Yoga Saved My Life

(Hardback)

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Why do you feel so much better after a yoga class

What is it that takes yoga beyond being merely a way to physically exercise the body, and instead renders it a tool for effectuating deep and lasting emotional change

In Yoga Saved My Life psychotherapist and yoga teacher Sasha Bates demystifies both yoga and psychotherapy, exploring the links between them and showing how each can be transformational. This sits alongside personal stories from members of the Fierce Calm yoga community - people who have experienced all manner of difficulties, whether due to neglect, addiction, abuse, anxiety, depression, stress or any of the other myriad ways in which we all struggle with modern life. Here they tell their stories of finding yoga, and thereby discovering a path through the beliefs and behaviours that had been holding them back and keeping them miserable.

If you've ever wondered why you feel so much better after a yoga class, then the explanations of how any why yoga works will enlighten you. Written using down to earth language and in a warm conversational tone, you will come to see how yoga is doing what psychotherapy does: providing a safe, containing, reflective space in which you can access your unconscious, develop self-awareness and find ways to relate to yourself better. This new relationship with your self offers new ways to work with the automatic habits you do without thinking, but which hold you back, practically and emotionally.

'Yoga Saved My Life shows us gently and persuasively that healing the mind is as important as healing the body, and yoga is a great way of doing this' - Vex King, author of Good Vibes, Good Life and Healing is the New High

Reviews

Yoga Saved My Life shows us gently and persuasively that healing the mind is as important as healing the body, and yoga is a great way of doing this -- Vex King

During this very ugly moment in global history, we all need as much support as possible. Thankfully,
Sasha Bates has gifted us with a magnificent jewel, exploring the physical and psychological benefits of yoga and so much more besides. This extremely readable and engaging book offers essential life-saving wisdom and calm.

-- Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London, and Visiting Professor of Psychoanalysis and Mental Health, Regents University London
Such a wonderfully enjoyable - and practical - book. A lovely guided voice making sense in a crowded space. -- Liz Earle MBE
Sasha takes everyday issues of modern life - stress, anxiety, depression, insecurity, overwhelm - and clearly unpacks them psychotherapeutically while revealing how the practice of yoga can help us grow in tolerance, agency, purpose, and compassion. -- Sandra Gillespie, Somatic Therapist, London, UK
Sasha demystifies yoga and gives a refreshing antidote to the off-putting public face that yoga sometimes presents. -- Karen Russell, senior yoga teacher, and adaptive and sports yoga teacher

Author Bio

Sasha Bates is a psychotherapist, journalist and former documentary filmmaker. Eighteen years in the TV industry saw her write, direct and produce series as varied as Omnibus, Grand Designs, Live and Kicking, and How to Look Good Naked, alongside an ongoing side-line in travel journalism.

Her fascination with people - and what creates the myriad dynamics between us all - fuelled her career as a filmmaker, and she discovered a desire to further understand the human mind, emotions and relationships. She left television behind and re-trained as an integrative psychotherapist, gaining an MA, a Diploma in Counselling and an Advanced Diploma in integrative psychotherapy from The Minster Centre in London. Once fully qualified, and after stints working in the NHS and in higher education, she started up in private practice where she gained a reputation as an embodied therapist, an earlier training as a yoga teacher having given her a good understanding of the mind body connection.

When her husband, Bill, died unexpectedly at just 56, Sasha turned back to writing to help her navigate the new and unwelcome world into which she had been thrust. She now teaches workshops about grief to therapists, and other grievers, and has set up a commemorative theatrical bursary - The Bill Cashmore Award - in conjunction with the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith.