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Library | Collection | Collection | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Beale Memorial Library (Kern Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Adult Non-Fiction | 613.7046092 LEE | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Fresno Central Library (Fresno Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Non-fiction Area | 613.7046 LEE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In the candid, contemplative memoir May I Be Happy , revered yoga teacher Cyndi Lee gives readers an unforgettable gift: the ability to focus on our experiences as we have them, on the way to a lighter life.
For all her wisdom as a teacher, Cyndi Lee--founder of New York's world renowned OM yoga Center--understood intuitively that she still had a lot to learn. In spite of her success in physically demanding professions--dancer, choreographer, and yoga teacher--Lee was caught in a lifelong cycle of repetitive self-judgment about her body. Instead of the radical contentment expected in international yoga teachers, she realized that hating her body was a form of suffering, which was infecting her closest relationships--including her relationship to herself.
Inspired by the honesty and vulnerability of her students, Lee embarked on a journey of self-discovery that led her outward--from the sacred sites of the parched Indian countryside to the center of the 2011 earthquake in Japan--and inward, to seek the counsel of wise women, friends and strangers both. Applying the ancient Buddhist practice of loving-kindness meditation to herself, Lee learned that compassion is the only antidote to hatred, thereby healing her heart and changing her mind.
With prose as agile as the yoga sequences she creates, May I Be Happy gives voice to Lee's belief that every life arises, abides, and ultimately dissolves. By becoming her own best student, Lee internalizes the strength, stability, and clarity she imparts in her Buddhist-inspired yoga classes.
Author Notes
Cyndi Lee founded the internationally renowned OM yoga Center in New York City in 1998. She is the author of several books on yoga, including Yoga Body , Buddha Mind , and is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal . Lee and OM yoga have been featured on national television and in print. She lives in New York City.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Yoga teacher Cyndi Lee offers a fascinating look at her journey of self-discovery and her struggle to help others while attempting to resolve her self-doubt. Lee's mission takes her across the world and allows her to speak with figures such as actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Louise Hay, one of the founders of the self-help movement. As a narrator, Lee reads with confidence, but allows her tone to become self-deprecating at times, which is fitting given the book's subject matter. Both men and women will be able to relate to the author's body-image issues. And her positive message and enthusiastic delivery will make believers out of skeptics. Many listeners will likely find themselves signing up for yoga classes upon the conclusion of this audiobook. A Dutton hardcover. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A yoga expert charts her path to centered serenity. From the opening pages of her memoir, the founder of Manhattan's renowned OM yoga center is outspokenly quick to correct misconceptions about yoga instructors, who are assumed to be "always chill and never grumpy." Lee's (Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, 2004, etc.) life has been a mix of long-sought-after wellness and the trials of caring for an increasingly frail mother fraught with a merciless diagnosis of Lewy body disease, "which presents as a cruel combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's." She reminisces about an upbringing greatly influenced by her father, a Protestant minister, and momentous visits from Gloria Steinem at her high school in the 1960s. Dancing and a steady interest in yoga buoyed Lee through an obsession with her physical image, which bloomed into a dogged "body grudge" and chronic low self-esteem that plagued her into adulthood. Several trips to India helped her comprehend that it wasn't her body being "the real troublemaker," but her mindset. Lee beautifully describes the yin and yang of an all-encompassing yogic lifestyle. Sprinkled throughout are short (but sweetly sage) anecdotes from the veteran yoga instructor's classes. The author writes that her beloved mother's firm direction on "how to be ladylike and strong at the same time" still resonates with her today and pretty much sums up the tone of this distinctively Zen autobiography. A reassuring treat for the yoga set and inspiration for flexible newcomers.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Renowned yogi and established memoirist Lee has written a book that, under the right circumstances, could change your life. Lee tackles with candor an issue that plagues most women nagging dislike of some aspect of their bodies. Lee's own fixation has been on her weight. For years, neither her successful career as a professional dancer nor the affirmation of her husband convinced Lee to change her attitude, or her eating habits. With refreshing humor, she acknowledges both the narcissism and the inescapability of this sentiment, allowing the reader to watch as her thoughts vacillate from hating her thighs to hating herself for hating her thighs to hating herself for hating herself. She eventually turns to her yoga practice and the tenets of Buddhism, which prove to be a challenging but workable road map toward inner peace. Short accounts of Lee's style of yoga and instruction methods make this book of particular interest to those familiar with yoga, but any woman will find insight and genuine encouragement toward self-acceptance, even self-love, here.--Peckham, Amber Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Despite international renown as a Buddhist-inspired yoga teacher, Lee (Yoga Body, Buddha Mind) experiences suffering just as we all do. In this heartfelt memoir, she reflects on hating her body-an all too common problem. Lee examines how her dance career, her relationship with her mother, and other life events affected her body image and in turn how it impacted her marriage. Honestly, and at times provocatively, she describes her journey toward remembering her basic goodness and finding contentment with her physical appearance. Woven into the narrative are first-person vignettes of Lee teaching her students. Her style is a beautifully accessible blend of Buddhist mindfulness practices and yoga asana. Guided by wise women (actress Jamie Lee Curtis, Christiane Northrup, self-help guru Louise Hay, various Buddhist teachers, friends, and herself), Lee remembers the truth: that we are all perfect and there is nothing wrong with us. Verdict Lee's writing matches her teaching style: patient, melodic, and straightforward. Yoga students of all levels and abilities will learn from the simple, profound lessons in this book.-Julia A. Watson, Marywood Univ. Lib., Scranton, PA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.