{"product_id":"sacred-letters-sanskrit-yoga-and-awakening-the-divine-paperback","title":"Sacred Letters: Sanskrit, Yoga, and Awakening the Divine - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMichael David Sowder\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOffers letters of the Sanskrit alphabet as key to understanding Yoga and the Divine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese original meditations on the Sanskrit letters range from personal narratives to metaphysical and theological speculations, linguistic play, and inter-spiritual allusions to other works and traditions, all relevant to living a contemplative life in the contemporary world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSowder's book is anchored in the devotional Tantrik, Śaiva-Śakta tradition, focused on the Divine Feminine, but allusions to western mystics (Christian, Jewish, Muslim) also appear frequently. No other book like this exists. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLongtime yoga and meditation teacher \u003cb\u003eMichael David Sowder\u003c\/b\u003e is an author, poet, and professor of poetry, religious studies, and yoga studies at Utah State University. With a PhD from the University of Michigan, Sowder is the author of two collections of spiritual poetry, \u003ci\u003eThe Empty Boat\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHouse Under the Moon\u003c\/i\u003e, and two chapbooks of poetry. Feminist poet Diane Wakoski chose \u003ci\u003eThe Empty Boat\u003c\/i\u003e to win the 2004 T.S. Eliot Award. His chapbook, \u003ci\u003eA Calendar of Crows\u003c\/i\u003e, won the inaugural New Michigan Press Poetry award.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSowder's writing explores themes of yoga, Buddhism, mystical experience and contemplative practice, wilderness, and fatherhood. He has appeared in \u003ci\u003eMuseIndia\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Bombay Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShambhala Sun\u003c\/i\u003e (now \u003ci\u003eLion's Roar\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eAmerican Life in Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFive Points\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGreen Mountains Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSufi Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew Poets of the American West\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Online\u003c\/i\u003e. He frequently travels to India, where in 2014, he was a Fulbright Scholar. Trained in a Tantric yoga tradition, he has been practicing and teaching yoga and meditation for almost fifty years. The founder of the non-profit, Amrita Yoga Institute of Logan, Utah--which teaches yoga, meditation, contemplative practice and philosophy--he founded the first prison meditation program in the Alabama prison system in 1978, as well as prison writing and meditation programs at the Pocatello Women's Correctional Facility and at the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 128\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 15, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44836407476326,"sku":"9781958972823","price":30.87,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/Px4H-_D7mD9781958972823.webp?v=1772380514","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/sacred-letters-sanskrit-yoga-and-awakening-the-divine-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}