If you require your books about yoga and meditation to be primly reverential, Yoke is not the read for you. Here, Stanley gets extremely real about the trials and tribulations of yoga on and off the mat, with writing that is friendly and familiar, peppered with swears and slang and moments of hilarity, a dash of spirituality, and the occasional side order of astrology. If you like Stanley on Instagram, you’ll love her in Yoke—and if you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong on a yoga mat or meditation cushion, Stanley’s honest writing, fresh insights, and unabashedly fun approach ought to make you feel right at home, wherever you are....

Exercise Physical activity is pretty clearly linked to brain health and cognitive function. People who exercise appear to have greater brain volume, better thinking and memory skills, and even reduced risk of dementia. A recent study in the journal Neurology found that older people who vigorously exercise have cognitive test scores that place them at the equivalent of 10 years younger. It’s not totally clear why this is, but it’s likely due to the increased blood flow to the brain that comes from physical activity....

At Mindful we do our best to inform, educate, and inspire people who want to know more. But many of the most profound gifts of mindfulness can’t be fully realized through the written word or even recorded video courses. To realize the true potential of mindfulness most of us need to interact with insightful human beings. Through interaction we can fully recognize our shared paths. Through relationships with teachers and friends, we can realize our potential....

Time required 15 minutes daily How to do a loving-kindness meditation: How to do a loving-kindness meditation: Relax Your Body: Close your eyes. Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your spine straight. Relax your whole body. Keep your eyes closed throughout the whole visualization and bring your awareness inward. Without straining or concentrating, just relax and gently follow the instructions. Take a deep breath in. And breathe out....

In this practice, leaders are asked to notice the sensations in their body as they review a single calendar page from their schedules. Almost instantly, when leaders pause long enough, they notice that their chest or stomach has tightened or their neck has tensed up. They begin to become curious about those messages from the body. They begin to question the status quo. For many of us, a calendar of meeting after meeting seems inevitable....