My Body is a Temple

The body as a temple is a common metaphor within many spiritual traditions. In this book, author and yoga teacher Christina Sell delves into the how and why of this widely accepted comparison. With the freshness of a memoir, she uses her first visit to an extraordinary temple in southern India as a structure upon which to build a treatment of basic yoga principles. Beyond the ordinary aims of yoga as a means of stretching and strengthening, or even for being happier or more centered, My Body is a Temple is an instruction manual for dedicating oneself to a life of the spirit, in and through the vehicle of the human body. The temple of the Indian saint Yogi Ramsuratkumar (1918-2001) was still under construction when Christina entered for the first time in 2004. Yet, within it, she felt a deep peace, happiness and connection to ultimate Sanctuary within herself. Her own body was experienced as a receptacle for the saints grace and an artifact of the Presence of God. Could a life of yogic practice help me to abide more constantly at the shrine of my own heart? she asked herself upon returning home. Do the forms of yoga practice contain the necessary building blocks to construct a life that is a sanctuary, and a body that is a temple? This book answers those questions. Students of yoga will appreciate that this metaphor embodies high ideals. The author argues that aiming toward this higher sphere elevates ones life, unsticking us from habitual, ordinary mind. Instead of simply performing the yogic postures (asanas) physically, she explains how to use exercise as prayer, affirmation, and an expression of Remembrance. My Body Is a Temple will encourage readers to listen to and honor the body; to enter more fully into their lives as they are, here and now; to see that each moment contains a Divine