The secrets of how yoga works to make us truly whole are revealed here in a delightful story based on how these precious teachings reached Tibet... read full description
reviews
Sep 14, 2011
Maiga
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Roach and McNally again seek to explain Buddhist spiritual principles, this time to an audience interested in the practice of yoga. They develop a sort of fable as a vehicle. Thousands of years ago in a small border town between India and Tibet, an 18 year old Tibetan woman who has studied yoga with a master, passes with her dog. She's incarcerated and begins transforming the jail and its inhabitants through her teaching of yoga. I just kept thinking a historian would cringe repeatedly at th
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Jan 21, 2011
Ross
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Really wanted to like this book. Yoga teachers who I respect highly recommended it. I don't object to the content but rather to the vehicle--a dramatic tale ostensibly set in an ancient Indian kingdom.
First, I have a low tolerance for historical inaccuracy in fiction. Details of language, culture, dress, science and technology--did anybody edit the text for that? For example, the story, set in the 11th or 12th century, BCE, contains casual dialogue about oxygen and the respiratory More...
First, I have a low tolerance for historical inaccuracy in fiction. Details of language, culture, dress, science and technology--did anybody edit the text for that? For example, the story, set in the 11th or 12th century, BCE, contains casual dialogue about oxygen and the respiratory More...
May 22, 2009
Mike
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This is a great book for people who are interested in yoga but don't know much about it. And I don't mean just the outer practice of poses and stretches, the book goes into some of the inner practice and how powerful they can be when done along with the outer practices, enhancing their effects. It does this within the setting of a heart-warming story, and frequently quotes and explains some of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. I looked forward to reading this book every day until it was finished, th
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Dec 16, 2011
Jennifer
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Very mediocre as a story, but a nice explanation of yoga philosophy. The historical inaccuracies in the characters' style of speech and interactions was a little hard to overlook, however the overall message delivered was a good one. I wouldn't recommend it as the only book on yoga for someone to read, but some of the analogies and presentations of concepts did make certain things more clear as well as stick in my mind. I love the knocking on the pipes analogy. :)
3stars may be a litt More...
3stars may be a litt More...
Oct 02, 2011
Monica
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I agree with many reviewers that the vehicle used to teach the essence of yoga is rather weak. The credibility of the characters, setting and language are quite incredulous for a tale set in 1000AD, and the writing style for a novel-like book is rather amateurish and long-winded.
But if you set aside the weaknesses of the story-telling, which is merely a vehicle used to teach yogic philosophy, then you would find that there are gems for personal growth. This book sets out to teach cor More...
But if you set aside the weaknesses of the story-telling, which is merely a vehicle used to teach yogic philosophy, then you would find that there are gems for personal growth. This book sets out to teach cor More...
Aug 26, 2011
Edithandersen
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Taking the wisdom from the ancient books of Tibet and India, the authors weave a story that explains what yoga is all about. Contrary to what we may have thought, stretching, twitching and turning, it's about helping others. The characters were intriguing, it was a different kind of a read and very enjoyable on many levels. However, if you have no interest in yoga or the wisdom behind it, skip this one.
Feb 03, 2010
Melvago
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I love doing Yoga - I think it keeps me moving and younger than my age in years. This book taught Yoga philosophy, but in delightful story form that kept my interest and helped me to rethink, how to think, how to help people, and how to get rid of the bad "seeds" that invade or bodies by the wrong actions we have done to others. Very thought provoking.
Sep 20, 2011
Gigi
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The story is odd in that it is supposedly set in 1100 AD, yet the conversations feel very modern. However, the presentation of yogic principles is clear and easy to understand to a modern mind, which is refreshing. I loved this book and am reading it again more slowly. I think it will be one that I read over and over again throughout the years.
Jul 03, 2011
Sarah
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Read for book club. Probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, but I'm glad I had the chance to read and discuss it with a group.
It's a fable, of sorts. Similar to the idea of "Who Moved my Cheese," using a simple story to illustrate something. (That's where the similarities end...) It's plainly written, but that doesn't make it a quick and easy read. It took me over a month to get through it, and I kind of skimmed parts of it.
It's made me change, in small way More...
It's a fable, of sorts. Similar to the idea of "Who Moved my Cheese," using a simple story to illustrate something. (That's where the similarities end...) It's plainly written, but that doesn't make it a quick and easy read. It took me over a month to get through it, and I kind of skimmed parts of it.
