Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind

369 Pages·1993·4.23 MB·English

by  Frank Jude Boccio

HEALTH / YOGA m
“It’s about time somebody wrote this!”
i
jon kabat-zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are
n
This groundbreaking book introduces an entirely new integration of yoga and meditation:
Mindfulness Yoga. Mindfulness Yoga emphasizes the spiritual side of yoga practice, a dimension too d
Mindfulness
often overlooked. In a manner unlike any book before it, Mindfulness Yoga presents the two disci-
plines as a single practice that enlivens the body, liberates the spirit, and awakens compassion, equa-
nimity, and joy. f
Whether you’re a beginner or have been practicing for years, Mindfulness Yoga is for you. User-friendly, easy-
u
to-follow sequences are laid out with over 100 accompanying photos in this innovative presentation of mind-
fulness meditation and yoga. Special lay-flat binding makes this book even more useful as a practice aid.
l
“I highly recommend this book. Boccio’s exposition of the basic principles of MindfulnessYoga
is elegant, lucid, astonishingly comprehensive, and thoroughly accessible. And the sections on n
practice are designed—refreshingly—for real human beings!There is something here for Mi ndfulness Yoga
everyone, from beginning students to more advanced practitioners alike. Bravo!”
e
—stephen cope, psychotherapist, senior KripaluYoga teacher, and author of Yoga and the Quest for theTrue Self
s
“In MindfulnessYoga, Frank Boccio inspires us to the integrated path of yoga and mindfulness with
a true teacher’s voice of clarity, compassion, and common sense.”
s
the awakened union of breath, body, and mind
—cyndi lee, author of OMYoga and founder of OMYoga Center
y
“The author invites practitioners of yoga and meditation to experience yoga’s poses as occasions for
mindfulness.This relationship is both novel and logical…a welcome and ambitious synthesis.”
o
—PublishersWeekly
“This is one cool book. This is the kind of book I like to make available to my colleagues, who g
will surely find it not only interesting but valuable as a desk reference.”
—phil catalfo, Senior Editor, Yoga Journal a
“Clear, intelligent, and much-needed. I’m delighted that Frank Jude Boccio wrote this book—
I now have something to recommend to my students.”
—larry rosenberg, Founder of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center and author of Breath by Breath b
o
FRANK JUDE BOCCIO is an interfaith minister and longtime student of Thich Nhat Hanh who integrates the practice and
philosophies of yoga, Buddhism, and Ayurveda. His background includes a 700-hour training program under the guidance c “This book should be read by every aspiring
oftherenownedteacherGeorgFeuerstein,andheiscurrentlyaseniorstudentinDharmaTeacherTrainingundertheguid-
anceofSamuSunim.Boccioisacertifiedyogateacher/therapistthroughtheBatemanInstituteinNewYorkCity,andteach- c yoga practitioner.”—from the by
FOREWORD
es yoga in Brooklyn and New Paltz, New York, as well as regularly leading Mindfulness Yoga sessions at Zen Mountain
i
Monastery and other spiritual retreat centers. He lives in Tillson, New York. Georg Feuerstein, author of The Yoga Tradition
o
GEORG FEUERSTEIN, PH.D., isfounderandpresidentofYogaResearchandEducationCenterandtheauthorofoverthirtybooks.
Frank Jude Boccio
ISBN0-86171-335-4 US$19.95
wisdom publications Boston
wisdompubs.org wisdom
m i n d f u l n e s s y o g a

