There are plenty of inspiring books and other resources out there to expand your idea of what is possible.

Sparks to Ignite Your Tapas (Passionate, Fiery Self-Discipline)

For example! Here are words to turn your intentions into action right here on my own little blog, Set Your Intention.

Intention is crucial. When I first entered the Jivamukti Yoga School in New York, I saw a sign that said simply, "Are you ready?"

This simple question reminds me to set my highest intention each time I practice. Who knows what can happen? (So much already has. Already is. Happening. Right now.)

To sustain a practice that is regular and intense, it helps to make that intention more specific sometimes. A question formulated to help us observe what happens during practice, for instance...or a quality to cultivate in our movement and stillness that day.

To that end, I offer you inquiries and intentions...inspiration for your practice.

A Few of My Favorite Things...Modern Fiction and Nonfiction with Yogic, Buddhist, Tantric, or Vedantic Themes

Oblivion, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Consider the Lobster, Infinite Jest, and This is Water, by David Foster Wallace

The Razor's Edge, by Somerset Maugham

The Island, by Aldous Huxley

Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger

Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg

Fabric of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk (though the film was more infused with these themes than the book, I think)

I Heart Huckabees, directed by David O Russell (film)

Essential Texts on Yogic and Other Eastern Philosophy

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, preferably the translation by Swami Muktibodhananda and the Bihar School of Yoga

Light on the Yoga Sutras, trans. by B.K.S. Iyengar

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, trans. by Sri Swami Satchidananda

The Principal Upanishads, trans. by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

The Upanishads, trans. by Eknath Easwaran

Dhammapada, trans. by Glenn Wallis

Buddhism Without Beliefs and Alone with Others: An Existential Approach to Buddhism, by Stephen Batchelor

Total Freedom, by J. Krishnamurti

The Deeper Dimension of Yoga and Yoga: Technology of Ecstasy, by Georg Feuerstein

The Tree of Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar

Recipes for Eating a Little Bit Healthier

Changing what and how I eat is a long-term project, and one that I enjoy.  My diet is far from perfect, but when I find a good recipe to upgrade the nutrition and reduce the harm I do when I choose what to eat, I like to share it. Click here for some favorite recipes.

Books to Help You Understand Asana (Postures), Pranayama (Breath and Energy) and Related Practices

Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, by Sharon Gannon and David Life

Yoga: Moving Into Stillness, by Erich Schiffman

Yoga for Wellness and Yoga for Transformation, by Gary Kraftsow

The Heart of Yoga, by T.K.V. Desikachar

Dynamic Yoga and Hatha Yoga, by Godfrey Devereux

Yoga Mala, by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Light on Yoga and Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health, by B.K.S. Iyengar

Structural Yoga Therapy, by Mukunda Stiles

Taoist Yoga: Outline of a Quiet Practice, by Paul Grilley

Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy and Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series, by Gregor Maehle

Yoga as Therapy, by Doug Keller

The Breathing Book, by Donna Farhi

The Yoga of Breath, by Philip Rosen

Anatomy of Breathing, by Blandine Calais-Germain

Books to Expand Your Understanding of Anatomy

Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, by H. David Coulter

Scientific Keys, Vol. II: The Key Poses of Hatha Yoga, by Ray Long, MD

Anatomy of Movement and The Female Pelvis, by Blandine Calais-Germain

Finding Ways to Eat That Are Better for Us and for Others

Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford

This book is packed with information from both Western nutritional science and Eastern traditions for eating well and staying healthy. It may be a little overwhelming to read all at once, but you'll refer back to it again and again.

Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser

This is an amazing investigation into the fast food industry. It covers not just how animals are treated on factory farms, but also how workers and animals are treated in slaughterhouses, and how fast food workers are treated by the fast food companies. Opens your eyes to the suffering that goes on among people and animals within this industry, and then within the people who eat the food it creates.

Diet for a New America, by John Robbins

A moving expose of the meat, poultry,and dairy industries, especially the conditions on the factory farms where  animals live their lives as units on afactory assembly line. Robbins also explores the health effects on the humans who eat this hormone-injected, antibiotic-filled, pesticide-sprayed food. This book provides numerous reasons to buy the animal products you eat from small, local farms and to work towards eliminating them from your diet entirely.

The Omnivore's Dilemma and Food Rules, by Michael Pollan

Covering the intersection the gastrointestinal system, the political system, and our current farming system, Pollan uncovers (in both his books and his articles) many of the important truths and questions we need to face every few hours when we decide what to put in our mouths.

PETA's videos of factory farming

These are hard to watch, but necessary to face up to so that we are not hiding from the truth of how animals and people are treated when making food choices. Remember these when you are faced with ten Happy Meal commercials the next time you are in front of a television, all implying that fast food is fun.

The Meatrix

This cartoon explanation of factory farming is easier to watch while still explaining the horrors of modern animal "production."