"We are created in rhythm, kept alive in rhythm, evolve through rhythm. Tides, breath, and blood flow in rhythm. We are born into a universe of currents, and our heart is the great conductor of the body, orchestrating our flow."
The mystical foundations of all the world's spiritual paths meet in a single, sacred place: the heart of the seeker. We have reached a time when scientific understanding mirrors the teachings of the great wisdom traditions in revealing our energetic heart as the light of consciousness, the fire of love, a field of intelligence. Tending the Heart Fire, the first book by pioneering yogini Shiva Rea, is an invitation to embody our extraordinary potential at this turning point in time, to reconnect your life to the rhythms of your body and the natural world―to live in flow with the pulse of life.
Weaving together wisdom from the great world traditions―including yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra, and modern science―Shiva presents an essential resource for becoming a firekeeper of the sacred heart. This diverse treasury is filled with mediations, life guidance, seasonal rituals, and daily practices, including:
Insights for harmonizing with the sacred junctures of time―the daily, weekly, lunar, and solar cycles of manifestation and renewal
• Aligning with the seasons―how to adapt your diet, exercise, and yoga rhythms throughout the annual cycle Ways to honor the great sacred holidays, rites, and festivals
• Awakening of sahaja―the natural flow at the origins and source of yoga asana and sacred embodiment at the heart of yoga and Tantra
• Skills for tending your inner fire in every aspect of life and healing imbalances that can support a renewable energy lifestyle
• A visual teaching with over a hundred full-color images, including reference charts, diagrams, illustrations, and ancient poetry for inspiration
The legacy of the Heart Fire is more than eight hundred thousand years old―and in our modern world, we need more than ever to consciously reconnect to the radiant field that transcends time, space, and culture. "The direct awakening of the heart often happens when we are at a crisis point, when the armor of our heart has to crack," writes Shiva Rea. "Let us return to the power and magnificence of our hearts―as living fire, as intelligent energy and electromagnetic radiance, and as our illuminating guide toward love, creativity, and deep knowing of our true sacred nature."
Shiva Rea teaches vinyasa flow yoga worldwide. She has studied many forms of yoga and dance in India, Africa, Nepal, Jamaica, and Bali. She is a well-known contributor to Yoga Journal and holds an MA in Dance from UCLA's World Arts and Cultures Program, where she also teaches.
Sally Kempton (1943–2023) studied and taught the wisdom of yoga for 40 years. A highly regarded teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy, she wrote the popular Yoga Journal column Wisdom. Known for her gift of making yogic wisdom relevant to daily life and for transmitting deep states of meditation, she taught retreats and teleclasses internationally. Sally is the author of Meditation for the Love of It (Sounds True, 2011).