m i n d f u l n e s s y o g a
the awakened union of breath, body, and mind
Frank Jude Boccio
Foreword by Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D.
WISDOM PUBLICATIONS • BOSTON
WisdomPublications
199ElmStreet
Somerville,MA02144USA
www.wisdompubs.org
©2004FrankJudeBoccio
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechan-
ical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystemor
technologiesnowknownorlaterdeveloped,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataavailable
Boccio,FrankJude.
Mindfulnessyoga:theawakenedunionofbreath,bodyandmind/Frank
JudeBoccio;forewordbyGeorgFeuerstein.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN0-86171-335-4(pbk:alk.paper)
1. Meditation--Buddhism.2. Yoga,Hatha. I.Title.
BQ5612.B622004
294.3'4436--dc22
2003025228
FirstEdition
13 12 11 10 9
7 6 5 4 3
PhotographyprojectmanagementbyPiemontePhotography,DavidPiemonteand
TerryDelPercio,Gloucester,Massachusetts.www.dpiemonte.com
PhotographybyDavidStotzer,CapeAnnPhotography,Gloucester,Massachusetts.
www.capeannphotography.com
ModelingbyGabrielleLongandRobbieGemmel
CoverdesignbyKatyaPapova
InteriordesignbyGopa&Ted2,Inc.SetinSouvenir10/17.1
ThetranslationoftheAnapanasatiSuttaisbaseduponthetranslationfromBreathe!YouAre
Alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (1988) by Thich Nhat Hanh with
permissionofParallaxPress,Berkeley,California,www.parallax.org
The Five Mindfulness Trainings reprinted from For A Future To Be Possible (1993) by
ThichNhatHanhwithpermissionofParallaxPress,Berkeley,California,www.parallax.org
WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesforper-
manenceanddurabilityoftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityofthe
CouncilonLibraryResources.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Withbreath,body,andmind
Isendmyheartalongwiththesewords.
Mayallwhoreadthemawakenfrom forgetfulness,and,
realizingthetruenatureofnoseparateself,
transcendthepathoffear, sorrow,andanxiety.
Mayallbeingsbefree.
Publisher’s Acknowledgment
ThePublishergratefullyacknowledgesthegeneroushelpofthe
HersheyFamilyFoundationinsponsoringthepublicationofthisbook.
vi
Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xiv
Howto UseThisBook xviii
SomeWordsabouttheAsanas xix
AWordaboutWords xxi
Introduction 1
PartOne:PuttingItinContext
ChapterOne:TheBuddha’sYoga 13
ChapterTwo:TheYogaPracticeoftheFourNobleTruths 25
ChapterThree:The EightfoldPaths 33
PartTwo:Cultivating Mindfulness:RememberingthePresent
ChapterFour:WhatIsMindfulness? 57
ChapterFive:Beginning MindfulnessMeditation 67
ChapterSix:AnIntroductiontotheSutras 77
PartThree:ThePracticeofMindfulness Yoga
ChapterSeven:BodyasBody 85
MindfulnessYoga: SequenceOne 93
ChapterEight:Feelings asFeelings 137
MindfulnessYoga: SequenceTwo 145
ChapterNine:MindfullyAware oftheMind 187
MindfulnessYoga: SequenceThree 200
ChapterTen:Awareness ofObjectsofMind:DharmasintheDharmas 251
MindfulnessYoga: SequenceFour 263
AppendixA:TheSeven FactorsofAwakening 309
AppendixB:TextofSutra ontheFullAwarenessofBreathing 314
AppendixC:EstablishingYourSeat:SeatedPosturesforMeditation 321
AppendixD:Alphabetical ListofPoses 324
Notes 326
SuggestedResources 330
Index 335
foreword
I
LIKE TO KEEP INFORMEDaboutmyvariousfieldsofinterest,especiallytheyogatra-
dition, but few of hundreds of publications that cross my desk each year succeed
in holding my attention for long. Now and then, however, the weekly influx of
books and manuscripts includes a work that is truly worthwhile and captivates me. Frank
JudeBoccio’sMindfulnessYogaissuchawork.
Iamhappyaboutthisfortworeasons.First,thisbookaddressesasubjectmatterthatis
important and timely, and second, I have had the pleasure of Frank Jude’s recent participa-
tion in the first seven-hundred-hour teacher-training program offered by Yoga Research and
Education Center. His quiet presence, unobtrusive service, and thoughtful observations con-
tributed significantly to the quality of our program, and I have since come to value him as a
heartfeltDharmabrother.Whenheaskedmetowritethisforeword,Ihappilyagreedtodoso.
Itmakessenseinaforewordtoabooksuchasthistobeginwithsomepersonalremarks.
When, at the age of fourteen, I discovered the incredibly rich world of yoga, I knew I had
foundmyspiritualhome.Threeorfouryearslater,itbecameobvioustomethatIshouldand ix
indeedwoulddedicatemypersonalandprofessionallifetoexploringyoga’sancientheritage.
I wrote my first book—on yoga, of course—at the age of nineteen, and since then have
authoredmanymoreonthisandrelatedsubjects.Atthattime,IalsoencounteredBuddhism
for the first time and was impressed with the formidable clarity and perceptiveness of the