Yoga True Self

Millions of Americans know yoga as a superb form of exercise and as a potent source of calm in the midst of our stress-filled lives. Far fewer are aware of the full promise of yoga as "the way of the fully alive human being" - a 4,000-year-old practical path of liberation that fits the needs of modern Western seekers with startling precision. Now Stephen Cope, a Western-trained psychotherapist who has lived and taught for more than 10 years at the largest yoga center in America, offers this marvelously lively and irreverent "pilgrim's progress" for today's world.

All living beings want to be eternally fulfilled and happy, without misery, without suffering. All of our struggles and all of our desires are to become fulfilled. It doesn't matter if we are fat or fit, poor or rich, Black or White, this country or that country--everybody across the board wants to be limitless, feel fulfilled, and feel lasting happiness without any misery.

There’s a reason that the Vedas, a 5,000-year-old collection of celebrated verses from ancient India, have given rise to several world religions and influenced Western thinkers from Emerson to Ram Dass: they provide us with an accessible and effective path to liberation. With Sovereign Self, Acharya Shunya shares a groundbreaking guide to the wisdom of these classic texts so that each of us may emancipate ourselves from restrictive belief systems and discover our true nature—that which is always whole, joyful, and free.

In our chaotic and isolating times, it’s more essential than ever to connect to our highest selves—finding the purpose, pleasure, and freedom that lives inside each of us. Grounded in the Vedic spiritual traditions of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta, the simple practices in this engaging guide offer us the space and perspective to do just that. You’ll meet the nine Indian goddesses who embody the essential facets of divine feminine power—courage, creativity, intuition, rejuvenation, transformation, and more.