Stress is often the first domino in chronic illness and disease. Too often, however, doctors have little training or information to offer patients about managing stress.

In The Centered Heart, yoga therapist, stress management expert and senior trainer for Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, Susi Amendola, navigates the intricate relationship between stress management and overall health. She invites readers into transformative experience with the ancient and time-tested somatic practices of yoga that have been shown to improve cardiac outcomes as well as outcomes from many of the chronic diseases that plague our society.

Developing a daily stress management practice that includes gentle movements, breathing, relaxation, meditation, imagery, compassion, and a connection to nature gradually shifts awareness to an internal locus of control. Practitioners will feel better, connect with their innate inner wisdom, and come to understand that through lifestyle choices they control they can be their own first line of intervention.

While we may not be able to affect what is happening around us, with the wisdom and insights offered in The Centered Heart, we can make a difference in the quality of our own lives, change the way we react to stress, calm our hearts, and reclaim our health.

Susi Amendola is an Internationally Certified Yoga Therapist who brings over 40 years of experience utilizing Yoga to help others heal. She holds an ERYT 500 with Yoga Alliance as well as a C-IAYT with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She currently serves as a Stress Management Specialist for Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, a Medicare approved intensive cardiac rehab program. As Founder / Director of Yoga Now in Omaha, Nebraska, she currently teaches classes and trains teachers. Susi has developed yoga-based stress management programs for schools, businesses, and hospitals throughout the country. Susi has contributed over 150 articles to Ornish Living Magazine. She has been a guest speaker and presenter at yoga conferences, businesses, and many symposiums on health and wellness. She lives in Omaha, NE.

Focuses on somatic practices to decrease stress and improve heart health by combining science, time-tested mindfulness techniques, and patient stories.

• Winner, Relaxation/Mindfulness category (Living Now Book Awards, 2024)

When Amendola suffered from depression as a teen, her mother brought her to an ashram where they studied yoga and meditation. Amendola joined the community and became immersed in the food, practices, and natural settings, eventually leaving to start her own yoga center. When she was contacted by Dr. Dean Ornish, a leader in lifestyle medicine, she agreed to join his study on healthy life practices, working with medical and mental health professionals to fight disease and stress with mind and body lifestyle changes. Here she chronicles the study’s findings and her own experiences. Each chapter opens with a “centering moment” in which Amendola offers a step-by-step relaxation session (free recorded versions appear on the book’s website) and then focuses on an aspect of yoga training. Beginning with gentle movements, relaxation, and breathing, the author goes on to offer instructions on meditation, imagery, compassion, nature consciousness, and unity. She gently leads readers through the movements (seated and standing), providing ample illustrations and medical evidence of the power of these actions in taming tension and heart disease. Instead of trying to find time in your day for self-care, yoga-therapist Amendola suggests scheduling your life around your practices, aiming for a stress-free, healing existence. Under her expert guidance, this not only seems enticing but possible.
— Booklist, Starred Review

Highly Recommended! I have worked with Susi Amendola for 30 years. Her dedication, skill, and love have mentored hundreds of participants as well as many teams of health professionals in our lifestyle medicine program. This inspiring book guides the reader through their healing process with empathy, warmth and wisdom and will be of service whether you are at the beginning of your healing journey or if you have a seasoned yoga practice.
— Dean Ornish, MD, founder and president, Preventive Medicine Research Institute; Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; author of Dr. Dean Ornishs Program for Reversing Heart Disease

Beautifully written and filled with actionable information, this book is required reading for anyone with a family or personal history of heart disease. This book leaves you both empowered and inspired to make changes essential for both quality of life and better health outcomes.
— Amy Rothenberg, ND, author of You Finished Treatment, Now What?: A Field Guide for Cancer Survivors

An invaluable resource! From her own compelling journey of self-healing through the ancient tools of yoga and Ayurveda, to her incomparable experience working directly with heart patients for many decades,this book will be an invaluable resource for the practical and useful application of these research-proven tools for improving heart health and overall well-being.
— Baxter Bell, MD, author of Yoga for Health Aging

This beautiful, luminous book can change your life and heal your heart. It feels like an act of grace.
— Michele Marie Desmarais, PhD, PhD, associate professor of Religious Studies, Native American Studies, and Medical Humanities faculty at the University of Nebraska-Omaha

This book is a blessing for everyone. .Susi Amendola is a phenomenal human being who has lovingly empowered thousands of individuals in their journey from “disease” to “ease” for the past three decades. She is a living example of the wholesomeness of Yoga. In this book, she guides care-seekers through a holistic health-enhancing program that consists of postures, breathing, relaxation, meditation, imagery. At the same time, she reminds us of the power of compassion and the need for connection to Nature that is essential for healing to manifest. This book is a blessing for everyone who wants to move from distress and suffering to health, wellbeing, and joy.
— Ananda Balayogi, DSc, author of Yoga Therapy as a Whole Person Approach to Health, director of the Center For Yoga Therapy Education and Research (CYTER), Professor of Yoga Therapy at Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University

A book for True Healing! Emanating from Susi’s compassionate wisdom and vast experience we are gently yet effectively ushered through a glorious path of natural healing.The life-altering practices of Yoga offered here are innovative yet ancient in their offerings.Through her telling in “The Centered Heart” we become the recipient of formidable personal experience, years of study and practice, as well as student observation. This triad of power, encompassing body, mind, and emotions, unleashes radiant health. From this we are inspired to live a robust and fulfilling life touching the one spirit in all. Thank you, Susi, for this healing Gem!.
— Nischala Joy Devi, teacher, author of The Healing Path of Yoga, Secret Power of Yoga, co-founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program, founding director of Stress Management for Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease

A very informative book! Susi Amendola, a renowned yoga therapist, combines her wealth of expertise with a compassionate understanding of the human condition in this book to deliver an innovative guide to heart health. I believe this book serves as a beacon of knowledge for anyone seeking a holistic approach to heart wellness. This book is a vital resource, providing insights on healing, improving heart health, and achieving a better quality of life.
— Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Ayush, Former Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Ayurved University, "Padmashri" Awardee from the President of India

Yoga therapist and stress-management expert Amendola applies decades of experience to this yoga book for people unable to access heart-health resources or seeking to supplement their existing care. Its holistic approach focuses on mindset, physical and spiritual exercises, meditation, and personalized weekly routines. It is inclusive in sections on yoga poses and physical exercises by showing both the unaltered pose and a seated variation. Some of the exercises are easy to do even at work to reset stress levels without coworkers noticing. Those new to yoga will appreciate the detailed explanations and pictures; none of the poses are past beginner level. Recordings ofAmendola’s guided exercises for things like meditation are also available online for those easing into new practices. The suggestions in each chapter are great not only for improving heart health but also for increasing mindfulness in anyone. The book does push a plant-based diet, but it provides evidence for how it can elevate physical and spiritual life. An excellent starting point for those of all abilities and in all walks of life looking to create habits that support their cardiac and spiritual health.
— Library Journal