The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living

The Wisdom of Yoga is a unique book that examines yogic philosophy through the lens of Western psychology. The premise is a writer working on a book about yogic philosophy who grows closer to the students in his yoga classes. They all have problems, to which they apply yogic principles. This results in interesting, real-life scenarios in which the abstract ideas of yoga (nonattachment, nonreactivity, restraint, etc.) are applied in a concrete way. The reason I am not giving it five stars is the somewhat contrived feeling at times, but this book is going to stay on my bedside table for a while.

For modern spiritual seekers and yoga students alike, here is an irreverent yet profound guide to the most sophisticated teachings of the yoga wisdom tradition–now brought to contemporary life by a celebrated author, psychotherapist, and leading American yoga instructor.

While many Westerners still think of yoga as an invigorating series of postures and breathing exercises, these physical practices are only part of a vast and ancient spiritual science. For more than three millennia, yoga sages systematically explored the essential questions of our human existence: What are the root causes of suffering, and how can we achieve freedom and happiness? What would it be like to function at the maximum potential of our minds, bodies, and show more spirits? What is an optimal human life?

Nowhere have their discoveries been more brilliantly distilled than in a short–but famously difficult–treatise called the Yogasutra. This revered text lays out the entire path of inner development in remarkable detail–ranging from practices that build character and mental power to the highest reaches of spiritual realization.

Now Stephen Cope unlocks the teachings of the Yogasutra by showing them at work in the lives of a group of friends and fellow yoga students who are confronting the full modern catastrophe of careers, relationships, and dysfunctional family dynamics. Interweaving their daily dilemmas with insights from modern psychology, neuroscience, religion, and philosophy, he shows the astonishing relevance and practicality of this timeless psychology of awakening.

Leavened with wit and passion, The Wisdom of Yoga is a superb companion and guide for anyone seeking enhanced creativity, better relationships, and a more ethical and graceful way of living in the world. show less

For modern spiritual seekers and yoga students alike, here is an irreverent yet profound guide to the most sophisticated teachings of the yoga wisdom tradition-now brought to contemporary life by a celebrated author, psychotherapist, and leading American yoga instructor.

While many Westerners still think of yoga as an invigorating series of postures and breathing exercises, these physical practices are only part of a vast and ancient spiritual science. For more than three millennia, yoga sages systematically explored the essential questions of our human existence: What are the root causes of suffering, and how can we achieve freedom and happiness? What would it be like to function at the maximum potential of our minds, bodies, and show more spirits? What is an optimal human life?

Nowhere have their discoveries been more brilliantly distilled than in a short-but famously difficult-treatise called the Yoga-Sutra. This revered text lays out the entire path of inner development in remarkable detail-ranging from practices that build character and mental power to the highest reaches of spiritual realization.

Now Stephen Cope unlocks the teachings of the Yoga-Sutra by showing them at work in the lives of a group of friends and fellow yoga students who are confronting the full modern catastrophe of careers, relationships, and dysfunctional family dynamics. Interweaving their daily dilemmas with insights from modern psychology, neuroscience, religion, and philosophy, he shows the astonishing relevance and practicality of this timeless psychology of awakening.

Leavened with wit and passion, The Wisdom of Yoga is a superb compainion and guide for anyone seeking enhanced creativity, better relationships,and a more ethical and graceful way of living in the world.

Stephen Cope is a psychotherapist, senior Kripalu yoga teacher, and author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self. He is currently senior Scholar in Residence at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.

' A Splendid bridge between traditional yoga and the concerns and needs of contemporary Western seekers.'-Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., author of The Yoga Tradition

'Valuable insight into the profound 'why' of this ancient science-plus a totally great read.'-Los Angeles Times

'Intellectually precise, profoundly moving, and gratifyingly accessible.'-Donna Farhi, international yoga teacher

'Beautifully written, full of insght and compassion, and chock-full of stories...a life enhancing and entertaining read.'-Amy Weinraub, author of Yoga for Depression

'Absolutely masterful! Stephen Cope lays out the completse path of youga with stunning clairty, and he dows so in a narrative style that is a riveting to read as a good novel. I simpley could not put it down.'-Sylvia Boorstein, author of It's Easier Than You Think

'Stephen Cope is a conpassionate writer with a talent for bridging ancient wisdom and the modern mind. Artful, heartfelt, and gracioius, The Wisdom of Yoga leads the reader deep into yoga philosophy.'-Particia Walden, international yoga teacher

Contents

Introduction
Prologue: Seekers, then and now
Part One The problem of ordinary unhappiness
Jake: The quest for the firebird
1 The secret strength of disillusionment
2 Close encounters with mind
3 Quiet desperation
Part Two Illumined mind in everyday life
Maggie: the search for authentic celf-expressin
4 Tying the puppy to a post
5 Explorers of inner space
Part Three Karma and character: The bondage to pattern
Susan: Filling the hungry heart
6 The roots of suffering
7 The laws of cause and effect
8 The web of 'I'
Part Four The freedom in skillful action
Kate: The invisible suffering of delusion
9 The hidden power of restraint
10 Practice the opposite
11 At the still point of the turning world
12 Breath, trust, and the transmission of hunger
Part Five Meditative transformations of self
Rudi: Living at ease in the world
13 The vision of sameness
14 Shiva's dance: Insight and dissolution
15 The end of striving
Appendix A: Yoga and buddhism
Appendix B: The Yoga-Sutra in Englisn, translated by Chip Hartranft
Glossary
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index show less

I really enjoyed reading this book, even though it took me forever and a day to get through it. It is written in the style of a novel which makes it a fairly easy read for those who are not 100% familiar with yoga philosophy. There are a few sections that are a bit too technical at times, but it balances out with the rest of the book. Anyone interested in more than just the physical side of yoga may enjoy this...I definitely reccommend it.

This quotation which leads off the book I am reading entitled “The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living,” by Stephen Cope so resonates with me and damned be the religious bigots among us who want to force their way of understanding upon us all:

“There were no formerly heroic times, and there was no formerly pure generation. There is no one here but us chickens, and so it has always been: a people busy and powerful, knowledgeable, ambivalent, important, fearful, and self-aware; a people who scheme, promote, deceive, and conquer; who pray for their loved ones, and long to flee misery and skip death. It is a weakening and discoloring idea, that rustic people knew God personally once upon a time–or even knew show more selflesness or courage or literature–but that it is too late for us. In fact, the absolute is available to everyone in every age. There was a more holy age than ours, and never a less.” –Annie Dillard, “For the Time Being (1999).”

The Introduction on page xiii begins: “Mircea Eliade, one of the greatest students of religion in the twentieth century, once declared. [We go] to the past only in order to learn about such authentic possibilities of human existence as may be repeatable in the present.”

What a puzzling planet we tread on. And physicists tell us that time is an illusion. There are a hundred billion stars in this galaxy and the Hubble Space Telescope has found there may be 125 billion galaxies in the universe. To grasp the concept of a billion, consider this: Counting non-stop, at one number a second, it would take you 31 years,251 days, 7 hours, 46 minutes, and 39 seconds to count to 1 billion. (Roll the Carl Sagan tapes here). show less

An exploration of the Yoga Sutras and the philosophy behind yoga.