Aleph-Bet Yoga - Embodying the Hebrew Letters for Physical and Spiritual Well-Being

Explore the inner meaning of the Hebrew alphabet and the deep connections between our body, mind and spirit. Step-by-step instructions, insights and photographs guide us in connecting the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters to our yoga practice.

List of contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 What Is Aleph-Bet Yoga?
2 Getting Started with Hatha Yoga Poses
3 Poses, Letters, and Words
4 The Aleph-Bet Yoga Series—the Proper Order of a Yoga Session
Suggestions for Further Study
Notes About Jewish Lights

About the author

Steven A. Rapp has been a yoga practitioner for over ten years and is a yoga teacher in Boston. He is author of Aleph-Bet Yoga: Embodying the Hebrew Letters for Physical and Spiritual Well-Being and coauthor of The Jewish Pregnancy Book: A Resource for the Soul, Body and Mind During Pregnancy, Birth and the First Three Months. He also teaches religious school at Temple Beth David in Canton, Massachusetts, and offers personal instruction to those seeking to link traditional yoga practice and Judaism. He lives with his wife and three children in Randolph, Massachusetts.
Steven A. Rapp is available to speak on the following topics:

• Jewish Approach to Yoga

Tamar Frankiel, PhD, is recognized as one of the leading teachers of Jewish mysticism today. She teaches Jewish mysticism and comparative religion at the Academy for Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, and is the author of many books, including The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional Judaism. She is coauthor of Minding the Temple of the Soul: Balancing Body, Mind, and Spirit through Traditional Jewish Prayer, Movement, and Meditation and Entering the Temple of Dreams: Jewish Prayers, Movements, and Meditations for the End of the Day (both Jewish Lights). She lectures frequently on topics of Jewish mysticism. Frankiel lives with her husband and five children in Los Angeles.
Judy Greenfeld, second invested cantor at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California. She leads the New Emanuel minyan, a weekly progressive prayer service.
Hart Lazer is a popular yoga teacher in Manitoba, Canada. His work and techniques were one of the inspirations behind David A. Cooper's book Renewing Your Soul: A Guided Retreat for the Sabbath and Other Days of Rest, which was revised and reissued as The Handbook of Jewish Meditation Practices: A Guide for Enriching the Sabbath and Other Days of Your Life (Jewish Lights, 2000).

Summary

Combine the ancient practice of hatha yoga with the shapes and mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters to enhance your physical health and deepen your spiritual life.
This unique guide shows both the yoga enthusiast and the yoga novice how to use hatha yoga postures and techniques to physically connect with Jewish spirituality.

"If you are curious about hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga provides a safe introduction to the basic yoga postures and techniques. If you are one of the tens of thousands of Jews who already practice hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga will connect your yoga to something explicitly Jewish. With its Jewish content and intent, Aleph-Bet Yoga will enhance rather than interfere with your religious identity."
—from the Introduction

As we move our bodies through the Hebrew aleph-bet, turning toward the inner meaning of the letters, we can tap into the deep connections between our body, mind and spirit.
Drawing on the sacred texts and mystical writings of Judaism, combined with the insights of yoga teacher Steven Rapp, Aleph-Bet Yoga is an East-meets-West experience for our whole selves.
Aleph-Bet Yoga makes it easy for anyone to incorporate yoga into their life, and combines the physical and spiritual aspects of Judaism. It features step-by-step instructions, photographs clearly demonstrating each yoga pose, and insightful words to inspire and guide us in connecting the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters to our yoga practice.

Additional text

"Beautifully synthesized yoga and Judaism in understandable and poetic ways. A testament to the power of yoga as a way of life to enhance any faith."
—Marsha Wenig, creator of YogaKids
"At last, a whole-bodied approach to Hebrew that not only informs the mind but opens the soul. This is not your Bubbe's aleph-bet book, but it should have been"
—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, translator/annotator of The Hebrew Prophets: Selections Annotated and Explained and Hasidic Tales: Annotated and Explained

"An intriguing, interesting and innovative concept. Using Hebrew letters as parallels to ancient yogic asansas opens exciting possibilities of intregration."
—Aruni Nan Futuronsky, director of Retreat and Renewal, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
"Reader-friendly, poetic, and insightful … an excellent beginning guide for those who want to view yoga through a Jewish Lens."
—Alan Reder, contributing editor to Yoga Journal; coauthor of The Whole Parenting Guide

Product details

• Authors: Stephen A. Rapp
• Assisted by: Tamar Frankiel (Foreword), Judy Greenfeld (Foreword), Hart Lazer (Foreword)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.02.2002
• EAN: 9781681629728
• ISBN: 978-1-68162-972-8
• No. of pages: 128
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 10 mm
• Weight: 445 g
• Subjects: Guides > Health > Relaxation, yoga, meditation, autogenic training; Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Judaism