Now available,
the incredible story of three
men’s transformative work
with traumatized kids using
Mindfulness and Yoga
in one of America’s most
underserved cities.
Available on 10/18/22 in hardcover, ebook & audiobook
An incredible story of personal transformation. Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andrés González, the founders of the Holistic Life Foundation, share how yoga and meditation transformed their lives and, in turn, empowered thousands of historically underserved kids in Baltimore to do the same.
For 20 years, these remarkable men have shared mindfulness, yoga, and wellness practices in public school systems and beyond, breathing life back into a community destroyed by drugs, poverty, and systemic racism. “Let Your Light Shine” will inspire you to unlock your own light and give you the tools to rebuild communities everywhere. Reclaim your power, find your peace, and remember the unshakeable truth: that love can heal any heart, even your own.
Includes a foreword by Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of the New York Times bestselling book "The Body Keeps the Score."
Ali Smith is a teacher and author, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Ali’s life-long study of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness has served as the impetus for his pioneering work bringing trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness to underserved youth–and influencing education curriculum worldwide. He is the longtime Executive Director of the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organization he co-founded in 2001 that brings yoga and mindfulness to schools and is the Co-Owner of The Involution Group, founded in 2019. Let Your Light Shine is his second book.
Andrés González is a Puerto-Rican American teacher, author, and musician. He has taught yoga and meditation to diverse populations worldwide for twenty years and is a Co-Founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, founded in 2001. Andrés is a certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and maintains a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from the University of Maryland. His teaching and music center around the liberation of marginalized individuals and communities through personal empowerment, healing, and love. Let Your Light Shine is his first book.
Atman Smith is a teacher and author, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. A lifelong student of yoga and meditation, his teaching focuses on empowering marginalized communities through yoga and meditation, transforming the minds and hearts of individuals who face racism, poverty & oppression. For 15 years, Atman has served as Director of Programming and Development for the Holistic Life Foundation, and is the Co-Owner of The Involution Group, founded in 2019. His lifework centers around reclaiming black masculinity as a path of peace, justice, freedom, and joy.
These guys are my heroes. For years, they have brought meditation and yoga to the children of struggling communities in Baltimore — work that repeated rounds of scientific research have shown to be immensely beneficial. In this book they show you how to work with your own mind, with the minds of the kids in your life, and with a world that can be both beautiful and cruel. Check it out.” —Dan Harris, #1 NY Times bestselling author of 10% Happier
“Let Your Light Shine captures the originality, insight and most importantly, the brother-love that make Ali, Andy, and Atman’s work so vital and effective. Blending wisdom from their own Baltimore-based Black community and family with 2,500-year-old teachings originally offered in India, this trauma-sensitive, engaging book is just the contribution to the mindfulness movement that we need right now.”
—Rhonda V. Magee, MA, JD, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice
“How to change a world so challenged by mistrust, trauma and systematic racism? Let your Light Shine is a primer written with heart, honesty and truth. It is written for all who take the time to really care. It reveals how a difference can be made if we look within and change ourselves first. Then we can help the next generation with love, listening and learned skills. Ali, Altman and Andres speak with profound experience and give us the very tools we need." —Sharon Salzberg, NY Times bestselling author of Lovingkindness and Real Change
“Honesty, raw and inspiring wisdom, a powerful blend of deep insights into the real world we live in and the practical tools to build individuals and communities—these are brilliantly woven into the narrative tapestry that fills Let Your Light Shine with a compelling invitation to dig deep and love broadly. We will all be better for the brilliance of Ali, Andres, and Atman that shines through in this wonderful contribution to our collective lives.” —Daniel J. Siegel, MD, NY Times bestselling author of IntraConnected
"Let Your Light Shine is an important contribution toward building a society that centers the healing of young people so that they are able to enter into their adulthood offering the same healing back to others around them.” —Lama Rod Owens, teacher and author of Love and Rage
“Let Your Light Shine is the medicine we can all use right now as it not only shares the essential insights and practices necessary to aid in individual healing but also invites us to pass on all that we learn to others, especially children.” —Seane Corn, co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World
“This is one of the most important books on yoga that has been written in many years. It captures the absolute, true spirit of yoga, which is the removal of suffering and the experience of knowledge within. ” —Eddie Stern, ashtanga yoga teacher and author of One Simple Thing
Now available, the incredible story of three men’s transformative work with traumatized kids using Mindfulness and Yoga in one of America’s most underserved cities.
Order Today
Available on 10/18/22 in hardcover, ebook & audiobook.
About The Book
An incredible story of personal transformation. Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andrés González, the founders of the Holistic Life Foundation, share how yoga and meditation transformed their lives and, in turn, empowered thousands of historically underserved kids in Baltimore to do the same.
For 20 years, these remarkable men have shared mindfulness, yoga, and wellness practices in public school systems and beyond, breathing life back into a community destroyed by drugs, poverty, and systemic racism. “Let Your Light Shine” will inspire you to unlock your own light and give you the tools to rebuild communities everywhere. Reclaim your power, find your peace, and remember the unshakeable truth: that love can heal any heart, even your own.
Includes a foreword by Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of the New York Times bestselling book "The Body Keeps the Score."
Podcast Series
Meet the Authors
Ali Smith is a teacher and author, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Ali’s life-long study of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness has served as the impetus for his pioneering work bringing trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness to underserved youth–and influencing education curriculum worldwide. He is the longtime Executive Director of the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organization he co-founded in 2001 that brings yoga and mindfulness to schools and is the Co-Owner of The Involution Group, founded in 2019. Let Your Light Shine is his second book.
Andrés González is a Puerto-Rican American teacher, author, and musician. He has taught yoga and meditation to diverse populations worldwide for twenty years and is a Co-Founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, founded in 2001. Andrés is a certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and maintains a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from the University of Maryland. His teaching and music center around the liberation of marginalized individuals and communities through personal empowerment, healing, and love. Let Your Light Shine is his first book.
Atman Smith is a teacher and author, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. A lifelong student of yoga and meditation, his teaching focuses on empowering marginalized communities through yoga and meditation, transforming the minds and hearts of individuals who face racism, poverty, and oppression. For fifteen years, Atman has served as Director of Programming and Development for the Holistic Life Foundation, and is the Co-Owner of The Involution Group, founded in 2019. His lifework centers around reclaiming black masculinity as a path of peace, justice, freedom, and joy. Let Your Light Shine is his first book.
Book Praise
These guys are my heroes. For years, they have brought meditation and yoga to the children of struggling communities in Baltimore — work that repeated rounds of scientific research have shown to be immensely beneficial. In this book they show you how to work with your own mind, with the minds of the kids in your life, and with a world that can be both beautiful and cruel.” —Dan Harris, #1 NYT bestselling author
“Honesty, raw and inspiring wisdom, a powerful blend of deep insights into the real world we live in and the practical tools to build individuals and communities—these are brilliantly woven into the narrative tapestry that fills Let Your Light Shine with a compelling invitation to dig deep and love broadly.” —Daniel J. Siegel, MD, NYT bestselling author
“How to change a world so challenged by mistrust, trauma and systematic racism? Let your Light Shine is a primer written with heart, honesty and truth. It is written for all who take the time to really care." —Sharon Salzberg, NYT bestselling author
“Let Your Light Shine is the medicine we can all use right now as it not only shares the essential insights and practices necessary to aid in individual healing but also invites us to pass on all that we learn to others, especially children.” —Seane Corn, co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World
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