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Tending the Heart Fire: Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life
"We are created in rhythm, kept alive in rhythm, evolve through rhythm. Tides, breath, and blood flow in rhythm. We are born into a universe of currents, and our heart is the great conductor of the body, orchestrating our flow."
The mystical foundations of all the world's spiritual paths meet in a single, sacred the heart of the seeker. We have reached a time when scientific understanding mirrors the teachings of the great wisdom traditions in revealing our energetic heart as the light of consciousness, the fire of love, a field of intelligence. Tending the Heart Fire , the first book by pioneering yogini Shiva Rea, is an invitation to embody our extraordinary potential at this turning point in time, to reconnect your life to the rhythms of your body and the natural world―to live in flow with the pulse of life.
Weaving together wisdom from the great world traditions―including yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra, and modern science―Shiva presents an essential resource for becoming a firekeeper of the sacred heart. This diverse treasury is filled with mediations, life guidance, seasonal rituals, and daily practices,
Insights for harmonizing with the sacred junctures of time―the daily, weekly, lunar, and solar cycles of manifestation and renewal
• Aligning with the seasons―how to adapt your diet, exercise, and yoga rhythms throughout the annual cycle Ways to honor the great sacred holidays, rites, and festivals
• Awakening of sahaja ―the natural flow at the origins and source of yoga asana and sacred embodiment at the heart of yoga and Tantra
• Skills for tending your inner fire in every aspect of life and healing imbalances that can support a renewable energy lifestyle
• A visual teaching with over a hundred full-color images, including reference charts, diagrams, illustrations, and ancient poetry for inspiration
The legacy of the Heart Fire is more than eight hundred thousand years old―and in our modern world, we need more than ever to consciously reconnect to the radiant field that transcends time, space, and culture. "The direct awakening of the heart often happens when we are at a crisis point, when the armor of our heart has to crack," writes Shiva Rea. "Let us return to the power and magnificence of our hearts―as living fire, as intelligent energy and electromagnetic radiance, and as our illuminating guide toward love, creativity, and deep knowing of our true sacred nature."
The mystical foundations of all the world's spiritual paths meet in a single, sacred the heart of the seeker. We have reached a time when scientific understanding mirrors the teachings of the great wisdom traditions in revealing our energetic heart as the light of consciousness, the fire of love, a field of intelligence. Tending the Heart Fire , the first book by pioneering yogini Shiva Rea, is an invitation to embody our extraordinary potential at this turning point in time, to reconnect your life to the rhythms of your body and the natural world―to live in flow with the pulse of life.
Weaving together wisdom from the great world traditions―including yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra, and modern science―Shiva presents an essential resource for becoming a firekeeper of the sacred heart. This diverse treasury is filled with mediations, life guidance, seasonal rituals, and daily practices,
Insights for harmonizing with the sacred junctures of time―the daily, weekly, lunar, and solar cycles of manifestation and renewal
• Aligning with the seasons―how to adapt your diet, exercise, and yoga rhythms throughout the annual cycle Ways to honor the great sacred holidays, rites, and festivals
• Awakening of sahaja ―the natural flow at the origins and source of yoga asana and sacred embodiment at the heart of yoga and Tantra
• Skills for tending your inner fire in every aspect of life and healing imbalances that can support a renewable energy lifestyle
• A visual teaching with over a hundred full-color images, including reference charts, diagrams, illustrations, and ancient poetry for inspiration
The legacy of the Heart Fire is more than eight hundred thousand years old―and in our modern world, we need more than ever to consciously reconnect to the radiant field that transcends time, space, and culture. "The direct awakening of the heart often happens when we are at a crisis point, when the armor of our heart has to crack," writes Shiva Rea. "Let us return to the power and magnificence of our hearts―as living fire, as intelligent energy and electromagnetic radiance, and as our illuminating guide toward love, creativity, and deep knowing of our true sacred nature."
- GenresSpiritualityNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2013
42 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 24, 2019
Tending the Heart Fire is a non-asana book, the first one by Shiva Rea, a renowned vinyasa flow teacher of the Prana Flow - Energetic Vinyasa method. Tending the Heart Fire is a life guide to tending the fire of the heart. Rea has a tantric point of view in seeing the body as a microcosm of the universe. The introductory chapters explore the concept of the heart and of firekeeping throughout the history of humankind, spanning cultures around the world. Rea proposes to reconnect to the heart the way our ancestors did and remember what our bodies know to be true. All very tantric beliefs.
You cannot read this in a consecutive sitting. The design is not conducive to it, for one thing. It's a little busy and colourful. I found it personally challenging, despite a commitment to plow through, to continue to read more than a few pages at a time. However, as a resource? AMAZING.
