(Kim Raff | The Salt Lake Tribune) Charlotte Bell helps Sandy Maclead with a pose while leading a yoga class recently in Salt Lake City. Bell recently published a book called "Yoga for Mediators."

Yoga Charlotte Bells new book offers a recipe for everyone who sits too long and too poorly.

We are a nation of couch potatoes, but that doesnt mean we know how to sit.

We know how to slouch. We know how to lean toward a screen and hunch over a desk. But we dont know how to sit still and straight so that our minds might be quiet. When we try, we discover its harder than it looks.

Reading about sitting

Charlotte Bells second book, Yoga for Meditators, is published by Rodmell Press ($14.95).

Charlotte Bell remembers going to her first five-day meditation retreat, which required her to sit upright and silent for hours each day.

"At some point, every part of my body chimed in, and sometimes shouted at me, pummeling me with its resistance," she recalls. "My knees screamed, my back and shoulders veritably shrieked. None of this helped my attitude, which became more dour with each agonizing minute."

Its difficult to make your mind empty when your body is so full of complaints.

Read more from the original source:
Learning how to sit with Utah yoga writer Charlotte Bell