Bench Yoga

Project Description

A sitting bench could be
the most important part
of your yoga/meditation practice!

A sitting bench makes Yoga easier for beginners, and accelerates progress for advanced practitioners. It helps you develop your asanas and grow towards Lotus. It becomes possible to sit for extended periods without back pain, while special exercises and asanas develop the “perfect meditation posture” and raise chi. This book shows how make a bench, where to buy one, and how to use it.

Contents

Make Yoga Easier

Not everyone can get down to the floor–or get back up again. Not everyone can do the asanas (poses) without support. But most everyone can sit! That’s where the Yoga Bench comes in.

With a Yoga Bench, there is a variety of asanas you can do without being on the floor. And when you do want to get on the floor, the bench makes it easier to get there — and to get back up again!

Sit straight, Meditate, Grow to Lotus

In Hindi the word asan means “sitting place”. And of course, an asana is a Yoga pose or practice. So the original meaning of asana might have been, “practices done while sitting, to sit better”. But why sit? To meditate! It’s always been the goal of Yoga. Your practice should make it possible to sit long and sit strong! In fact, all over India there are pictures and sculptures of gods and ancient gurus sitting on a bench, a tree stump—even the back of a cow or tiger! The TreeLight Yoga Bench will develop your capacity to sit effortlessly and comfortably.

Enhance your Yoga/Meditation practice

You can easily sit in the ideal, upright posture — without back pain
You won’t strain or slide off, even if you have limited flexibility
A wide variety of sitting positions let you meditate longer and more deeply
Get up and sit down as easily as a chair, change positions easily
Support for standard asanas makes them easier
Special asanas help you progress to Full Lotus

Raise Your Chi

In his martial arts training, Eric Armstrong was introduced to the subject of “internal energy” (prana in India, chi in China, gi in Korea, Ki in Japan). In addition to the yoga flexibility exercises, the Bench Yoga book shows you easy-to-do muscle activation exercises that build strength and burn fat. But the activation exercises do something more.

Most exercises, beneficial as they are in the long term, tend to drain your energy in the short term. But Bench Yoga exercises are energy activators. They leave you with muscles tingling, feeling alive.

Because they increase your internal energy without draining, you may well find yourself experiencing the energy flows they produce. It’s an internal sensation that just feels good.

Later volumes in the Subtle Energy Yoga series detail advanced, internal activation techniques such as the traditional pranayama, mudras, and bandhas (“locks”) that are part of Yoga, plus even more efficient techniques that have never before been taught. But long before, you will experience those internal energy flows, or heightened chi, by engaging in the Bench Yoga program.

This book shows you

Where to buy a bench, how to build one, how to set it up and use it.
The 11 basic sitting positions, and 45 variations — not counting hand positions and hybrid variations
Standard Yoga asanas using the bench and a Yoga Block for support
Special asanas that build flexibility in the hips and legs (useful for joint rehabilitation)
Plus a collection of exercises to build sitting strength, and advice on giving a class.

Best of all, the asanas and exercises promote internal energy flows — a great prelude to meditation. You sit comfortably with ease, poise, and clarity to enjoy the deepest experience possible. It’s a revival of the ancient wisdom of Yoga.

Learn More

See the Yoga Bench page for details on the Yoga Bench, the Quick Start guide, and more.

To find out about Bench Yoga workshops, to get announcements for new books and articles, and for updates on the Yoga Bench and accessory products:

Join the Keys2Yoga announcement group
Follow Eric on Twitter: @ericTreeLight
Send an email, using the address at the bottom of the page.
Support Eric on Patreon

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Buy the Print version!

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About the Author

Eric Armstrong has spent 30 years in spiritual pursuits, including Hatha Yoga, training and teaching martial arts, exploring Tantra, and studying Raja Yoga. A former athlete and coach, he brings Western sensibilities to Eastern spirituality, creating a system that is at once deep and practical—one that focuses on the essence of Yoga: Samadhi, or a blissful sense of enlightenment.

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