Reviews for Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons: Illustrating the Perfections of God, in the Phenomena of t...

The average rating for Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons: Illustrating the Perfections of God, in the Phenomena of t... based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-01-13 00:00:00 Jack Minora This a very good book on Ashtanga Yoga in general and an excellent reference on the primary series. It is essentially two books in one. The first half of the book is a guide through every single vinyasa of the primary series. The second half of the book is a lengthy translation of the yoga sutras of Patanjali with commentary. The first half of the book can easily be compared with David Swenson's book on the same topic. The strengths of Swenson's book is that it is spiral bound, with one posture per page so that you can easily practice along with it it. You cannot do that with this book. Maehle's book is more of a reference, where you might get a picture and discussion of a posture on one page, half a page, or on several pages. Also, the book is not spiral bound, so it will not lay flat. This is not a book to practice along with. Swenson's book also gives several modifications to each posture, Maehle's does not. Each photograph, of each posture is the apex of the pose. No modifications are given. The strengths of Maehle's book is the in-depth discussion of each individual posture. There are many anatomical notes dispersed and intertwined with the discussions on each asanas. Discussions center on the skeletal structure, muscle groups, and areas of concern for injury are given throughout. The second half of the book covers the yoga sutras. I don't have as much to say about the second half, only that it wasn't my favorite translation of the sutras that I have read. It wasn't my least favorite translation either though. It was somewhere in the middle. It was a bit different than I expected in some places, which is good. It is nice to read several different points of view to compare. Props to Mr. Maehle that he has taken the time to translate and provide commentary on the sutras. No easy feat. It is obvious that he cares as deeply about the philosophy as he does about the asanas. The one major gripe that I have about the book is that it really is two books pasted together. One book in the front, and the other book pasted behind it. Save for a few brief paragraphs in the introduction, there really wasn't much discussion on blending the two topics, practice & philosophy together. You got practice, and then you got philosophy. Which, don't get me wrong, both parts were nicely done. However, with someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in both of these areas, which Mr. Maehle obviously has, I would like to have seen more overlap in the two topics of practice & philosophy. How does someone bring the deeper aspects of the philosophy into their practice? I could for-see another book written by Mr. Maehle in the future on where he could discuss that very thing. I hope he does.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-01-13 00:00:00 James Black The most in-depth explanation of Ashtanga that i've come across. A visual stunner, too.