Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Tree of Yoga

by B.K.S. Iyengar, Patricia Walden (Foreword by)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 280 ratings · 24 reviews

Iyengar developed a form of yoga that focuses on developing strength, endurance, correct body alignment, as well as flexibility and relaxation. The Iyengar method integrates philosophy, spirituality, and the practice of yoga into everyday living. In The Tree of Yoga, Iyengar offers his thoughts on many practical and philosophical subjects including family life, love and s...more

Paperback, 194 pages

Published March 26th 2002 by Shambhala (first published 1988)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 582)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 29, 2012 Craig Shoemake rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: asanas, hinduism, yoga, patanjali

Now I will use the B word: “B” is for “beautiful,” and this slim volume by the still-living godfather of yoga is beautiful.

While I find I enjoy and benefit from anything Iyengar writes, I was actually more impressed by this book than I had expected to be. I did not go into it with any particular expectations–perhaps that helped–except the very positive reviews on Amazon. It is not an asana book, and Iyengar not being a scholar (he does not even have a high school degree he says on page 28, and...more Now I will use the B word: “B” is for “beautiful,” and this slim volume by the still-living godfather of yoga is beautiful.

While I find I enjoy and benefit from anything Iyengar writes, I was actually more impressed by this book than I had expected to be. I did not go into it with any particular expectations–perhaps that helped–except the very positive reviews on Amazon. It is not an asana book, and Iyengar not being a scholar (he does not even have a high school degree he says on page 28, and was a “dumb student”), it is not a “learned” tome of any sort. This book is, rather, a subtle, gentle, at times revealing, and quite elegantly written series of reflections on the practice and teaching of yoga. Mr. Iyengar may not have been much of a student (what does this say about schools, I wonder?), but this book is clearly the product of an intelligent, discerning, and dedicated life.

It is divided into five parts: (1) “Yoga and Life,” with essays describing generally the traditional Hindu view of the life process and how yoga fits in with that; (2) ”The Tree and Its Parts,” where the eight limbs defined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are described; (3) “Yoga and Health,” which is pretty self-explanatory; (4) “The Self and Its Journey,” examining the higher practices of pranayama and meditation leading to samadhi; and (5) “Yoga In the World,” which has only two essays, the first about yoga as an art form, the second about the requirements and responsibilities of yoga teachers. (This last actually had a depressing effect on me and made me question my desire to get yoga teacher certification. First, certifications mean precious little. Second, the amount of knowledge and responsibility required exceed what I will be able to accomplish anytime soon, if ever. And third, I’m already thoroughly middle-aged, suffer from ankylosing spondilitis, and will never be particularly good at asanas, much less look good doing them. But I digress…)

Although Iyengar does quote a bit of Sanskrit here and there, I would not say any of the essays are particularly “technical,” though this is certainly not to say they are at all superficial. Quite the opposite–this book could not have been written by someone who was anything less than a master of his field, with long years of experience and reflection. Which leads me to say that although anyone can read this book–beginner or advanced, the merely curious to the hardcore–what you get out of it will definitely be determined by the depth of your own practice. Many rereadings, particularly when one is at different stages of development, or when one has perhaps crossed the line from student to teacher, will no doubt yield new insights and understandings.

I’d like to share a few points of what, for me, were highlights. Mr. Iyengar has a way with analogies, and a brilliant one is found on page 17, where the four original castes (peasant, merchant, warrior, priest) are compared to attitudes or states of mind. His essay entitled “Childhood” (20) was simply beautiful, and I found the description of some of his life contained in “Family Life” (27) very inspiring. The second part of the book is an excellent overview of yoga practice as a way of meditation and illumination; I thought in particular the notion of the Eight Limbs (ashtanga) of Patanjali as a hologram (see “The Roots,” page 50) to be nothing if not brilliant. There are, in fact, many very insightful and illuminating passages in this section, things I never thought about in quite that way. His discussion of yoga as a healing art (especially from p. 93ff) was very interesting–I wish he would write a whole book devoted to his experiences in this regard. I could go on, as there are many excellent passages, but lastly I will cite p. 117ff as a brilliant evocation of why the Buddhist practice of mindfulness is so easily in accordance with the practice of asanas. Iyengar writes:

"Conciousness is always present in our finger, but most of the time we are not aware of it, so the consciousness of the finger is dormant. You should know the difference between consciousness and awareness. Consciousness exists everywhere in the body. When you are walking, if a thorn touches your foot, what happens? It pricks, and you immediately feel the pain, so you cannot say that consciousness was not there. But until he thorn pricked you, you were not aware of your foot. The consciousness in your foot was dormant, but the moment the foot was pricked, it was brought to the surface. To awaken that dormant consciousness is awareness. Your consciousness is six feet long, or five and a half feet long in your body–it is as long as your body is tall. But awareness is small. Awareness may extend two feet, one foot, one inch or half an inch. The yogi says that by practising asanas, you can bring awareness to an extension equal to that of consciousness. This is total awareness. This is meditation."

