Yoga Book Reviews
Check out these Books for inspiration on yoga-related explorations of life’s mysteries and celebrations!
Books are listed alphabetically by title. Latest reviews appear in green.
Eat pray love
by Elizabeth Gilbert. Penguin Books, London, 2007
Outgoing Elizabeth finds that even in an Indian Ashram she has retained her chatty and gossipy personality. She resolves to change: She will scrub the temple floors (her chore) in silence, and become the mysterious Quiet Girl. But the Universe has other ideas. Just as she makes this resolution, she is called into the Ashram office and given a new chore: She is to become the Key Hostess, so that her smiling and bubbly self can welcome and help care for 100s of people arriving for meditation retreats. She does the job, wonderfully, and in the process, she finds some silence . . . That little story epitomizes the journey chronicled in this wonderful (real-life) story about Elizabeths recovery from depression and a difficult divorce and her journey to reconnect with her self. She goes to Italy to eat and rediscover pleasure, to India to find prayer and meditation, and to Bali (Indonesia) to find balance and . . . Its funny, its deeply meaningful, its a great account of the difficulties and rewards of meditation, and its probably the most engrossing and book Ive read in a long time. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
Also… THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT, a great example of “all is sacred.” — Jeff
Abandon
by Pico Iyer. Vintage Books 2004 (first published 2003).
Rumi, the 13th century Sufi poet, is becoming increasingly popular in the West, including among yogis. Abandon is a mysterious novel about a young Englishman, transported to California, who is trying to write a thesis on Rumi. He searches for meaning, especially in Rumi’s words on love, as he tries to make sense of a possibly ancient and authentic manuscript, an elusive lover, and a cool but secretly passionate advisor. In the end—or maybe there is no end—the meaning and authenticity are everywhere and nowhere; they are, as Rumi says in various ways, within. Abandon is lyrical, evocative, and could be described as Postmodern; it provides few answers, but many wonderful questions. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon.
All Over Creation
by Ruth Ozeki. Penguin Books, 2003.
A breech birth baby is described as coming out in Paschimottanasana, the seated forward bend posture of surrender (infant and mother are both fine). Comments about asana pepper this book, making it an especially enjoyable read for Yoga lovers. But it’s much more than a good read, just as Yoga is more than just asana. A heartwarming and funny tale involving conservative Idaho potato farmers, radical environmentalists, and genetically modified organisms, All Over Creation is really about friendship and love, freedom and life. As the grandmother says about the future of her carefully bred seeds: “Keeping is not safe. Keeping is danger. Only safe way is letting go. Giving everything away. Freely. Freely.”
All Over Creation, as well as Ozeki’s (1998) My Year of Meats, provide a lot of serious information about the dangers of industrial agriculture. And because they are also readable and reasonable, these books may go a long way towards opening eyes and minds. Read, enjoy, and share them as a way of spreading the word. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon.
Broken for You
by Stephanie Kallos. Grove Press, New York, 2004.
Yoga is a stilling of the voices in your head. Yoga is seeing the world, even the apparently frightening and painful parts, as it really is and the joy that results. Yoga is a challenging class that is so much fun you want it to go on forever. Thats Broken for You, the joyous story of a former recluse with a terminal brain tumor and her ragtag bunch of borders, one of whom is a Yoga teacher. They break a lot of things, but ultimately its a story of redemption, of creating art and family, and of love. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
Buddha Da
by Anne Donovan. Carroll & Graf Publishers, NY. Originally published 2002, first Carroll & Graf edition 2004.
If you’ve ever felt torn between your Yoga schedule and family, friends, or work, Buddha Da is for you. Set in contemporary Scotland, its about what happens to a family when the party-loving father, Da, discovers meditation, Buddhism, and eventually celibacy. Author Donovan understands the satisfactions and difficulties of meditation, and the ways it can be found in work as well as sitting. Written in dialect, this sweet and funny novel is a pleasure to read, populated with characters who make some mistakes but mean well and are full of love. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe
by Lynne McTaggart. HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.
