Excerpt from "Boomer Yoga" by Beryl Bender Birch - Part 3 of 3

Following is the last part of the inspiring Introduction from the latest book by renowned Power Yoga instructor Beryl Bender Birch - Boomer Yoga: Energizing the Years Ahead for Men & Women.

Whether you want to develop the strongest asana practice you can or tone down a blazing training routine you’ve been doing for years, boomer yoga can help you to turn up the heat or dial it down. The practice will slowly lead you through each of the eight limbs of classical yoga and help you move from the postures (asana) to energy control (pranayama) to concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana). So, whether you’re starting a regular meditation practice for the first time or you’ve been practicing meditation for a long time, here is a tool, a method to follow that will easily bring you greater health, stability, balance, and peace of mind.  But the biggest thing I hope you will learn from Boomer Yoga is that asana is the equivalent of kindergarten in yoga. It is important to do for life, for health and fitness, but it is still only a small part of what is meant by yoga. Asana is only meant to be an aid to preparing us for the deeper work of yoga, specifically meditation. Can asana keep us healthy, agile and pliable, and more resistant to injury in our sports activities and everyday life? No question. And that is certainly why we get started in yoga and an important reason we continue. But it’s still only a gateway to a vast unlimited awareness of our own boundlessness. That is the experience of yoga. The Boomer Yoga routine takes only 40 minutes, but the true practice of it, of learning to be fully present, happens 24/7. 

Beryl Bender Birch Bio and Links