Align and Refine: The Journey of Yoga and Meditation

by Cindy Lusk

Many of us step onto the path of yoga seeking a more fulfilling life but become overwhelmed by the contradictory messages in the modern yoga scene. Drawing on decades of practice and study, this presents the journey of yoga, grounded in the authentic teachings from the texts of yoga, synthesizes many teachings in a systematic and accessible way, AND includes many exercises to make them applicable to our householder lives. “Align and Refine” considers the human condition, the impulse for something more, and how yoga and meditation allow us to refine our beings, align with our highest self, and embody yogic qualities for the benefit of our everyday lives, our society, and the world at large.

290 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2023

Reviews

[Tina Bonifacio]

As the title of the book indicates, yoga and meditation are indeed a journey. The vast realm of these practices can often feel confusing. This book is a wonderful guide that any yoga and meditation practitioner might well make use of throughout their own journey.

Opening the book with her young self’s experience of heartbreak, Cindy explains how she turned to yoga for solace and there found a practice that would captivate her with its endless benefits and wisdom. (This reader also found great solace in my yoga practice during a time of extreme heartbreak.)

Cindy’s voice in Align and Refine – The Journey of Yoga and Meditation is one of genuine curiosity and respect for her topic. As well as one of generosity and humility. She writes from her extensive experience with yoga and meditation. Cindy has studied with some renowned teachers. She recounts her own initiation into yoga and meditation — how the seed of inquiry was planted in her and has continuously blossomed. Her aim in Align and Refine is to shed light on the core teachings of the ancient practice of yoga and to illuminate the path for the reader. She asks only that we approach the study of yoga contemplatively and fearlessly—and free of rigid interpretations.

This is not a dogmatic text. It is not a how-to book. It is a well-researched down-to-earth treatise on yoga in which Cindy wades into yoga’s depths and recounts in a very accessible voice what she has found there. She addresses asana and more esoteric concepts, such as the nature of consciousness.

I appreciate that throughout the text Cindy makes accessible and relevant the use of Sanskrit, the authentic language of yoga, as well as the foundational texts of yoga, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutra. She relates stories and concepts from the ancient texts, and we are invited to relate them to our own lives and struggles.

Align and Refine is well-organized and a very enjoyable read. There are end-of-chapter exercises prompting deeper reflection and summaries of key teachings. The author offers guidance on further reading and how one might go about finding an appropriate teacher of yoga and meditation.

I felt inspired as I read Cindy’s vision for the practice of yoga and meditation—how the practice can and will bring on a positive shift in consciousness. Many readers surely have active yoga and meditation practices thus already know that the practices bring on wellbeing and equanimity. This book reminds us that by going more deeply into the practices, we can have a positive impact both on ourselves and our world. What is necessary is, in Cindy’s words “a willingness to transform … and to sometimes stand in the fiery process of personal evolution. (p. 17)

Any reader who has a genuine interest in yoga beyond the postures and the central role of meditation will benefit from reading this book. I will be turning to it time and again for inspiration and to glean new insight.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the truly passionate and interested seeker of yoga and Tantrik philosophy it is an exciting time. There is a growing body of work lifting yoga from the fog of poor translations, countercultural and new age romanticism and appropriation, as well as rescuing authentic sources and practices from charlatans of both eastern and western origin.

This book is one such resource. I would certainly call it an introductory text, but it can also serve as a refresher and reminder for anyone with a yoga practice, or deeper knowledge of the subject. It is lucid, readable and inspiring and I plan to read it again and engage with the writing prompts Cindy offers more deeply.