Welcome!
Yoga and Writing Saved My Life.
Can Yoga & Self-Expression Help You?
What happens when a successful television producer, suffering from depression, finds Yoga? She finds her Self.
Discover the Healing Union of Yoga and Internal Family Systems (IFS)
While working as a family therapist in eating disorder programs, Dr. Richard Schwartz made a profound discovery. His clients revealed that—no matter their history of trauma—there was an unsullied inner presence within that had never been harmed. This core Self was compassionate, curious, calm, and connected. From deep listening and respect for the inner worlds of his clients, Internal Family Systems (IFS) emerged as a gentle and human-centered psychotherapy model.
I recognized this presence, a kind of inner sanctuary, in myself. Through my own healing journey, I found that yoga was my portal to that same spacious awareness—the Self, as IFS names it. Yoga didn’t just help me move my body; it helped me meet myself with compassion.
In 2010, I began my IFS Level I and II training at Bastyr University, and the integration of IFS with LifeForce Yoga® became clear. These two modalities, woven together, became the foundation of how I teach and live today. That’s why I love collaborating with IFS therapists who are also yoga teachers to offer programs and resources—we speak a common language of mind-body healing.
There is now unrefuted scientific evidence that Yoga can help you manage anxiety and depression. Explore my card deck: Yoga for Your Mood: 52 Ways to Shift Depression and Anxiety (Sounds True-Macmillan, 2021) here. Inside, you’ll find simple practices—and no yoga mat is required! These tools are designed to gently support your emotional well-being, anytime, anywhere.
You’ll also find inspiring fiction here on my site that can open your heart and mind in unexpected ways. Story, like yoga, has the power to heal.
Here’s a window into my own healing story…
In my twenties, I endured numbing depression. When I began a committed yoga practice, I experienced a profound shift and my writing began to align with my life’s purpose; I wrote articles and books about yoga and mental health including Yoga for Depression (Harmony/Rodale), Yoga Skills for Therapists (W.W. Norton). I founded the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute®, which today serves students and clients around the globe. I am passionate about the healing power of yoga, and the power of art—music, dance, visual art, poetry and most especially the writing of fiction. Read my award-winning short stories and poetry here. I am also delighted to share my first novel, TEMPLE DANCER!
“Temple Dancer is gorgeous and ambitious.” ~Foreword Reviews
Praise for TEMPLE DANCER…
Gorgeous and ambitious!
Temple Dancer, Amy Weintraub’s astonishing new novel, evokes the power of a lost spiritual tradition through the story of two disparate women: a disgraced temple dancer from 1930s India, and a contemporary artist in Massachusetts…. Both of the women are fleshed out with rich psychological descriptions that evoke the very different cultures they live in…. Gorgeous and ambitious! Temple Dancer is an unforgettable novel about a woman’s search for peace—and another’s desire for justice.
I read this book in one day …
I read this book in one day because I could not stop. It’s one of those books, so clear the decks before you start. And then be prepared to be haunted and changed by the wisdom, sensuality, beauty, and fascinating history. Read this if you want to be transported and possibly changed forever.
A superbly written novel
I could not put this book down. TEMPLE DANCER is a superbly written novel that takes the reader on a journey from naiveté through disgrace to redemption. Amy Weintraub is a master story-teller!
