The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga

November 18th, 2009 by admin

Manufacturer: Doubleday Religion
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Product Description

Geshe Michael Roach's The Tibetan Book of Yoga is an excellent second yoga book for someone who is interested in Buddhism and is looking to deepen his or her yoga practice. The slim volume--based on Heart Yoga from the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas--delves more into the philosophy behind the poses than their practice. In the first four chapters Roach provides a quick history of Heart Yoga and introduces the uniquely Tibetan Buddhist aspects of the practice. Drawing on Tibetan conceptions of human physiology, Heart Yoga imagines five levels to work in each yoga pose. These levels include the physical body and the breath but also encompass the "inner winds" (internal energy channels), thoughts, and "world-seeds" (each seed is a part of karma that "ripens when we look at something, and colors how we see it").

Heart Yoga is infused with tong-len, a Tibetan meditation of "giving and taking" where the practitioner generates compassion through a mental image of taking away pain from others and giving joy. In later chapters, Roach walks his readers through the 10 exercises that form the core of the daily, 30-minute Heart Yoga practice. Each exercise is described in modest detail (with a few accompanying black-and-white photographs) before Geshe Roach offers his commentary on how the exercise serves the development of the five levels. Throughout, he remains centered on the fifth level, world-seeds, and the generation of compassion, as the vital foundation for successful, long-term practice.

Roach, the first American to receive the title "Geshe," has done a valuable service in bringing these ancient Tibetan traditions to a wider, English-speaking audience. But The Tibetan Book of Yoga is not a comprehensive guide for a yoga beginner. Roach suggests in the text that readers "piggy back" on other yoga teachers and teachings to learn correct pose form and avoid injury. In the end, The Tibetan Book of Yoga fills an important niche in Western yoga as an introduction to Tibetan philosophy of yoga, an introduction that may well spawn a new generation of books, videos and schools to expand on its teaching. --Patrick O'Kelley

Product Details

ISBN13: 9780385508377
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

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Customer Reviews

user comment The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga

I hate exercise; I love this

Review Date: March 13, 2004

Reviewer: ,

This book finally tells the reader how yoga works. If you want to stay toned up! Great! Go to yoga class. But if you want to connect with your higher nature, this book tells you how. Based on the wisdom of the Yoga sutras as well as the wisdom of Tibetan masters, it melds mind and body together in a unified cause - to end the suffering of all living beings.

More fun than I thought it would be

Review Date: March 25, 2004

Reviewer: Jocelyn L., Denver Co

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.

excellent!

Review Date: January 26, 2004

Reviewer: ,

this book is luminous!!
it unveils the secrets of why yoga brings light into
every part of your life,
the reason that the 95% of yoga,
which is the mental part, vastly accelerates
the 5% of yoga that's the physical part.
in short, why yoga will not work if
we have negative thoughts towards others.
and why yoga only works if we open our hearts
and help others to be happy.

Wow! Very interesting

Review Date: February 17, 2004

Reviewer: Tom McMahon, Santa Barbara, California

I'm a long-time student of Buddhism and a part-time student of Yoga, and I'm thrilled with this book because it so effortlessly brings the two together. It's quite a simple (and easy) book, but at the same time it is highly original--I've never read a book like this. I'm sorry to say that the Buddhism bookshelf has been getting a little stale as of late

Substance-wise, this book will definitely appeal to those who have an interest in Buddhist meditation and it would appeal to yoga practitioners who are looking to expand the spiritual element of their practice. The chapters are basically each of the ten essential exercises the author (authors?) recommend. In the introduction it is explained that this yoga comes from the monasteries of Tibet and has been practiced for centuries. The reading level is quite straight-forward, not too much jargon. The exercises are likewise straight-forward and I had no problem getting started with them. I don't think it would be difficult to really dedicate yourself to practicing them every day, but I do think that deep down the exercises are pretty challenging in that you it would take time to really master them.

It's a refreshing and enjoyable book. Thanks for reading!

New information, not so new positions

Review Date: March 25, 2004

Reviewer: Jane Cohn, Connecticut

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.