I recently put together a vinyasa class themed around the root chakra. Rea came through with tips on how to attune your sequence to the seasons, the lunar and solar cycles, primarily based on ayurvedic thinking. There are micro-meditations, affirmations and sacred hand mudras that are paired with English and Sanskrit affirmations. From this perspective, an absolute lifesaver for yoga teachers looking to put together a creatively themed class. Also, for those who do not have a background in Ayurveda or even astrology, Rea's cheat sheets are super helpful.
Another thing to be mindful of is that Rea makes several references to a specific website link to accompany this book that supposedly houses more namaskar sequences but when you type in the website address, it doesn't exist. I really wish this website link wasn't lost, so we could all benefit from seeing more of the namaskars in Rea's Prana flow Namaskar Mandala.
While I have never taken a class led by Rea, my teachers are influenced by her work. I mean, the framework of all my classes is based on her Wave Theory. Wave Theory can be understood by seeing vinyasa, movement linked by breath, as wave cycles. It is also influenced by the vinyasa krama concept taught by Krishnamacharya - the idea of building levels of poses, building towards a peak pose.
Overall, Tending the Heart Fire is a great non-asana book that's a useful resource for yoga teachers creating themes to your classes. For anyone interested to learn more about creating engaging and creating vinyasa flow practice that feels like a moving meditation, this is a good resource.
You cannot read this in a consecutive sitting. The design is not conducive to it, for one thing. It's a little busy and colourful. I found it personally challenging, despite a commitment to plow through, to continue to read more than a few pages at a time. However, as a resource? AMAZING.
I recently put together a vinyasa class themed around the root chakra. Rea came through with tips on how to attune your sequence to the seasons, the lunar and solar cycles, primarily based on ayurvedic thinking. There are micro-meditations, affirmations and sacred hand mudras that are paired with English and Sanskrit affirmations. From this perspective, an absolute lifesaver for yoga teachers looking to put together a creatively themed class. Also, for those who do not have a background in Ayurveda or even astrology, Rea's cheat sheets are super helpful.
Another thing to be mindful of is that Rea makes several references to a specific website link to accompany this book that supposedly houses more namaskar sequences but when you type in the website address, it doesn't exist. I really wish this website link wasn't lost, so we could all benefit from seeing more of the namaskars in Rea's Prana flow Namaskar Mandala.
While I have never taken a class led by Rea, my teachers are influenced by her work. I mean, the framework of all my classes is based on her Wave Theory. Wave Theory can be understood by seeing vinyasa, movement linked by breath, as wave cycles. It is also influenced by the vinyasa krama concept taught by Krishnamacharya - the idea of building levels of poses, building towards a peak pose.
Overall, Tending the Heart Fire is a great non-asana book that's a useful resource for yoga teachers creating themes to your classes. For anyone interested to learn more about creating engaging and creating vinyasa flow practice that feels like a moving meditation, this is a good resource.
March 25, 2014
This book covers a lot of information. I liked it. The pictures were great and I learned a lot. The only downside is there are a lot of Sanskrit words, etc. that you have to go look up elsewhere to know what they mean and the book directs you to a website that does not exist.
January 23, 2014
Beautiful and illuminating, a treasure trove of information about yoga, health, and the pulsing heart at the center of it all.
August 5, 2014
Not what I expected. The book was a little all over the place. The biggest thing I took away was Shiva Rea likes fire.
June 3, 2018
Beautiful photos, some nice ideas, but not sequences like I was hoping for
July 27, 2025
Beautiful book that's designed to be used as a resource for yoga practitioners and teachers. I enjoyed Shiva's DVDs, and that's why I bought this book. Her DVDs were always inspiring and exceptional in their design. This book is no different.
My yoga practice has ebbed and flowed, like an ocean tide. That said, I really like part four, where she has a chapter for each season. The older I get, the more I become connected with the seasons and with rituals.
Those who are "all in" on ayurveda, chanting, and learning more about Hindu will appreciate this beautifully designed book. This is a Sounds True book, and I enjoy their publications.
I'm not ready to purge this book.
My yoga practice has ebbed and flowed, like an ocean tide. That said, I really like part four, where she has a chapter for each season. The older I get, the more I become connected with the seasons and with rituals.
Those who are "all in" on ayurveda, chanting, and learning more about Hindu will appreciate this beautifully designed book. This is a Sounds True book, and I enjoy their publications.
I'm not ready to purge this book.
July 27, 2015
Awesome book that enlightened me a lot about Shiva Rea style that I'm honored to deepen In an advanced teacher training soon with her. it gave me another very interesting point of view about yoga.
June 6, 2016
Amazing and beautiful book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews