For Immediate Release
Two as One: A Journey to Yoga Book Cover
March 19, 2010
Two As One – A Journey to Yoga
Set your yoga practice on fire by working with a partner
New York
Two young American adepts of the deeper eastern traditions of Buddhism and Yoga, Lama Christie McNally and Ian Thorson want to get you enlightened. The release of their new book “Two As One – A Journey to Yoga” will reveal how: by helping someone else get there.
Through decades of study, training, and deep meditation, McNally and Thorson have mastered the practice of Partner Yoga. Their beautiful new book integrates philosophy and yoga techniques from many time-honored disciplines to create a synergistic experience for two Yoga partners working together.
Two As One is a revolutionary concept which gives each partner the power to support and be supported; to open and be opened. This gift from the masters offers an ingenious tool for aspiring yogis and spiritual seekers alike, to move farther and faster on the path than they ever possibly could alone – and perhaps enjoy the practice more than ever before!
The poetry of bodies captured in the book was photographed by world-renowned New York City Photographer Connie Hansen of Guzman Photography. It was she and stylist Gabriele Vignorelli who launched the original ad campaign that made Gap a household name. They work again together here, to capture another unique and timeless style.
The Two As One partner-yoga practice reveals the essence of ancient secret practices for radical transformation, through an exquisite and simple presentation. As Lama Christie describes, “When you work together in a hands-on, visceral way, you tap into the power of the inner body. It forms a resonance between the two people that is more powerful than anything the individual by themselves can call up. This is a revolutionary concept on how to travel the spiritual path”.
“We have been lecturing people for years how to open their hearts to each other, but we are not sure how much they are getting from just sitting in the audience and listening. When you put two people across from each other on a yoga mat and tell them, ‘Ok, now we are going to practice opening our hearts. We are going to do it right here, right now,’ then something radical happens. It changes them immediately; we can see the results even as we are in the room with them teaching.”
“You can crack your heart open with this secret practice,” says Thorson. “We designed the book for people who are already doing yoga, as well as those who have never done a single pose. It’s accessible to everyone. My mother tried it! She had never done yoga, and has osteoporosis… and She had a great time! It was a wild success, and when she finished she looked more relaxed and happy than we had seen her in years!”
All proceeds from the book will be donated to support more than 50 people entering into a historic three-year retreat at Diamond Mountain University in southeastern Arizona. DMU teaches Tibetan Buddhism through advanced philosophy, yoga, debate, and many other methods that enable individuals to help others.
For information about Diamond Mountain, visit www.diamondmountain.org.
Or to learn more about the Great Retreat, visit www.retreat4peace.org.
For more information about this book or photo images, please contact:
Endorsement for “Two as One” Yoga Book
I am pleased to provide this endorsement for the yoga book Two as One, by Lama Christie McNally and her partner Ian Thorson. Not long ago at a workshop in Mexico I had the pleasure of learning from them directly the Partner Yoga that they have developed, based on an ancient Tibetan source. What I enjoyed the most was just that it was so much fun, and I fondly remember a large group of us, who were flying back to our homes the day after the workshop, having a ball in the airport doing the Partner Yoga on the floor while waiting for the plane. Definitely working with another person as we do our yoga allows us to go further, to open our chakras, have fun, and make it easier to do our practice daily. I hope this book and the yoga series which inspired it will help create more interest and further development around the world of the idea that our yoga is more powerful when we share it together.
Geshe Michael Roach
Free Preview of the first chapter from Two as One: A Journey to Yoga by Lama Christie McNally and Ian Thorson:
