In this page we will discuss yoga-centric books.

Books that mainly deal with yoga and issues related to benefits of yoga.

 

Note; We are very interested in developing locally produced books for publication.

If you have any ideas or in posession of such book(s) please let us know.

 

Please send your favorite yoga or related book reviews or write a review for below listed books.

 

Title                                                    Author (s)                                           Description

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga            Deepak Chopra MD, David Simon MD         Spiritual Laws of Yoga

 

By, Masso

 

This book is written for people who have initial understanding of yoga but seek to understand spiritual side of mind/body/spirit.

This is not a general practice book normally filled with asanas but Asanas, Pranayama and Bandhas are discussed when their spiritual values are brought up.

I generally enjoy Chopra books and have from begining , Quantum Healing is my favorite. This one seems to be written textlike,  just to explain the spiritual side of the Yoga.

It is somewhat dry and void of usual Chopra energy. There are also numerous referrences to Chopra Center and its components which makes this book feels like a plug to Chopra world. Other than that there is a lot to learn here.

 

 

A Chakra & Kundalini Workbook               Dr. John Mumford                                   Psycho Spiritual Techniques

 

By , Masso

This book is a western interpretation of yoga and it seems to be geared for readers who want to gain extra ordinary powers via yoga practice.

Book is full of how to attain and prime psychic powers, some spiritual realization, again geared to gain powers mainly over others..

There are some psychic practices and methods discussed in this book as well.

Book claims and discusses few health and rejuvination techniques but again the focus is out of self and directed onto others.

Comment ; I believe yoga mainly empowers the practitioner and since we are all built same way, from there the practitioner may find methods to better understand others as well. You discover the hallways and doorways of your mind or body, then you can understand others from their windows.

Similarly, understanding spiritual self may set you upon the path to understanding of the whole spiritual world. (Samadhi)

It is an awesome concept but one should understand the ethics and protocols of this very different "None Local" spiritual universe before attempting to enter it. "none local and local universes" as coined by Rodger Penrose in his book , 'Emperor's New mind',

You can contact me and I will try to explain the concepts of local universe, none local universe and parallels the way I understand them, or better yet read 'Emperor's new mind '  by Rodger Penrose.

Overall, the book has direction that is not a shared path for me.  But it brings up a discussion of ethics and how we can avoid being absorbed in self over others, and how we can rise above our weaknesses by focusing on methods of empowering ourselves instead of attaining power on others. Simply, find yourself fully before allowing yourself to find others.

 

Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom.     Sharon Mijares PhD                    Psychological Healing Practices, World's ancient traditions

 

Comment ; By , Masso

A book That describes Ancient spiritual practices and how they deal with pschological issues through an academic style.

 Buddhism, very correctly describes Nurturing seeds of sanity as reinforcement to psych spiritual techniques. Some history and how Buddhism deals with spiritual center and to cultivate mindfullness through Buddhism. Practices are mentioned but not in depth. Good read for familiarity with subject but not much in depth.

 Christianity, how Christianity deals with mental health and how Christianity can prevent mental disease. Rediscovering Christian Mystism. Prayer healing, saints, wisdom healing, miracle healing is briefly discussed without giving opinions, just descriptions.

 Goddess spiritualty, a brief anthropological study, political male effects,historical split between male female dominance in modern history.

 Judaism and Kabal.. Spiritual Pathways to healing through Jewish family traditions, Rabbi student, community effects, future psychological advances.

 Native American Psychospirituality. Dancing circle, East new beginings, , Initiations and learning Insight and revelations, Integrity, Guides for healers.

 Sufism. History , background Sufi stories, Poetry, Self and soul Practices, Breath Sound, Walking Meditation, Dance, Turning, Remembrance and new age applications.

 Taoism. TheTao Ch'i and Ch'iGung., The path of no path, Suchness and simplicity." no identity is true identity" .

 Illness= stuck or life energy and how to unstuck. Wu Wei, Ultimate Acheivment In Taoist "wellness"

 Yoga and Hinduism. Indian Science Vedic, Yoga as somatic science, the goals and outcomes of yoga. Yoga and psychotherapy, Cautions for yoga practice, Yoga and psychospiritual client, Yoga as a way of life.

 In this book there are  8 authors contributing each for designated chapter and finally author discusses distinction and similarities of the methods and schools of thought. Very interesting book but a very brief academic look. It is great if you want to look into different traditions and find one that fits your goals. I hope in future that there will be more synoptic views of modern psychology and older traditions.

 Comment; My own concept regarding treating mild neurosis is focused on yoga practices and a liquid stage (Scwha Asana) obtained from the organised and guided practices. A stage where  the emotional aspects of memories and events can be separated and distinguished from the experience itself. Emotional effects of an event/memory reduces the knowledge we gain from it and experience becomes a psychological burden instead of substance for growth. 

Practice of yoga can help separate emotional aspect of the traumatic event from the gained valuable knowledge.

Then the relevant emotions can be neutralized by shelving them as current and acceptable as normal but experience itself can be utilized as knowledge. 

When emotional aspects, the hurtful aspects of an event or memory are seperated and processed as external statistical value, they will loose their harmful effects due to their isolation while the memory itself stays intact and internal to serve in future. Taoist/realism , when you look inside out with clarity. Contact me for more information. masso

 

Four Yogas                                                           Swami Adiswarananda       A guide to spiritual path of Action,Devotion,Metditation,Knowledge.

 

By Masso, 

This an interesting book about yoga philosophy and its four major paths. Goal of this book is to provide path for freedom by exercising to achieve utilize nature externally and internally. To do this Four yoga paths are described individually and their applications and benefits are explored.

The manifest is that each soul is devine , the goal is to manifest this divinity within by utilizing nature; external and internal. Work, worship or psychis control or philosophy (knowledge) is suggested as paths to be mastered to initiate this control.  

 

 Yoga Sutras                                              Rammurti S. Mishra  M.D.           A textbook of Yoga psychology.

 

By, Masso

This is a great book.. I learned more from this book than any.. You can find complete translation of yoga sutras, comments and explanations in this book. Of course it is intense reading and requires deep interest in yoga and understanding of its philosophical structure.

 There is not much about psychology in this book but more about yoga roots, history, literature and explanations regarding Asanas.

 A perfect introduction to yoga philosophy.. Begining of the journey to discover philosophical path of yoga.

For yoga practioner, a sweet companion and reading which explain the transformations that occur while climbing the yoga path.

 

The Yoga Tradition                                                Georg Feuerestein, Ph.D.                     Yoga history, literature philosophy and practice

 

By, Masso

 This is a complete book of yoga.. A reference book recommended to teachers by teachers. Author is an incredibly knowledgable researcher and an established yoga pioneer in Western world. You can find in this book complete explanations of Essence of yoga, the wheel of yoga etc..

This is the book you must read if you want to understand yoga while practicing and/or teaching it. Check it out if you are curious about yoga or if you want to supplement your practice with knowledge.

 Also recommended by Drea.goodreads.com