on meditation by Reverend Jaganath Carrera. Many of you may know Reverend Jaganath as he is a popular speaker at many of our local yoga studios. He is the founder and spiritual head of Yoga Life Society and is also the author of Inside the Yoga Sutras, which is a fantastic book explaining the sutras in a way that even a yoga newbie can understand.

            His new book, called Awaken: Inside Yoga Meditation (Yoga Life Publications) is a user-friendly and comprehensive guide for both new and seasoned meditators.  He covers just about every meditation-related topic you could imagine, and with grace and ease. He has sections on where to meditate, how to sit, how to begin and how to end, what to do when the mind wanders (as it inevitably will). He explains mantras and even offers sample meditation routines. He also includes information on the roots of yoga meditation, including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradeepika, and the Upanishads. From the basic to the complex, Awaken has it all.

            There are plenty of books about yoga and meditation, but this is one of the best I’ve come across. You can find out more at Yoga Life Society.  I wish you all the time and space for peaceful meditation (and please let me know how you like the book!).