How Yoga Works Book

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 core points of yoga set out in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the "bible" of yoga. Few yoga students, and even teachers, would have read the 3,000 year-old Yoga Sutras. But even though the philosophy is put across simply, almost in a child-like manner, it would baffle you if you are a complete newbie to yogic ideas. This is because words like "winds" (for prana), "channels and choke-points" (nadis and chakras) and the principles behind a basic practise would be completely baffling.

Here, you would learn about yoga beyond yoga postures and get to understand more about nadis (energy channels, especially the moon and sun nadis) and chakras, and how they are linked to physical and spiritual health. The book also gives two superb analogies to help us remember : 1) the bamboo stick 2)The horse and the rider

The bamboo stick with dirt trapped in its hollow represents us with our bad thoughts, choked up energy and uneven health. We can knock on the bamboo to get the dirt out - this refers to physical practices like yoga postures and pranayama that prepares one for lighter heart and mind for better health, to help it get ready for meditation and deeper knowledge. Or we can clear the bamboo from within, using kinder and better managed thoughts and meditation.

The rider represents our thoughts, riding on the horse which is our prana or our energy channels. The rider must control the horse, and not the other way round. Anger is one of those days when the horse just bolts off without the rider.

Initially, yoga postures may help improve one's health but ultimately, we would still grow old and our health would deteriorate anyway - so what's the point? This is one of the main existential questions asked in the book. Here the bad and good karmic seeds are explained, how they are planted, how they grow and expire. So there are lessons for us on how to plant a beautiful garden - as this means we can determine our destiny. To plant good seeds - exercise kindness, compassion, good thoughts and do kind deeds. To avoid planting bad seeds, avoid lying, stealing, hatred, anger, unkindness and causing harm to others. The book explains that death occurs when our good karmic seeds run their cause.

Interestingly, there is a kind of higher good seed that would not expire. This requires one to, while thinking and doing something good and kind for another, to focus on that idea with joy, and focus on it extending infinitely to benefit all living creatures. And there is also a way to prevent bad seeds from ripening - by contemplation on the wrong deed, to own it, and to resolve never to do it again.

Wonderful, isnt' it? Very good lessons for everyone, even if you find the tale a little lame.

Om Shanti.

*And this book has inspired me to read the Yoga Sutras. I have attended some basic lessons on it, but it is time to start reading it, even if it would take a while to complete or more than a life-time to understand. I.K. Taimini's well-respected translation and commentary has sat on my bookshelf for 4 years. Time to take the dust off the jacket.