Yoga Beyond Belief Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice
Yoga Beyond Belief offers a unique vision of contemporary yoga. It integrates scientific and practical approaches providing a much-needed integrative perspective that complements existing yoga books for all levels and styles of yoga students. Serving up a collection of valuable insights gleaned from a lifetime of exploration, practice, study, and teaching by one of America’s pioneering and leading teachers of yoga, the book assists readers in making sense of the many discordant claims and teaching techniques that currently exist in the yoga world, freeing readers to pursue their own individual paths of yoga and personal practice. This is an essential text and reference for all yoga practitioners.
The book first sets a context for an open-minded and evolutionary approach to yoga practice, and then explains the core principles of the many branches of yoga. A clear foundation is given for how the physical practices of yoga work to produce remarkable results of health and well being. The chapter Injury, Pain, and Healing shows how to prevent injuries and how to heal injuries should they occur. The reader is given a wealth of sophisticated of tools, insights, and anecdotes gleaned from a lifetime of practice and teaching to develop, hone, and tune his or her personal yoga approach. This book makes yoga come alive for the reader.
The book concludes by going beyond the physical aspects to the heart of yoga. It illuminates and gives insight into the discovery of non-dogmatic forms and evolutionary approaches to meditation and spirituality. It presents a clear argument showing the pitfalls of regimented systems and how to make everything in daily life part of yoga practice and spiritual development.
Ganga White gives us his unique and creative perspectives on a time-tested discipline for a healthy and vital life. Entertaining and thoroughly readable, this book offers a coherent explication of yoga, its philosophy and practice. White’s integrative views will inspire beginners and accomplished yogis to trust their inner wisdom and creatively reassess their practice. He is a great storyteller and gives us his personal and creative perspective, breathing fresh air into an ancient discipline. Yoga Beyond Belief offers an original, integrative approach to body, mind, and spirit that is practical, inspiring, and full of valuable insights to enliven and inform anyone’s yoga practice.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars it does what it says in the title
I went to Ganga Whites teacher training at the White Lotus Foundation and this book really opened up my practice and prepared me for a life changing experience doing his teacher training. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to take their practice further, start a personal practice, or just learn more about yoga.
5 Stars A guide for Yoga users to enhance their experiences with their meditations and rituals
Yoga is not spiritual hooha; there is a scientific element to the healing it provides alongside the spiritual. “Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice” is a guide for Yoga users to enhance their experiences with their meditations and rituals. Although aimed at those with some experience, “Yoga Beyond Belief” is simple enough for novices to read and learn the art. A top pick for community library spirituality collections.
2 Stars Starts slow…but get’s much better
When I first started reading this book, it was hard to follow. The intro by Sting is a little disoriented and out-of-place. BUT—once I got past that and into the author’s writing, it became GREAT. It clearly presents yoga and all of the benefits one can receive from the practice. Not a How To, but a Why To. I changed this review after getting through the first part–It actually deserves 4 stars.
5 Stars Should be Required Reading for All Yoga Students
I have been teaching yoga for more than 33 years and have known Ganga White for most of that time. This much-awaited book shows clearly why he has had such a universal influence on so many. Dr. Andrew Weil referred to him as a “noted renegade yogi” and I agree that Ganga has been a frontrunner in questioning and challenging old traditions. I have always seen him as stating the obvious that others have not dared to vocalize. In statements such as “our understanding of spirituality needs to grow and evolve beyond the limits of tradition and ancient mappings” (page 204) Ganga tries to tell us to “grow outside the box” at a time when so many are now trying to emulate the East. For those new to yoga, he explains in clear, easy-to-understand language about many of the ancient concepts and aspects of yoga. An example is in his discussion of meditation. It is commonly thought that to meditate, one needs to learn how to sit for long periods and “empty the mind” or focus on a mantra. But Ganga frees the reader from these boundaries by explaining that “…innner silence is still only one petal of the flowering mind…a questioning mind, an intelligent mind,a flexible mind, an open mind…these are just a few of the myriad valuable capacities of the mind” (page 172-3)and he suggests sometimes walking out in a forest to appreciate nature instead of just sitting. Simple. Obvious. Along with his charming stories, Ganga makes this book not only thought-provoking but also fun to read.I encourage all my students to read it and hope that others will do the same. This book is a gem and I recommend it to anyone who wants to “stand on the shoulders of the past to find out how we can see a bit farther.” (page 11)
5 Stars The ‘missing’ link in my yoga practice…..
I have many yoga books which I have read in the 4 years I have been doing yoga. I have benefitted much from some and only a little from others. I also have MANY dvds to help me practice my yoga (as I do not have access to a yoga teacher). Realizing that I was now an ‘advanced beginner’ in yoga, I began searching for dvds to help my practice advance to the next level. One of my purchases was Ganga White’s Flow series. It seemed only reasonable to get his book also. I was in for an unexpected present!
I have also been doing Qigong for about 18 months and was wondering if yoga operated on energy flow also. It seemed reasonable to assume it would but I could not figure out how to draw upon and utilize it. I was also wondering how I could develop a personalized yoga practice..one that would meet my unique needs (senior citizen with Pulmonary Fibrosis). This book addressed both of my personal questions.
Mr. White explained yoga from a totally unique and personal perspective. As he did so, I suddenly understood that yoga ‘flow’ sequences promote the flow of prana (qi) through the body. I also began to understand how to gradually develop my own program. When about 1/2 through the book, I decided to experiment. I simply stood up. Naturally, as usual, I was stiff from sitting and reading. I did a forward bend only till my hands touched my knees and then did a jacknife with my hands on my knees. I repeated a flow between these two asanas until my muscles were no longer stiff. Then I began doing the 1/2 sun salutation until this was easy. I continued ‘developing’ the remainder of sun salutation A until each portion felt good. Then I stopped. I felt wonderful. The whole program had taken about 15 minutes. I had done mini-flows, felt energy flow, and was able to stand up (from my knees) with ease. I also did some modified back/forward bends (on my knees) until I could do a camel asana with ease several times….feeling my WHOLE chest expand….a real accomplishment with PF!
With the understandings gained from this book, I have a much better understanding of how to meet my unique health needs. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to make yoga more than just a cardio/aerobic/exercise program. I cannot thank Mr White enough for taking the time to share what he has learned!