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

Rapp, Stephen A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580231624 ISBN 13: 9781580231626

Publisher: Jewish Lights, 2002

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Authors

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).

Reviews

In this refreshing manual, Lawrence Kushner's mystical Book of Letters meets B.K.S. Iyengar's Yoga. For the thousands of Jews who have discovered yoga, Boston-based yoga teacher Rapp marries traditional Jewish wisdom with classic hatha positions. Rapp's 20-page introduction reassures the skeptical, explaining that although Eastern religions have traditionally paid more attention to the body than Western traditions, Jews and other Westerners can usefully (and faithfully) adopt spiritual practices that focus on the corporeal. Rapp matches one yoga position with each of 29 Hebrew letters (the standard 22, plus the final consonants and the patach and kamatz vowels). Each pose looks remarkably like the letter it is paired with; for the letter Aleph, Rapp offers a triangle pose, for Lamed a traditional lightning position and so forth. He nimbly walks readers through each posture, explaining in clear prose how to form the pose. Sharp photographs illustrate his instructions. Rapp also offers a Hebrew verse and an English reflection to meditate upon once readers have gotten into position. The book concludes with helpful instructions about mixing these poses for "a balanced yoga practice session" and a bibliography of books and videos on both yoga and Judaism. The lay-flat binding makes the book both handsome and practical. While it is perhaps best suited to a Jewish audience, lifelong practitioners and yoga tyros alike will find this guide inspiring.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1580231624
• ISBN 13: 9781580231626
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128