“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.” These lines, which open the Dhammapada, express some of what we experience in Yoga, and The Field (also recommended by What the Bleep) explains the physics behind these experiences. The field is a vast matrix of low level energy, and is the basis of universal interconnectedness, of mind and matter across time and space. The coherence of our consciousness imparts order to the field and thus literally shapes the world we inhabit. This may sound fantastic and mystical, but as presented in The Field, it is also hard science with practical implications for everything from energy policy and space travel to healing and homeopathy. The Field will open your mind, and perhaps help you understand the power of that mind. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
The Five People you Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom; Hyperion
Though it is not a “holiday” book, this potent and beautiful little tale is packed with a “Christmas Carol” type truth that resonates with the spirit of the holidays: forgiveness, acceptance, love, healing and giving. After a telling final act in a long life that he feels is a waste, Eddie finds himself meeting five people in “heaven” who help to shed a light on the life he lived and the people he knew one way or another. A profound meditation on acceptance and the simple practice of self-worth, this little gem is a great gift for anyone, especially older parents who don’t like to read! Reviewed by Jeff Martens
Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet
by Frances Moore Lapp and Anna Lapp. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2002.
Avidya—generally translated as spiritual ignorance or incorrect comprehension—is the root cause of much suffering, according to Patanjalis Yoga Sutras (II.3). Hopes Edge is essentially about transcending avidya, at both personal and global scales. Using food as an entre, Frances Moore Lapp (author of the revolutionary Diet for a Small Planet) and her daughter Anna, ask Why do we, as societies, create what we as individuals abhore? and can we do something about it? Their answers are that we create hunger, pollution and other global problems because we (influenced by the media and multi-national corporations) do not correctly comprehend the implications of our actions, and YES, we can do something about it. Most of the book eloquently supports these answers by describing how brave and imaginative people across the world are fighting hunger and working for justice, with strategies ranging from haute cuisine that uses local produce to land reform. Among its many gifts, Hopes Edge will help you understand how what you consume can foster good health for both yourself and your community. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon.
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, by Kiran Desai
Faber and Faver, London, 1998.
Sampath, a young postal clerk, has a great appreciation for all of his sensory experiencescolors on a postcard, the texture of silk sarisbut difficulties coping with everyday practicalities. To get away from it all, he moves into a guava tree. But it all follows him, and the child-like man is transformed into a guru, surrounded by family, advertisers, pilgrims, tourists, and soon a troop of trouble-making hanuman monkeys. Hullabaloo is a sensual romp, full of the texture of fruit, the aromas of cooking, and the antics of government officials and monkeys. It’s also a statement about the nature of wisdom and the profoundness of every moment, every sensation.
reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Abridged version recorded on CD, read by Ben Kingsley, with an introduction by Thich Nhat Han. Originally published 1996, Simon and Schuster.
When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist; and vice versa. So says Vietnamese monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh, in Living Buddha, Living Christ (read by Ben Kingsley). He explores parallelisms between Buddhism and Christianity, and the unity of all religions and belief systems: Truth has no boundaries. Although the subject is religion, his poetic style and non-dogmatic approach ought to appeal to everyone, regardless of belief. Living Buddha, Living Christ expresses the joy of mindfulness, of being in the present moment, of a simple life. Ultimately, Thich Nhat Hanh is talking about the peace of unity, about finding peace within and sharing that peace with the universe. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel
by Candace B. Pert, Ph.D. Scribner, NY. Originally published 1997, first paperback edition 2003.
