Anne Cushman

Anne Cushman has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 1983 and yoga since 1986 and teaching their integrated practice since 1997. Her essays on the intersection of spiritual practice with daily life have been widely published, appearing in the New York Times, O magazine, Yoga Journal, Tricycle, and the Shambhala Sun. A former editor at both Yoga Journal and Tricycle, she has presented at and directed multiple conferences at Kripalu, including “Yoga and Buddhism” and “The Yoga of Parenting.” Since 2000 she has taught yoga and meditation on close to fifty retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where she is the codirector of the Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program.

"In this beautifully written and self-revealing book, Anne Cushman shows us how motherhood carries us into the heart of the spiritual journey. The key is realizing that the messy imperfect moments are not a problem; they are the very grounds of the path. Please gift yourself and others with The Mama Sutra—it’s deeply engaging and fresh, poignant and wise." —Tara Brach, author of True Refuge

"This is an extraordinary book. I couldn’t put it down. The prose is exquisite and real. I’ve never given birth or had a child but now the experience is vivid, the deep mystery and enchantment revealed. This is a book of life—for everyone." —Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones

"The Mama Sutra is a deep, heartfelt journey into the steep canyons and peaks of motherhood—an often-undervalued Dharma path. Anne Cushman’s captivating writing takes you with her on this journey into the raw and challenging places only motherhood can take you. I treasure this book and will recommend it to others." —Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Wisdom Rising

"Reading The Mama Sutra, I realize that I’m doubly blessed. Blessed that Anne has taken us into her confidence and shared the raw, messy, beautiful details of her life—alternately heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny. And blessed that her courage to share such intimacies has encouraged me to look tenderly at my own life." —Linda Sparrowe, author of Yoga Mama

"With lush specificity, sparkling wit, and the courage to expose her own vulnerability, Anne Cushman explores the joys and sorrows of motherhood. She does so in a way that ultimately transcends its subject and becomes something much broader: an exploration of what it means to be a spiritual seeker who lives a passionately embodied life, inextricably connected to others—children, parents, lovers, friends—through the mystery of incarnation, the grief of loss, and the timeless nature of love." —Noelle Oxenhandler, author of The Wishing Year

"A mother’s unconditional love is often presented as a model of loving-kindness, but real mothers—‘cursing in childbirth, leaking milk, kissing bruises, pounding a wall in the middle of the night so they didn’t pound their babies’—have never had a voice in spiritual literature. With courage and compassion, The Mama Sutra gives them that voice. Cushman’s tender, fierce, and beautiful memoir masterfully brings the lofty ideals of spiritual practice down to the messy, heartbreaking details of women’s lives, honoring the labor with which women give birth and nurture our families, our partners, our communities, and ourselves. Cushman’s powerful book shows us that the joys and sorrows of motherhood are not separate from the spiritual path but are the path itself. Finally!" —Leza Lowitz, author of In Search of the Sun