Mr. Iyengar is of course a hatha yogin, and while practicing asanas may take you a long ways, I do not feel it is a substitute for a hard-core sitting practice. This may be the area where he comes up short, and indeed, the only passage of the book that I thoroughly disagreed with revealed this. On p. 139 he writes:

"If you work diligently on asana, pranayama and pratyahara, you will receive your reward of dharana, dhyana and samadhi, which are the effects of that practice. They cannot be practised directly [emphasis added]. If we say that we are practising them, this means that we do not know the earlier aspects of yoga. It is only by practising the earlier aspects that we can hope to arrive at their effects."

I don’t agree with this at all. In fact, as a statement of the reality of meditation practice (especially in the Buddhist tradition, pick your yana), it is simply false. All over the Buddhist world (not to mention the Christian, Muslim, Jain, Hindu, etc), people come to meditation without ever having practiced asanas or pranayama, and many of them do just fine. Might they benefit from asanas? Of course! But, as Iyengar showed quite eloquently, the Path can be approached and the Goal attained through any of the limbs of yoga (though some are more direct and less time-consuming). While I do not wish to make overmuch of this one little misstep in an otherwise superb book, I do think it points out a shortcoming in Iyengar’s approach, which appears marked by an imbalance favoring asanas over direct meditation practice.

This aside–which is just my nitpicking–I cannot recommend this book enthusiastically enough to anyone exploring the world of yoga. Read it, practice, reflect, and reread it. Do not read it for information, rather for grounding, seasoning, maturation. If yoga is a tree (and since Mr. Iyengar says it is, who are we to argue?) then read it and learn to think like a tree–to make my own unworthy stab at a different sort of analogy!

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 17, 2010 Dennis Littrell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: yoga

Iyengar, B. K. S.; Daniel Rivers-Moore, ed. The Tree of Yoga (1988) ****
Light from one of the great teachers of yoga

B. K. S. Iyengar achieved an international reputation with the publication of his classic Light on Yoga in 1966, which today stands as the definitive work on hatha yoga, a work made distinctive not only by the 602 photographs of Iyengar himself demonstrating the various poses, but by the detailed manner in which they are explained. He was then 38-years-old. Since then he has writte...more Iyengar, B. K. S.; Daniel Rivers-Moore, ed. The Tree of Yoga (1988) ****
Light from one of the great teachers of yoga

B. K. S. Iyengar achieved an international reputation with the publication of his classic Light on Yoga in 1966, which today stands as the definitive work on hatha yoga, a work made distinctive not only by the 602 photographs of Iyengar himself demonstrating the various poses, but by the detailed manner in which they are explained. He was then 38-years-old. Since then he has written several other books on yoga and lectured widely while continuing his teaching practice. He is today recognized as one the greatest of all yoga teachers.

In this book, editor Daniel Rivers-Moore has taken it upon himself to construct a narrative by Iyengar, gleaned from lectures given by the master in Europe and India during the nineteen-eighties. Rivers-Moore has done an admirable job of bringing the voice of Iyengar to the many readers who have not had the opportunity to hear him speak. The continuity of expression is maintained throughout, and the book reads as though Iyengar wrote it himself.

One sees that Iyengar is speaking to teachers of yoga as well as students. The extended metaphor of yoga as a tree is an apt one since when our practice is strong we are like a tree, solid and unshaken by the vicissitudes of life. But it is only a metaphor, one of many used by Iyengar in his teaching practice. His metaphor is not related to what is one of the most profound metaphorical images in yoga, that of the tree upside down with its branches in the earth and its roots exposed to the sun. It is said that this is the way we will see the world after becoming firmly established in yoga. Much of what we once believed (as children and young adults), we will now disbelieve and embrace the very opposite.