This amazing book, by one of the scientists featured in What the Bleep Do We Know, goes a long way towards explaining the physiology and biochemistry of how Yoga and other spiritual practices work. Drawing on her pharmaceutical research, Pert describes how the flow of peptide-born information, which we perceive as emotions, is the basis of mindbody integration. The implications for Yoga are huge: Biochemically stored information is akin to samskara, the impressions of past actions and part of the wheel of karma. And the emotional/information flow transcends individuals and thus gets at the basis of Samadhi, or integration, the eighth limb of Yoga as described by Patanjali. Full of scientific detail, but also a readable story of discovery, Molecules of Emotion may help you understand some of what you are feeling, and, if youre anything like me, it might even help you let go of the need to understand everything. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
My Life in Dog Years
by Gary Paulsen. Bantam Doubleday, New York, 1998.
This is a book of dog stories for young readers. Why in the world is it getting reviewed on a Yoga web page? Harrumph. Open your mind, open your heart, relax the palate, and let everything be your teacher . . . especially this amazing collection of dogs. And if their collective wisdom isnt enough, Jakethe border collieis probably smart enough to translate the Sutras from Sanskrit and explain them to you. Dont take things too seriously. Enjoy this collection of true tales about the dogs Gary Paulsen (Itidarod racer and author) has known throughout his life. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon.
A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose
by Eckart Tolle, Dutton, 2005
Eckart Tolle’s new book A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose is a profound work of individual and global transformation. The purpose of this book is your own Liberation, and Tolle plays with the Neti Neti (not this, not that) approach to first make clear to you what you are NOT. Sub-chapters such as “The illusory Self” and the Voice in the Head” show very clearly the result of being trapped in thought-form identification. “Identification with things” clearly illustrates the mind’s tendency to collect and own everything from relationships to accomplishments. But this new book goes further and shows how these tendencies manifest on a global as well as an individual level. In this case knowledge is power as the reader learns to recognize the painful patterning within and all around. Methods of Realization beyond technique are then offered in Chapters titled “Breaking Free” and “Finding Out Who You Are”. This Realization is then paralleled with the evolution of the Earth that we all share in this world of form, and this is one of the truly beautiful things about this book. Though the world of form can cause immense suffering and feelings of isolation, Tolle does not create an enemy of the world but rather recognizes it for what it truly is: a temporary manifestation of the Oneness able to point us back to the Divine. Purchase the CD version as Tolle’s voice adds immeasurable nyance and connectivty to these source teachings on Freedom.
Power vs Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. Hay House Publishing
Did you know that fear and anger have their own vibrational energy level in the human body? Did you know that there are certain evolutionary frequencies of awareness that can take us beyond the mind-created self? Ok, this one is for all you science oriented and PhD. types out there as well as for those you who really like to understand the psycho-spiritual scientific dynamics of change, health and energetic vibrational fields. Hawkins uses randomized muscle testing to discover the inherent wisdom and universal truths that are our birthright and ultimate destiny by documenting thousands of clinical trials. The result is a profound book on the evolution of human consciousness and the profound difference between true power and the use of force as it impacts our ability to change individually and as a species. He then uses his findings to reveal profound insights into the nature of consciousness, ralization and enlightenment.
From page 232: “Time, then, is much like a hologram that already stands complete; it’s asubjective, sensory effect of a progressively moving point of view. There’s no beginning or end to a hologram, it’s already everywhere, complete — in fact the appearance of being “unfinished” is part of its completeness. Even the phenomenon of “unfoldment” itself reflects a limited point of view: There is no enfolded or unfolded universe, only a becoming awareness. Our perception of events happening in time is analogous to a traveler watching the landscape unfold before him. But to say that the landscape unfolds before the traveler is merely a figure of speech – nothing is actually unfolding; nothing is actually becoming manifest. there’s only the progression of awareness.”
This is the “science” of the future here now for those who already have eyes to see…
Rules of the Wild: A Novel of Africa
by Francesca Marciano, Vintage Books, 1998.
