Customer Reviews

Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a fairly casual yoga practitioner; I've just begun to try to incorporate asana (posture) practice on an almost daily basis. This book goes beyond the practice of yoga postures and takes you deep into the philosophy behind yoga. It contains a series of essays and reflections, one for each day of the year; each entry begins with a quote derived from yoga texts, popular culture, or yoga students and teachers. The book is broken down into eight sections which correspond to the eight branches of yoga--the postures, or asanas, are just one of these branches, and the essays focus on incorporating yoga into your daily life both on AND off the mat. Although I found most of the essays to be interesting and enjoyed learning more about yogic traditions, I felt that the book had limited applicability to my own practice, which is more limited to asana. However, those who are interested in integrating yoga/yogic philosophy more pervasively into their lives are likely to enjoy this book.

My former yoga teacher recommended this book to me. It is wonderful! The short meditations, an easy early morning read, always presents some little tidbit of insight to take my (your?) yoga practice OFF the mat...and into the world! Very nice!

Excellent book... each and every essay describes one aspect of yoga philosophy and also correspond to concrete situations in everyday life, so that they are easy to relate to. I would recommend to anyone who is getting into yoga as a philosophy of life!

I couldn't believe how fast the delivery was. I ordered it on Sunday afternoon and got it on Tuesday afternoon. All the way from East Coast to West Coast in 2 days for only 5.90 shipping!!! Wow!
Happy camper here.
Good book. Great service! Highly recommend.
5 stars

This book Meditations From The Mat by Rolf Gates is a real treasure!

The book is broken up into chapters according to the 8 limbs of Yoga (Yama's, Niyama's, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi) and is sub-divided so that you can read a new essay each day of the year. Each essay is preceded by a quote by an eclectic array of folks, from spiritual teachers/sages, songwriters, yoga students and others.

Rolf really puts these age old yogic limbs into a language that really speaks to contemporary seekers and truly bares his soul (as they say "Warts and all") in sharing his deeply felt perspective on these different limbs.

This book is a true gift to those who would love a very down to earth perspective on these timeless truths of yoga.

Highly recommended!

Namaste

Read this book, and if your live in the Boston area, try to attend one of Rolf's classes. He will make you weep with joy. Rolf combines spirituality with physicality in a unique way that is truly a life-changing experience. In a culture where we, especially women, experience so much negativity towards our bodies, Rolf is a godsend - helping us love and inhabit ourselves. I have used Amazon.com for years, and this is the first time I have taken the time to write a review.

This is by far one of the best books on yoga I have ever read. There are no postures, just daily meditations on what it means to follow the path of yoga. Each day is preceded by a quote which illuminates that day's thought. Many of the quotes are taken directly from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The book also roughly follows Patanjali's sutras in it's basic structure. The author went through a life crisis of alchohol addiction and after getting cleaned up, yoga helped him take control of his life and find spiritual peace. The daily meditations are very uplifting and will make you better appreciate your life, improve your relationships and refine your spiritual path. A highly recommend this book. It may just change your life for the better.

One of the best books I have ever read.

Rolf Gates' book is the kind of blessing that only comes around with the regularity of Haley's Comet. By his blending of quotes, personal experience, and yoga instruction, he accomplishes something of serene wonder. His book conveys the very heart of yoga, for it reaches the reader on a level beyond words, phrases, or didactics. Using the book as a daily inspirational guide, the seeker can find and find abundantly.

As one who has never attended a Yoga class, I am fascinated by this book because I feel as though I am doing Yoga as I sit and read and think, read and think. Yoga is so much more than being on a mat, although that experience is certainly most central to the discipline. What I am discovering is the meaning of the discipline. I am able to envision the physical movements as I sort out, mentally, the meaning of my imagined activity. Because Gates puts his readers through stages of using their minds, he also expects those readers to repeat those stages over and over. In repeating the exercises, readers bring new thoughts and experiences to the reading activity and each exposure is different from the last one. As such, the book is always new, exciting, provocative, mysterious, riveting.