Meditations from the Mat ─ Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga

AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL

As more and more people in the West pursue yoga in its various forms, whether at traditional centers, in the high-powered atmosphere of sports clubs, or on their own, they begin to realize that far from being just another exercise routine, yoga is a discipline of the body and the mind.

The 365 meditations incluided in this book offer a way to integrate the mindfulness that yoga teaches into everyday life. Whether used in the morning to set the tone for the day, during yoga exercise itself, or at the end of the day, during evening reflection, Meditations from the Mat will support and enhance anyone’s yoga journey.

Born in Manhattan, Rolf Gates grew up in the Boston area and attended American University in Washington, D.C. In 1987 he received a degree in American history and his commission in the U.S. Army Infantry from Georgetown University. As a military office he became an Airborne Ranger and served with U.S. forces in Germany. Since then he has worked as an emergency medical technician and an addictions counselor, specializing in adolescents in residential programs. In 1997 he became certified to teach Kripalu yoga. Gates directed the Baptiste Power Yoga Studio in Cambridge for three years and now co-owns and directs Baptiste Power Yoga, The Boston Studio, in Boston, MA. In addition to his weekly teaching schedule he is responsible for the supervision and professional development of the teaching staff of the Boston and Cambridge studios. He appears regularly modeling yoga poses in Natural Health magazine and has conducted workshops throughout the United States and abroad. In 2002, he was named “Best Yoga Teacher” by Boston Magazine. He lives in Boston with his wife, yoga teacher Mariam Gates.

Katrina Kenison has been the annual editor of The Best American Short Stories since 1990. In 1999 she was coeditor, with John Updike, of the national best-seller The Best American Short Stories of the Century. She coedited the anthology Mothers: Twenty Stories of Contemporary Motherhood and is the author of Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry. Her essays and articles have appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, where she has been a contributing editor, and in Redbook, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle, and Family Life. Kenison lives outside Boston with her husband, Steven Lewers and their two sons. She began practicing yoga with Rolf Gates in 2000.