This week author Sherri Dodd is sharing with us her other passion in life apart from writing – yoga. We first met Sherri back in December 2025 when Sherri appeared on the blog with the first book of her trilogy on the Murder , Tea and Crystals Book Tour – read it HERE . I caught up again with Sherri recently as she embarks on her book tour for the last book in the trilogy , “Hummingbird Moonrise”. I will talk about her latest book later in this post but first, Sherri chats about the benefits of yoga as well as the history of yoga in the USA…take it away Sherri…
The Benefits of Yoga
When someone mentions yoga, the thought of sleepy-eyed practitioners leaving class with their mats slung over their shoulder comes to the general mind. Twisting the body like a pretzel, soft music, and a droning instructor iterating “Brrrreeeeeeeathh” may accompany the image. However, for a genuine student of yogic training, the practice delves much deeper than an hour at the gym, and the benefits can greatly improve your life.
Yoga was first introduced in Chicago at a world religions event in 1893. I can picture it as quite the novel spectacle at that time, and it gained little traction. In 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda arrived in Boston, and soon thereafter established his first full-time presence in Los Angeles. Eventually, he would release his book Autobiography of a Yogi, introducing Eastern spiritual wisdom through meditation and yoga, which would sell millions of copies and be noted as one of the 100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century. However, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made the biggest strides toward yogic exposure when he introduced the concept of transcendental meditation in the mid-60s, bringing a focus to the mental benefits of meditation to various US cities, including San Francisco, Honolulu, and Boston. When members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones embraced his teachings, media outlets such as Time Magazine and Newsweek took note, and the resulting articles brought even more popularity to the notion of Eastern influence.
Despite The Beatles later denouncing Mahesh because of his alleged sexual predatory behavior, the practice had already rooted itself in Richard Hittleman, one of the first Americans known to fully embrace the yogic lifestyle, and the birth of his physical-focused yoga routine hit mainstream America in the 70s. With the image of a fellow American touting the benefits of Hatha Yoga on national TV, his promise of inner sanctity appealed to millions of watchers, and the trend has been going strong ever since.
Today, Hittleman’s philosophy for a yoga session still holds true with its gradual progression from the most elementary poses, such as Easy Pose or Mountain, to intermediate poses such as Warrior III or Eagle to an eventual adaptation to advanced yoga asanas such as Crane or Headstand. Beyond the physicality of it, students who delve deeper into the philosophical side of yoga can find spiritual discipline, which separates the body/mind from identity, thereby gaining knowledge and awareness and ultimately, coming full circle, self-illumination. The path for this enlightenment includes focused breathing that lowers cortisol, mindfulness that calms neuro-chemicals such as GABA and endorphins and reduces anxiety, and creating practices that lead to better sleep. When you consider these factors, you better understand why the benefits of yoga are known to lower blood pressure, support cardiovascular systems, and soothe mental anxiety and depression. With these improvements to your overall health, mind, body, and soul are enriched with well-being, and longevity follows.
So, the next time you see that sleepy-eyed yoga practitioner leaving their gym, know that the expression is temporary. While the hour-long class can be tiresome, their energy comes back in due time, and the resulting long-term benefits to overall health far outweigh the post-class fatigue.
”HUMMINGBIRD MOONRISE” BOOK SUMMARY
The past two years have taken their toll on Arista Kelly. Once an eternal optimist, now she has faced the darkness and must recalibrate what true happiness means for her. Meanwhile, Shane, her ex-boyfriend, is pulling all the right moves to help keep her sane from her heightening paranoia. But it doesn’t help that Iris, her Great Aunt Bethie’s friend, has disappeared.
Still, one additional trial remains. While searching for Iris, Bethie and Arista stumble upon a grand revelation in the eccentric woman’s home. With the discovery, they realize their run of chaos and loss of kin may have roots in a curse that dates back to the 1940s—the time when their family patriarch first built Arista’s cottage in the redwoods and crafted his insightful Ouija table.
This pursuit will not follow their accustomed recipe of adrenalized action, but the high stakes remain. Will the mysterious slow burn of unfolding events finally level Arista’s entire world or be fully extinguished, once and for all?
Publisher: Black Rose Writing(October 9, 2025)
Audiobook: B0GXPSGKDD
ASIN: B0FB5QV948
ISBN-13: 978-1685136581
ISBN: 1685136583
Purchase a copy of Hummingbird Moonrise
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1685136583
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hummingbird-moonrise-sherri-l-dodd/1150164754
Bookshop.org: https://tinyurl.com/4k5cade9
You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235246811?ref=s_s
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, SHERRI DODD
Sherri grew up in southeastern Texas walking barefoot and catching crawdads as they swam the creek beds. Her childhood ran rampant with talk of ghosts, demons, and backcountry folklore, inspiring her first short story about a poisonous flower that shot toxins onto curious children. Her classmate bought it for all the change in his pocket. Not long after, her mother packed the two of them up and headed to the central coast of California. She has explored the vast area ever since, using it as a catalyst to her writing, from journaling to fitness articles to fiction. She holds a bachelor’s degree, and is pursuing her master’s, in holistic theology and believes this helps her to see the world through a more colorful and accepting lens.
In writing, her publisher labeled her 2024 debut novel as a paranormal thriller. She would have described it as a cozy murder mystery with generous dashes of magic realism, showing that she loves to merge genres. Her trilogy — Murder, Tea & Crystals — released book one – Murder Under Redwood Moon in March 2024; book two – Moonset on Desert Sands in March 2025; and the final book in the series- Hummingbird Moonrise released October 2025! All three books became an Amazon #1 Best Seller in the Occult Supernatural genre.
You can follow the author at:
Website: www.sherridodd.com
Instagram: @Sherri.Dodd.Author
BOOK TOUR DATES
My thanks to Sherri Dodd for her guest post contribution.
All photos have been published with kind permission of Sherri Dodds. Header yoga picture was taken by Linda Hobden at the Sky Garden in London
Follow