The value of asana, pranayama, and meditation in preventing disease and maintaining health has been established beyond doubt, and is one of the great boons humankind has gotten from yoga, and is under no circumstances to be underestimated. However, I took Iyengar's prescriptions for the further medicinal value of yoga with the proverbial grain of salt, just as I take the ancient claims of superpowers developed through the practice of yoga. His is a way of speaking that is native to India and has a long and honored tradition in the literature. One recalls the miraculous claims of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Svatmarama and the Siva Samhita, in which all disease is cured, and understands that the authors are speaking in a symbolic and intentional manner. What is most interesting and valuable in this book are the chapters on meditation and pranayama, and on the advice and warnings that Iyengar extends to teachers of yoga.

Iyengar's yoga is the yoga of Patanjali, whom he reveres as "the noblest of sages." It is a yoga of discipline and dedication, a yoga of power and grace developed over at least several thousand years of practice. Of the four traditional yogas of India--bhakti, jnana, and karma--it is perhaps the oldest. It is certainly the one with the widest international application since it melds well into any and every way of life, from the monastery to the streets of the city.

Iyengar has been described by some as a teacher of physical yoga only--an unfair description that he recalls and rejects in two different places in this book. On the contrary he demonstrates here that he is also a master of raja yoga, and in particular a man who understands that the prerequisites of hatha yoga are essential to the achievement of samadhi.

Those who are familiar with Light on Yoga and Iyengar's other works, will find this volume a fine addition to their library and of value because of the light it sheds on the personality and understanding of one of the great teachers of the ancient art of yoga.

--a review by Dennis Littrell(less)

like · see review

Jul 30, 2009 Dave rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: yogis, yoginis, Iyengar students

Shelves: yoga, nonfiction

This is a rambling and charming little book by Mr. Iyengar written in an unassuming, conversational style. It complements his legendary practical manuals (like Light On Yoga and Yoga: The Path To Holistic Health) which are essential but by necessity limited in focus. I liked the metaphor of the eight branches of yoga as parts of a tree (roots, bark, leaves, etc) because it helped me name and remember the eight branches and appreciate how they can all be part of a practice centered around asana....more

like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Jann rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've read "Tree of Yoga" at least twice from cover-to-cover, more times by dipping into a chapter on occasion. Now I am reading it again. It's organized as a series of essays addressing some question or topic. That's how the book evolved, as I undertand it. Mr Iyengar would address a question or discuss a topic; those discussions were grouped and edited and compose the book. If you are a yoga practitioner and have ever had a question about your practice, or the discipline, art and science of yog...more

like · see review

Aug 18, 2008 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, yoga-and-spiritual

This is one I'll have to reread a few times.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 17, 2012 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: always-reading

Keep this book on my bedside table, or next to me at the computer - always reading and re-reading it - for inspiration and motivation. There is a reason B.K.S. Iyengar is a yoga master, an inspirational guru, and a heck of nice guy. So down to earth and humble - so very wise.

like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Aryne Hornsby rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received this book as a gift from a yoga teacher and dear friend. It's a beautiful read about how yoga can have a meaning beyond the latest health craze. If you're into yoga, you really should read this book!

like · see review

Jan 16, 2011 Kitanapo rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a great reference, but a tedious read. There is a glossary for the Sanskrit words that are used throughout the text, but the heavy use of foreign vocabulary made getting through this book quite a feat. That said, I do have a marginally better understanding of the practice and philosophy of yoga and I can see revisiting this book when I feel a little less intimidated (and distracted) by all the Sanskrit vocabulary. Worth reading.

like · see review

Jan 10, 2011 Margaretflynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful beginners book on the philosophy and internal posture required in developing asana.

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Barbara Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: yoga

Great book for an understanding of the basic principles of yoga.

like · see review

Feb 07, 2013 Kai Hoke added it

B.K.S. Iyengar
Beautifully. Kindly. Skilled Iyengar

like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Martha is currently reading it

Pithy, opinionated, sweet-tempered thoughts from a guru

like · see review

Feb 21, 2013 Rob Crampton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful book for any yoga practioner.

like · see review

Dec 10, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overview of the foundational logic and reasoning of yoga practice through a careful and accessible compilation of BKS Iyengar's lectures and other output. Read during a yoga retreat. (Daniel Rivers-Moore, Ed., 1988)

like · see review

Jan 04, 2011 Katherine Costello rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful yoga philosophy.

like · see review

Aug 02, 2011 David Kresner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fascinating from my perspective, especially the final chapters about meditation, pranayama, teaching, etc. Early chapters about asana weren't surprising in their advice to conform your body to an asana instead of vice versa (sort of). Still, lots of intriguing stuff.

like · see review

Feb 28, 2008 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've read as much of this book as I care to. About 50 pages for those curious.

