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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The ancient art of yoga came to Tibet from its birthplace in India over a thousand years ago. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Both brilliant and somewhat disappointing,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)
It is a shame that I have to point out the book's greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness with equal importance. First, one cannot overstate the importance of moving beyond the overemphasis on strictly bodily exercise of Westernized yoga schools. Most U.S. yoga teachers sell the strictly physical benefits (which ultimately is pointless) or worse yet, mix a mostly physical curriculum with muddled, poorly understood jibber jabber about "energy" or "chakras" or other buzzwords culled from Hindu tradition without an understanding of the overarching, and highly technical, theories behind the complete science of yoga. In other words, much of Western yoga has Patanjali rolling in his grave. As a refreshing contrast, this book explains, albeit in a more simplified manner for the non-Buddhists, the exact reason why yoga can work and how lasting transformation can be achieved. It is also a joy to see Tonglen being taught in "stealth" mode. Thus, we have a Dharma practice that non-Buddhists can practice without feeling alienated or uncomfortable with religious imagery. Buddhists with more experience in these traditions will recognize the deeper meanings to Geshe Roach's non-Buddhist-friendly presentations instantly, whether they are trained in the Sutra tradition only, or in higher teachings. There is a great deal of knowledge stuffed into this rather slender volume for those who are familiar with the Tibetan tradition.Unfortunately, it does not seem that physical culture is the author's strong suit. Yoga DOES have an important physical dimension, and one would not want to make the opposite mistake of many yoga teachers and stress mental exercise to the detriment of physical positioning. Having been a student of yoga for quite some time, I must say that the description of the postures is imprecise and sometimes confusing. Being a student of yoga doesn't help, as many postures are different from tradition to tradition, especially Sun Salutations! With a posture that has many steps like Sun Salutations, a picture of a competent yogi executing the posture MUST be included with the instructions. It isn't. Even so-so or tragically average yoga books have clearer illustrations and better instructions. Beginners may not be doing these postures correctly. Frankly, since I learned the postures in a different tradition, I am not sure that I am doing some things exactly as the author intends. This is doubly disappointing because the author stresses great precision in the postures and breathing, yet provides instructions that sometimes fall short of this precision. I will admit that this is more of a problem for people who are newer to yoga, but doesn't this book seem written for such a person? I highly recommend doing what the author suggests in later chapters - get instruction from a qualified teacher. When you have some experience with the postures, you probably will be able to piece together what the occasional fuzzy instruction means in this tradition. The format of the book does not lend itself to opening on the floor so that a new student can glance at the instructions while halfway into a posture. It flies shut. Many home yoga students find it necessary to do this when a posture is new to them. I still can't get over the lack of photos of some aspects of the postures. Still, one must look at Yoga in the Western world when evaluating this book. We have strictly physical teachers who see yoga as just another health club activity, and we have teachers that try to be "spiritual" but are borrowing bits and pieces from many different traditions that they don't really understand. This book really does eliminate that problem by having a solid, logical theory behind the asanas. I can't stress how important that is to have. So I can give this book four stars and recommend it to others without reservation. Still, I feel the need to reiterate my warning to the newbie: get a good teacher, even if he or she lacks the spiritual understanding of yoga, and gain experience with the physical side of the postures. One misplaced foot or one improperly rounded shoulder can render a posture incorrect, and much less effective.
5.0 out of 5 stars
New information, not so new positions,
By Jane Cohn (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)
The authors are up front about how the yoga poses are familiar, so I don't take off points for that but I mention it in case Amazon people are wondering what's different here. The spiritual direction that goes along with the practice, though, is very refreshing. I've used some of the exercises with some of my students and they've all responded very positively. It's not the first book you should buy on yoga (the positions are explained much better elsewhere) but you'll be very happy if its your second or hundreth book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
More fun than I thought it would be,
By Jocelyn L. (Denver Co) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)
It's definitely a serious program, but it wasn't as stodgy as I thought it would be. I enjoy yoga and didn't find any of the postures difficult or particularly challenging, but the philosophy that is meant to come into your practice is amazing. I've been using the book's program for the past few weeks in my daily practice and I love the insights it has given me. I definitely feel that I am even more connected and grounded, more focused, and more in touch with myself and those around me. I do recommend this book to casual or experienced yoga practitioners.
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