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Embodied: An Urban Yogi’s Memoir + Manifesto for Modern Living
In the fugue of deep meditation, Jaya Devi tumbles outdoors into a muggy south Florida dawn. Sliding on a pair of orange flip-flops, she cuts across a dirt path skirting the ashram lawn. She glances down as a fat black snake slithers up her bare leg, wrapping itself tight. Astonished, she pauses, exemplifying the yogi’s art of non-reaction, breathing and assessing. Here, we enter into the wild wisdom-experience of a modern yogi who uses each moment as fuel for personal transformation.
Embodied reveals an array of relevant, effective tools for thriving in today’s upside-down world. Part memoir, part thought leadership, part toolkit for modern living, Embodied is accessible, deep, darkly humorous, and inspiring.
Swami tackles topics like how to change our relationship with our suffering and embody the courage to grow from it. Whether you’re a new yogi, a seasoned meditator, or someone struggling with the stress of contemporary living, Embodied inspires us to keep our cup half full while teaching us techniques to live a richer, more fulfilling life.
Embodied reveals an array of relevant, effective tools for thriving in today’s upside-down world. Part memoir, part thought leadership, part toolkit for modern living, Embodied is accessible, deep, darkly humorous, and inspiring.
Swami tackles topics like how to change our relationship with our suffering and embody the courage to grow from it. Whether you’re a new yogi, a seasoned meditator, or someone struggling with the stress of contemporary living, Embodied inspires us to keep our cup half full while teaching us techniques to live a richer, more fulfilling life.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 11, 2022
15 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 13, 2022
We find ourselves living in an age when public demonstrations of anger and falseness are celebrated. Every day, it seems, our national discourse crosses another boundary of hatred and blatant lies we didn’t believe was possible. We don’t know how we got here, yet here we are.
Into this troublesome and terrifying era comes a book that is its perfect antidote. EMBODIED: An Urban Yogi’s Memoir couldn’t be timelier. Reading it – experiencing it – is a soothing balm, like relaxing with a dear friend in a quiet and cool oasis. Swami Jaya Devi passionately uses her life to illustrate in a loving and practical way how each of us can apply Yoga’s principles to our lives. In clear and vivid chapters, she shows us the 5 yamas —principles such as ahimsa, or non-violence – and 5 niyamas, such as saucha, meaning purity, cleanliness or sacredness. She makes each of these ancient eastern concepts relevant to 21st century western lives.
She begins each of the ten chapters with personal anecdotes that are by turns compelling, humorous, maddening and poignant. The chapter on Aparigraha, or detachment, opens in her childhood Catholic church as she’s sitting in the smooth hardwood pew with Father Niedergeses. Young Jaya Devi longed to partake of the mysticism of her family’s religion, to be a part of the pageantry, “to ring the bells, to light and snuff the beeswax candles” included in the rituals of Catholicism. Most of all, she was “curious about the subtle realm of the sacred.” Although her priest was a kind man, he denied her request. “Girls cannot be altar boys,” he says. “It cannot be. You are a girl.”
Soon after, she was introduced to yoga through a book that belonged to her sister. As she read about the principles, including Aparigraha, she grew to understand that detachment does not mean indifference. On the contrary, detachment is the route to unconditional love. This type of love was an achievable pathway back to herself, the girl she was and the woman she would become. Through years of studying and teaching non-possessiveness, she learned to love with an open heart. By doing so, she has become a living example of what she teaches her students:
This beautifully-written book is that rarest of treasures: a quick read that tastes as delicious as chocolate yet is as wholesome, nutritious and fulfilling as a Sattvic vegetarian dinner.
-Rich Merritt, author of Spiritual Probation
Into this troublesome and terrifying era comes a book that is its perfect antidote. EMBODIED: An Urban Yogi’s Memoir couldn’t be timelier. Reading it – experiencing it – is a soothing balm, like relaxing with a dear friend in a quiet and cool oasis. Swami Jaya Devi passionately uses her life to illustrate in a loving and practical way how each of us can apply Yoga’s principles to our lives. In clear and vivid chapters, she shows us the 5 yamas —principles such as ahimsa, or non-violence – and 5 niyamas, such as saucha, meaning purity, cleanliness or sacredness. She makes each of these ancient eastern concepts relevant to 21st century western lives.
She begins each of the ten chapters with personal anecdotes that are by turns compelling, humorous, maddening and poignant. The chapter on Aparigraha, or detachment, opens in her childhood Catholic church as she’s sitting in the smooth hardwood pew with Father Niedergeses. Young Jaya Devi longed to partake of the mysticism of her family’s religion, to be a part of the pageantry, “to ring the bells, to light and snuff the beeswax candles” included in the rituals of Catholicism. Most of all, she was “curious about the subtle realm of the sacred.” Although her priest was a kind man, he denied her request. “Girls cannot be altar boys,” he says. “It cannot be. You are a girl.”
