This past weekend, after just under 100,000 words and the longest few weeks of my life, I turned in the manuscript for my book, Namaslay, which is now available for pre-order.
I dreamed up the idea for this book while at the end of the most sweltering day in yoga teacher training in Thailand. We were going over a pose, our eyes glazed over in exhaustion as we blankly stared at the teacher, and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if we had a text with cut out photos that broke the poses down?'
Because I dreamed it up years ago, writing the book - talking about each pose, talking about what to do and what common mistakes to watch out for came easily. But I realized it needed to be more. It needed to talk about pranayama, about meditation, and, most importantly, about life off the mat. About how to transfer Old World yogic teachings into modern day life.
So I began writing my truth.
This book is deeply personal. In it, I share my darkest struggles with depression and health after falling ill with a mystery disease that took nine doctors to figure out. By the time I was diagnosed, the disease had progressed so far that physically, I could barely walk, and cognitively, I began seeing major decline. The road to recovery was long and winding and that entire time was the lowest point in my life.
And yet.
And yet.
And yet it is the time in my life I am most grateful for because when you go through the darkest period of your life, you're forced to take a cold, hard look at who you are and see what you're made of. What makes you who you are. You have to dig deep and make a decision: will you lay down and give in, or will you get back up, fueled by quiet determination, and march to the rhythm of a Yes, I can mantra?
This is a yoga book, yes. There are pose cut outs and detailed descriptions of over 100 postures. There is a comprehensive guide on meditation and pranayama. There are gorgeous, full color studio photos, and breathtakingly beautiful lifestyle shots, making this perfect as a beautiful coffee table book, or as a reference in a yoga studio, or as a guide for any teacher or student. It also has three thirty-day yoga programs as well as sequences for functional athletes, runners, and people in the office. But it isn't just a yoga book about poses and breathing techniques. It is a deeply personal story of struggle and ultimate triumph.
And while it is my story, my hope is that you will see less of me and more of yourself in the words. My hope is that it serves to help you to live your most authentic life. My hope is that it motivates you to evaluate your life, your one great masterpiece, and gives you the courage to be, do and have everything you have ever dreamed of. I hope it inspires you to lead with love and kindness and fearlessness and unshakable faith in your inherent abilities so that you can kill it at every aspect in your life. So that you can go out there and slay.