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.

CONTENTS

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK? . . . viii

PART 1: LET’S GET WARMED UP . . . 1
“Hey, Jessamyn, How Do I Start Practicing Yoga?” . . . 3
“Is This a Cult?” . . . 8
The Elephant in the Room . . . 15
Questions Asked by (Literally) Every Beginner Yoga Student . . . 20

PART 2: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? . . . 27
The History of Modern Yoga, in a Nutshell . . . 29
What the Fuck Is the Eight-Limbed Path? . . . 35
Which Yoga Practice Should I Choose? . . . 40
What Should I Buy? . . . 47
Questions Asked by (Literally) Every Beginner Yoga Student . . . 52

PART 3: JESSAMYN’S ABCs OF ASANA . . . 61
Getting Started with Asana . . . 63
The Poses . . . 73
Standing Poses . . . 74
Balance Basics . . . 88
Hamstrings and Core . . 94
Hips . . . 104
Backbends . . . 114
Restore . . . 124
Questions Asked by (Literally) Every Beginner Yoga Student . . . 132

PART 4: OKAY, BUT HOW CAN I DO THIS ON MY OWN? . . . 137
How I Learned My Asana ABCs . . . 139
Bring It On, Bitch . . . 140
Sequence: Sun Salutation A . . . 144
Sequence: Sun Salutation B . . . 148
The Oreo . . . 153
Sequence: I Want to Get Started . . . 158
Jessamyn Stanley, Pre-Teen Beauty Queen . . . 160
Sequence: I Want to Stand Strong . . . 166
A Chick-fil-A Bandit Walks into Weight Watchers . . . 168
Sequence: I Need to Feel Balanced . . . 176
Tabor City Funerals . . . 178
Sequence: I Want to See the World from Another Angle . . . 186
A Yoga Practice Grows in Durham . . . 188
Sequence: I Want to Energize My Spirit . . . 192
Self-Acceptance: The Taboo . . . 194
Sequence: I Need to Release Fear . . . 200
The Scarlet A . . . 202
Sequence: I Need to Chill the F Out . . . 206
One Is the Magic Number . . . 208
Sequence: I Need to Love Myself . . . 212

PART 5: IS IT REALLY THAT SIMPLE? . . . 215
INDEX . . . 220
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . 222