Esm, the narrator, is a young Italian woman who ends up in Kenya trying to escape the pain of her fathers death. She looks for peace everywhere: in the scenery and wildlife, in lovers, in drugs, in possessions. She deceives herself, and she lies to her friends and lovers. Its an often gritty story, both because one of her lovers is a journalist covering the genocide in Rwanda, and because my empathy for Esm was always tinged with frustration at what she was doing to herself and others. But its also a novel of wisdom. Its almost as though her Yoga teacher were appearing every once in a while to help her to learn how to feel; about the nature of love and freedom; and how everything, every moment, is new and unique and now. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts St. Martin’s Griffin, 2002
Shantaram, Linbaba, Lindsay and several others names are claimed by the author of this epic life adventure where Gregory Roberts comes to live out a hundred lifetimes in the span of a mere decade. An escaped convict and New Zealand’s most wanted man, Lindsay makes his way to Bombay on a false passport and reincarnates while still living as a slum doctor, crime lord, soldier, tortured prisoner, good friend and lover. Along the way he shares in prose rich and alive with insight what it feels like to be addicted to heroin, stitch up a neighbors arm and come to a place of freedom while being cruelly tortured by realiziing that, no matter how bad the pain became, he always remained free to forgive his torturers. Shantaram is a profound book on the nature of reinventing ourselves in the face of habit with deep meditations on what it means to truly give, helping others, and a crime lord’s view of absolute good and evil. Ultimately this novel transcends its questionable narrator until all of its varied oppositions and messy human contradictions are laid bare to reveal the humanity and honor of life itself, and the evolutionary process of time, choice and action that shapes and reshapes us each and every day.
the speed of dark
by Elizabeth Moon. Ballantine books New York, 2003.
Who are you, really? Yoga teaches us that we are not our minds, not our bodies, not our forms or our labels. But what if, with a simple medical procedure, your brain could be changed so that you could more easily function in the world, so you could be more normal? Would you do it? And if you did, would it change who you really are? This is the dilemma faced by Lou, an autistic man who is highly accomplished in many realms, and also in love. Speed of Darkness is a powerful story, set a little in the future, about Lou’s gift for mathematics and pattern recognition, his friendships, his fencing, and the corruption and intrigues of the pharmaceutical company he works for. It is also a meditation on how we see the world, and on the nature of the self. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart
by Thich Nhat Hanh. Shabhala, 2004.
Thich Nhat Hanh, an internationally known Zen Buddhist Monk, has written an extraordinary little book on the art, practice and true experience of Love. Based on the idea that training and practice are needed to really love another being, the author grounds his discovery of spiritual compassion into very earthly terms. Hanh offers several gem-like mantras that build simply, one upon the other, to actually help clear a path to the heart so that the experiencer may dance in the presence of “karuna” or compassion. Each new mantra shows beautifully how love is really something to be shared openly with “mudita” (joy) and “maitri” (loving kindness), always starting where all experiences are born: in th epresent moment. Mantras as simple as “Breathing, I know that I am breathing in. Breathing, I know that I am breathing out,” or “Dear one, know that I am here for you” offer immediate results that propel the reader to want to share their presence and caring with all they come into contact with, especially their Beloved.
Reviewed by Jeff Martens.
Villa Incognito
by Tom Robbins. Bantam Books, New York. First published 2003, first paperback edition 2004.
With every ounce of concentration, you finally get that posture. Success! Next thing you know, your teacher tells a joke. Youve heard it before, but you cant help yourself, you start giggling. There goes the posture. You remember not to take yourself too seriously. Thats what this book is like. Populated by tanukis (well-endowed, saki-loving, badger-like creatures), MIAs who choose to remain missing, a mysterious animal-blooded woman, and vine-ripened tomatoes, its an irreverent, twisted, R-rated, funny story about being in the world. After all, Tom Robbins knows what hes talking about, he thanked his Yoga teacher in the acknowledgements of his last book. Reviewed by Michelle Hegmon
Jeff Recommends these Books on Yoga and Freedom:
I AM THAT Sri Nisargadatta Mararaj
Book of Secrets Osho
Nine Faces of Christ Eugene Whitworth
The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle
The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharishi
The Truth Is Sri H.W.L. Poonja