Jessamyn Stanley, Every Body Yoga

This event will be a part of Bookshop Santa Cruz’s Women’s Voices effort in August. You can read more about the program here.

Bookshop is delighted to welcome Yoga teacher Jessamyn Stanley, who will discuss and sign copies of her book, Every Body Yoga, in which she shares her path to becoming a yogi and embracing looking different from the lean practitioners typically shown in the media. This mix of memoir and guide is suffused with Stanley’s enthusiasm and honesty. Part one reveals her early encounters with yoga, along with the discouragement that stemmed from being a “fat girl”; it goes back to her childhood eating habits and family life, and also includes an honest, vulnerable FAQ (“What if I’m the fattest person in the class and everyone stares at me?”). Part two includes Stanley’s witty nutshell history of modern yoga and breaks down the different styles and recommends useful clothing, mats, and props. Part three is devoted to the “ABCs of Asana,” or yoga postures, and also recommends asking “How do I feel?” rather than “How do I look?” In part four, Stanley teaches readers to do yoga on their own by sharing stories of her own triumphs. In part five, Stanley reminds readers that everyone struggles while doing yoga, including her. This touching work is a must for those new to yoga, no matter their age or body type. – Publisher’s Weekly

Here are “directions to 50 basic yoga poses and 10 sequences to practice at home, all photographed in full color. It’s a book that challenges the larger issues of body acceptance and the meaning of beauty. Most of all, it’s a book that changes the paradigm, showing us that yoga isn’t about how one looks, but how one feels, with yoga sequences like ‘I Want to Energize My Spirit,’ ‘I Need to Release Fear,’ ‘I Want to Love Myself'”

As an internationally recognized yoga teacher and Instagram star, Jessamyn Stanley conducts yoga workshops across the country, teaching students of all shapes, sizes, and colors how to make yoga a permanent part of their lives. A rising media favorite, Jessamyn has been profiled and featured by a wide range of international and national news outlets, including Good Morning America, New York, Glamour, Shape, Al Jazeera English, the Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times Style, and People, among others. She won a 2016 Shortie Award (honoring excellence in social media) in the Healthy Living Category. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

This free event will take place at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Open seating is usually set up about an hour before the event begins.