It's made me change, in small way More...
Mar 15, 2011
Carrie
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I found this book fantastic. It filled in so many blanks for me in a way I could understand. It could however be hard to choke down for a large number of people, and many people might have disagreeableness with it. However that's ok, the important thing is that it was read and one day it might really truly make sense.
Aug 04, 2011
Leslie
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This book was very interesting. I can agree with some comments that it is rather clumsily written, but I also agree with people who are raving about it. It is not about the yoga poses, but the ideas behind the practice of yoga. These principles are brought to light by way of a story. I would not have picked this book out on my own, but was encouraged by my daughter, a yoga instructor, to give it a try. I have finished it, am going back through to take notes to keep with me. I think this bo
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Jun 07, 2011
Janet
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Not a book for everyone. I got a lot out of it, but it is WEIRD! I read this book at the advice of a yoga teacher and I understand why she would, but this is not the best written book (in fact quite amateurish).
Sep 24, 2011
Darla
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How Yoga Works is an allegorical novel that demonstrates "how yoga works" through the eyes of a young teacher in India. Great read for yogis wanting to learn more about the practice and purpose of yoga.
Feb 19, 2010
Kimberly
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This book clarifies the inner happenings of a yoga practice. Helps let people understand the effects of body on mind and the other way around.
Jan 10, 2011
Karen
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I loved this book. It puts the philosophy of yoga into a comprehensible, engaging, and enjoyable story. I have read it 3 times to date.
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Jan 10, 2011
Joy
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I recommend this book to my friends that are into Yoga. The ending did wrap up nicely and I am not easily surprised.
Mar 11, 2009
Entertaining and informative... I even learned new stuff about yoga, and here I thought I knew it all already (NOT!)
Feb 12, 2011
Chandlee
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For those who practice yoga and those who do not. A beautiful story that helps one understand the mystery of yoga.
Mar 12, 2011
Linsey
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Loved this book. Yoga philosophy, in novel form. The story is great. Lessons are deep.
Apr 06, 2008
Junky's
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This book inspired me to start my own karma journal. I have really been surprised by how influential it has been on my behavior and my life in general. Even if you aren't interested in yoga (like, in the sense that you don't go stand on one leg and pretend to be a tree), the book is worth reading. It's as much a spiritual explication of the Yoga Sutras as it is a cool novel. There's actually much less stuff about the postures than you might expect. Don't let the title mislead you...it's no step-
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Mar 24, 2010
Kristin
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Anyone who has any interest in yoga should read this book. In story form, it reveals so much about many of the Yoga Sutras that are such a key part to anyone's yoga practice. I plan on re-reading it again but it's already dog-eared all over the place!
Jun 21, 2011
Philippa
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I read this book slowly - very unlike me! - over a few months. Having finished it I might have to go back and start again! It isn't a literary masterpiece and I agree with some other reviewers who found it a bit "weird". But the overall message is very strong and removes the "fashionable" lens yoga is often viewed through to what is underneath. Historically inaccurate and a little clunky in parts it might well be, but if you can get past the vehicle and look purely at the con
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Jul 03, 2011
Diane
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This book is a nice vehicle for learning the basics of the yoga sutras without actually reading the master's short book. like the old saying goes "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." However, I have to agree with Ross's review, a little attention to historical accuracy would have been nice. Also, there were moments where I felt a bit preached to and put off (but maybe this is a function more of the content of the yoga sutras than the book--I'll know better once I finish ac
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Oct 26, 2007
Holly
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This book is not an instructional manual on poses and breathing, but it will teach you how yoga truly works. It is written in the "fictional" form of the story of one person's adventure in learning, teaching, and spreading the ideas of yoga and the effects it has upon people and society.
I've read it 3x now - I'll continue picking it up whenever I need to remind myself why and how yoga really works, and I'm not talking about losing the gut or as a warmup for a morning run - More...
I've read it 3x now - I'll continue picking it up whenever I need to remind myself why and how yoga really works, and I'm not talking about losing the gut or as a warmup for a morning run - More...
Aug 17, 2010
Debby
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This was an amazing book! Required reading for a yoga class I took at the local JC and I am sooo glad it was! It is a novel but basically teaches you the yoga sutras while entertaining you. It can change your life and remind you what yoga is REALLY all about. A MUST READ for anyone practicing yoga or wanting to bring it into their life.