I LOVE yoga, but Mr. Iyengar does Not write a compelling book. Paragraph structure consists of cheesy non-sensical metaphor after cheesy non-sensical metaphor.

I give up.

like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People interested in yoga

Recommended to Molly by: Moksha Yoga

Shelves: i-love-these, inspiring, mindful, yoga-knowledge, non-fiction

The rating should be understood as for someone who is interested in traditional yoga. I enjoyed my first read of it, but this is something I will have to read multiple times to grasp its true meaning and knowledge.

like · see review

Jan 25, 2008 Jenn rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone practicing yoga

Shelves: yoga, spiritual

I have read through this multiple times...it is full of insight. It is very rich & I will maybe never understand it all!

like · see review

Jul 06, 2007 Tree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: yoga-spirituality

Seems to me that Iyengar is phenomenal at yoga, but not so much when it comes to writing about it.

like · see review

May 17, 2008 Kimmy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Philosophhy of yoga laid out in the 8 branches, roots, etc of a tree

like · see review

Jul 28, 2008 Mischa rated it 5 of 5 stars

A must read for anyone interested in a deeper level of understanding yoga

like · see review

Mar 29, 2013 Edwin Roman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Valuable insights into the therapeutic nature of yoga.

like · see review

Apr 12, 2011 Victoria added it · review of another edition

Muy buen libro para conocer los conceptos de yoga general

like · see review

May 21, 2013 Diane Rabinowitz rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 20, 2013 Trixsie Baciagalupe rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 18, 2013 Penguinasana added it

May 17, 2013 Eira marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 17, 2013 Carley marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Inbal Campanellino is currently reading it

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 19 20 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (6)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

10 users

Spirituality

4 users

Health

3 users

Religion > Hinduism

2 users

Philosophy > Eastern Philosophy

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About B.K.S. Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್), (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic p...more Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್), (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.

B.K.S. Iyengar was born into a poor Hebbar Iyengar family. He had a difficult childhood. Iyengar's home village of Belur, Karnataka, India, was in the grips of the influenza pandemic at the time of his birth, leaving him sickly and weak. Iyengar's father died when he was 9 years old, and he continued to suffer from a variety of maladies in childhood, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and general malnutrition.

At the age of 15 Iyengar went to live with his brother-in-law, the well-known yogi, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya in Mysore. There, Iyengar began to learn asana practice, which steadily improved his health. Soon he overcame his childhood weaknesses.

With the encouragement of Krishnamacharya, Iyengar moved to Pune to teach yoga in 1937. There his practice developed as he spent many hours each day learning and experimenting in various techniques. As his methods improved, the number of students at his classes increased and his fame spread. In Pune, his brothers introduced him to Ramamani, whom he married in 1943.

In 1952, Iyengar met and befriended the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin arranged for Iyengar to teach abroad in London, Switzerland, Paris and elsewhere. This was the first time that many Westerners had been exposed to yoga, and the practice slowly became well known. The popularity of yoga in the West can in large part be attributed to Iyengar.

In 1966, "Light on Yoga," was published. It gradually became an international best-seller and was translated into 17 languages. Often called “the bible of yoga,”[citation needed] it succeeded in making yoga well known throughout the globe. This was later followed by titles on pranayama and various aspects of yoga philosophy. Mr. Iyengar has authored 14 books.

In 1975, Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in memory of his departed wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continues to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books. Iyengar's daughter Geeta and son Prashant have gained international acclaim as teachers.

Iyengar has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

(less)

More about B.K.S. Iyengar...

Books by B.K.S. Iyengar

Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga...

Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom

Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Tree of Yoga

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Tree of Yoga
avg rating	preview: The Tree of Yoga Goodreads rating: 4.09 (280 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/354703.The_Tree_of_Yoga?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348957106l/354703.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/354703.The_Tree_of_Yoga?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Tree of Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar[/url]

The Tree of Yoga

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website