Soon after, she was introduced to yoga through a book that belonged to her sister. As she read about the principles, including Aparigraha, she grew to understand that detachment does not mean indifference. On the contrary, detachment is the route to unconditional love. This type of love was an achievable pathway back to herself, the girl she was and the woman she would become. Through years of studying and teaching non-possessiveness, she learned to love with an open heart. By doing so, she has become a living example of what she teaches her students:
“The vulnerability of living truthfully and being our truest self does not ask us to go into the world unprotected. It asks us to go into the world undefended, un-false. Falseness, once exposed, begins to perish, and in this exposure process, we are liberated.”
This beautifully-written book is that rarest of treasures: a quick read that tastes as delicious as chocolate yet is as wholesome, nutritious and fulfilling as a Sattvic vegetarian dinner.
-Rich Merritt, author of Spiritual Probation
June 11, 2025
This was not what I expected, but I really enjoyed it! For some reason I thought it was a more academic book on yoga (not sure why because it says memoir lol) and some concepts were out of my comfort zone/new to me but nonetheless I enjoyed it!
August 8, 2022
A gem of a book for anyone struggling or in pain...
When I came across this book I was skeptical at first because there are many books that talk about yoga, manifestos for modern living, and the like. Embodied is such a multi-naunced word so what could it possibly be about? As a life long sufferrer of self-judgement, self-criticism, and a seeker of somthing.."more". This book has that "more". Truly a deep expose of the yoga moral and ethical principles, like honesty, detachment, etc, this book is about the first two categories of yoga philosophy. It is interspersed with the deep wisdom on a human being and humanitarian who seems to have walked the path. Stories about truth (satya) and cleansing (saucha) are mixed with real-life tales like facing the death of a loved one, dealing with abuse, and transforming one's inner world one breath at a time.
I am on my third read as of writing this review because she not only presents information and ideas... there are practices and rituals to follow in this book. Did I mention the Ayurveda in the book also.... omg. There are practices for sipping hot water which helped my anxiety as well as practices around forgiveness and experiencing self-ove in your life.
Swami Jaya Devi is a consumate storyteller drawing you in with her kindness, authenticity, and humor. I could not recommend this book enough for anyone who seeks to live a more authentic and centered life in the middle of the chaos that the world can present. To quote "Saucha (purification) is not about avoiding the messiness of life. It is about addressing and tranforming clutter and confusion....saucha advises us to clean up ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear---which is the work of a lifetime"
Whew! longest review I have ever written for a book! Also surprised to find out she is accessible. I discovered that from September to early August, you can catch her at her Ashram in Atlanta, GA virtually or in person.
When I came across this book I was skeptical at first because there are many books that talk about yoga, manifestos for modern living, and the like. Embodied is such a multi-naunced word so what could it possibly be about? As a life long sufferrer of self-judgement, self-criticism, and a seeker of somthing.."more". This book has that "more". Truly a deep expose of the yoga moral and ethical principles, like honesty, detachment, etc, this book is about the first two categories of yoga philosophy. It is interspersed with the deep wisdom on a human being and humanitarian who seems to have walked the path. Stories about truth (satya) and cleansing (saucha) are mixed with real-life tales like facing the death of a loved one, dealing with abuse, and transforming one's inner world one breath at a time.
I am on my third read as of writing this review because she not only presents information and ideas... there are practices and rituals to follow in this book. Did I mention the Ayurveda in the book also.... omg. There are practices for sipping hot water which helped my anxiety as well as practices around forgiveness and experiencing self-ove in your life.
Swami Jaya Devi is a consumate storyteller drawing you in with her kindness, authenticity, and humor. I could not recommend this book enough for anyone who seeks to live a more authentic and centered life in the middle of the chaos that the world can present. To quote "Saucha (purification) is not about avoiding the messiness of life. It is about addressing and tranforming clutter and confusion....saucha advises us to clean up ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear---which is the work of a lifetime"
Whew! longest review I have ever written for a book! Also surprised to find out she is accessible. I discovered that from September to early August, you can catch her at her Ashram in Atlanta, GA virtually or in person.
May 16, 2022
Amazing book ! Really goes into the depth of the teachings of yoga as applied to today. A great toolkit for anyone seeking to truly transform their lives through the practices of yoga. Plus the author’s personal story is fantastic!
October 23, 2022
I just finished reading. Jaya Devi is a great teacher and writer. (This is my first experience with her.) So many applicable teachings in here. I plan to read again and really dive deeper into some of the messages. Highly recommend this book!
November 24, 2022
Enlightening
Loved the way the yamas and Niyamas were explained. I appreciated the way real life experiences were woven in beautifully.
Loved the way the yamas and Niyamas were explained. I appreciated the way real life experiences were woven in beautifully.
January 25, 2024
Swami Jaya Devi is an incredible writer. This book is chucked full of deep yogic teachings, practices and humorous stories that touched the core of my being. Highly recommend reading this book!!!
June 30, 2024
A lovely book by a lovely person🧡
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews