Lit from Within by Sarah Powers

More than just physical poses on a mat, yoga can be a profound path of self-realization. Lit from Within encourages readers to pursue yoga in its fullness, examining conscious and unconscious habits, connecting to our inner landscapes, and freeing us to relate to ourselves and our world with a sacred outlook.

Sarah helps readers relate to five levels of our human experience—physical, energetic, emotional, mental, and interpersonal. Each section offers an opportunity for self-inquiry and practices to fuel our growth, including yin yoga, meditation, emotional intelligence exercises like creating connection with an inner critic, and interpersonal dynamics drawn from the Internal Family Systems approach. Learning to recognize, reflect on, and at times re-direct these different levels of experience adds a vital dimension to the practice. The book draws on Sarah’s many years of practice and teaching, influenced by the rich tapestries of yin yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and psychology.

In these challenging times, Lit from Within offers a path to health, wholeness, and connection—from the inside out.

Book and digital audio now available from the following booksellers:

• Shambhala
• IndieBound
• Bookshop.org
• Barnes & Noble
• Penguin Random House
• Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

In this series, join Sarah as she brings the teachings from Mahayana Buddhism called lojong, or mind training, which are pithy instructions for freeing constrictions of the heart and living with an awake mind.

Purchase for $120 and stream anytime.

To purchase the chant featured in this class.

Join Sarah for an enlivening integral practice designed to reconnect us with our home ground within our body, heart and mind. We will enjoy an emphasis on yin and yang backbends while also juicing the hips, followed by a meditation and gratitude practice on the five elements.

Purchase for $20 and stream anytime.
To purchase the chant featured in this class.

Insight Yoga: Introduction to Meridians, Mindfulness and Yin Yoga Postures

An Online Course with Sarah

In this online course, in collaboration with Sangha Live, we offer four filmed classes and four recorded corresponding interactive sessions to offer an introduction to Insight Yoga.

• Module 1: Encourages energetic enhancement with Yin poses for the Kidney Qi mingled with the First Foundation of Mindfulness
• Module 2: Encourages energetic enhancement with Yin poses for the Liver Qi mingled with the Second Foundation of Mindfulness
• Module 3: Encourages energetic enhancement with Yin poses for the Spleen Qi and Pranayama, mingled with the Third Foundation of Mindfulness
• Module 4: Encourages energetic enhancement with Yin poses for the Lung and Heart Qi with Pranayama, mingled with the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness

“Sarah is the most brilliant, kind and compassionate teacher I have ever studied with, and her teachings are deep, relevant and full of so much wisdom. Truly a wonderful course.”

“It was wonderful to have access to Sarah’s teachings this way whilst unable to be with her in person. The content is so rich. Thank you. More from Sarah please!”

“Sarah is a wonderful teacher and has reams of information to impart. There were so many questions I wanted to ask her about the postures. So thanks to this, I was able to hear the answers to many of my questions here.”

Register: USD $275
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Note: All of the teaching modules and recorded interactive sessions can be watched on demand at your own pace. You will have lifetime access to all of the video content.

Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers (Book or E-Book)

In Insight Yoga, Sarah weaves the Yogic, Buddhist, and Taoist disciplines together to identify, open, and strengthen the various physical and psychological components of one’s experience – fostering a kinder, clearer and altogether healthier and more mature relationship to one’s self and others.

“Sarah…seamlessly integrates her unique expressions of these two complementary approaches, Yin and Yang Yogas, with traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism and Buddhism to create one of the most complete and balanced systems of modern Yoga. The Yoga Path of Awareness is a teaching of great warmth and intelligence, that will heal your body, invigorate your mind, and inspire your soul.”
– Richard Rosen

 “Insight Yoga is destined to become a classic, enjoyed by beginners and experienced practitioners as well.”
– Judith Hanson Lasater

Sarah Powers brings us a truly brilliant integration of yin and yang yoga, mindfulness, Buddhist philosophy and psychology, and the genius of traditional Chinese medicine…This book belongs in the library of every serious practitioner of yoga and meditation.”
– Stephen Cope

“I stopped halfway through this awesome book to write this review. It’s amazing – inspiring, concise, easy to follow/understand and as informative as you would want it to be. I am in love with it…I can’t fault it. Buy it.”

“One of the best yin yoga resources I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Absolutely recommend to anyone interested in health, spiritualism and knowledge…Insight Yoga has taken my practice to a whole new level.”

PURCHASE BOOK OR E-BOOK

Insight Yoga Video (Streaming)

In Insight Yoga, Sarah presents her unique blend of Yin yoga, Vinyasa yoga, the meditation traditions of Buddhism, and Chinese medicine to create an energetic yet safe environment for profound inner exploration.

• 2 Yin yoga sequences (1 hour each) with commentaries on Buddhadharma and Chinese medicine
• Vigorous Vinyasa sequence (1 hour)
• Sun Salutation sequence (40 min)
• Guided Savasana relaxation practice (10 min)
• Guided meditation practice (30 min)

“Sarah Powers is an excellent vinyasa teacher, but where she really shines is in the two Yin practices. What she offers is a broad education that links the poses to traditional Buddhism, Western anatomy and physiology, and Chinese medicine. Her explanations of how the shapes of the poses activate certain organs and subtle energy channels are especially illuminating…Insight Yoga is one of the most complete yoga training DVDs you’ll find anywhere.”
– Richard Rosen

“I love this DVD! I feel like I’m part of her class…This DVD was very thoughtfully prepared and more than worth the investment. It’s allowed me to incorporate yoga as part of my daily routine.”

“This is the very best Yoga video I have ever purchased for a home practice. After using the exercises on this DVD for about a year now, I can clearly see the need for a Yin practice as part of any serious yoga practice. The meditative postures release your spirit in a way no other form can deliver and Sarah Powers insights are right on. There is so much on this DVD (even some complimentary vinyassa sequences) that you may never need to buy another yoga dvd. Great job Sarah! I highly recommend this DVD.”

“Sarah Powers is incredibly knowledgeable and articulate, clearly having a background in physiology/anatomy as well as eastern philosophies. Her teaching style is gentle and reflective but the practice is strenuous and cathartic…the DVD is flexible in that it lets you pick and choose which practices you want to do that day. I think that’s why it may stand the test of repeated viewings – unlike some others. For beginners or advanced practitioners – I highly recommend this DVD.”

PURCHASE STREAMING

Insight Yoga Heaven Video (Streaming)

Balancing Yang Energy: In Insight Yoga Heaven, the emphasis is on enhancing the vibrant Yang energy within our bodies, balancing this with a grounded, Yin-based practice.

• A Practice Overview (9 min): A short presentation on the principles of Insight Yoga.
• Practice 1: Strengthening the Lung Chi (65 min): Series of upper body poses, inversions, and yin backbends, with breath exercises and visualizations to strengthen the lungs and increase overall circulation and vitality.
• Practice 2: Ground Support: Breathing into the Hara (45 min): Series of yin and yang postures practiced on our backs, nourishing the spine, hips, and abdomen.
• Karuna Meditation (16 min): Guided compassion meditation using our mental and emotional obstacles as opportunities for developing sensitivity toward our vulnerabilities and an empathic connection with others.

“Sarah Powers blends the best elements of yoga, Buddhism, and traditional Chinese medicine in Insight Yoga: Heaven and Earth.”
– Yoga Journal

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Insight Yoga Earth Video (Streaming)

Balancing Yin Energy: In Insight Yoga Earth, the emphasis is on enhancing the vitality in the Hara while encouraging strength and stability in our legs and abdomen.

• A Practice Overview (9 min): A short presentation on the principles of Insight Yoga.
• Practice 1: Grounding Down (55 min): Series of standing and balancing poses that encourage lower-body groundedness, followed by fluid movement to decongest stagnancy in the back and shoulders.
• Practice 2: Spiraling the Universal Chi Down and In (31 min): Seated twists and core strengtheners that increase circulation along the spine and abdomen.
• Shamata Meditation (20 min): Breath-focused meditation to develop a relaxed and stable quality of non-distracted attention.
• Vipassana Meditation (18 min): Mindfulness practice to disengage from the habits of mental reactivity and develop an alert, inquisitive attitude leading to insight.

“Sarah Powers blends the best elements of yoga, Buddhism, and traditional Chinese medicine in Insight Yoga: Heaven and Earth.”
– Yoga Journal

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Yin & Vinyasa Yoga Video (Streaming)

In this 2 ½ hour class, Sarah guides us in a well-rounded practice of mindfulness of the body, heart and mind while reminding us of the essential balance between skillful means (action) and wisdom (insight into the nature of all things).

The first half is devoted to the Yin style with detailed descriptions of how and why to practice in this way. The second half is the more active style of moving from pose to pose while maintaining an awareness of our inner (breath and mind states) and outer (form and function) alignment.

“Sarah Powers is a remarkable teacher. She has captivating presence and intelligent delivery, with one of the most mesmerizing voices I’ve ever heard, which intensifies the already meditative quality of the yin practice.”
– Richard Rosen

“I can return to all her DVDs often and learn something new every time.”

PURCHASE STREAMING

Yin Yoga Audio (Streaming)

In this 2-hour audio, Sarah leads us through the basic components of a Yin Yoga practice. Long held floor poses encourage and enhance the Qi or energy distribution through the Yin parts of the body, namely the bones and connective tissues that bind them. These mainly static postures coax Qi into the respective Meridians (the unseen riverbeds of energy the Qi travels through), thereby encouraging a kind of needle-less acupuncture treatment. This style of practice, done slowly and safely, nourishes the natural range of motion of the joints, which allows for more ease in sitting meditation postures. It also flushes the meridians housed in these connective tissues, which directly effect particular organs in the process.

“Yin yoga challenges you to sit in the pure presence of awareness. It’s hard in a different way than active asana practice, but in a way that’s more profound and satisfying as well as more beneficial to the deeper tissues.”
– Sarah Powers

“Sarah is an amazing yoga and mindfulness teacher. If you are a yoga teacher this is a good CD to help you learn the words for teaching yin yoga.”

PURCHASE APPLE MUSIC