Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul

by Sharon Gannon and David Life

Book Overview

The long-awaited, complete guide to the popular, vigorous American method of yoga that is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom and scriptures "In this day and age of health and fitness trends, it is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345442083
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 0.9" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Amazing

This book is wonderful! I'm so energized from reading such accessible information about the basis of yoga. The chapter on ahimsa is incredible and has helped me go back to veganism, which has been a struggle for me the past couple of years. Now I've been reminded of being mindful when faced with an opportunity to make a choice about many things, including food. I hope to meet these two wonderful people someday!

Just the book

This has been a very interesting read for me. I attempted to read the book without thinking about things that I have heard about the authors. Sharon and David are much discussed in yoga circles - they are considered fairly radical - and I have heard many good and bad things about them. I also tried not to let the views of the authors that I don't entirely agree with influence my view of the book. In the end, I was quite please with this book.First of all, I think the overview of yoga philosophy, is good. This is the main focus of this book. As an introductory book on the philosophy aspect of yoga, it does not go into great depth. The authors believe that this aspect has not been being spread as much as the physical practice of yoga. However, be forewarned, the authors practice veganism as a part of their ahimsa (non-harming) practice and they are strong advocates for animal rights. This stance is presented throughout the book. While I don't entirely agree with them on this, if you read the entire book, they do explain where they are coming from on this issue.As far as hatha yoga / asana practice / the physical postures of yoga, there is some of that in this book. The authors assume you have studied asana previously. They point out there are many books and teachers availible regarding hatha yoga, and they don't feel compelled to repeat this. What they do is dedecate a few chapters to demonstrate their style of vinyasa krama (linking the postures together with breath in a dance/tai chi like flow series). They give 5 sample 'lessons', three for beginners and two for intermediate/advanced. They also give numerous flow sequences you can put together yourself in various ways or incorporate as a segment into your own practice. As others have stated the pictures of the authors doing these sequences are not extremely clear, but I think this is because they are already assuming you know how to do the poses. They do state you should have studied yoga before attempting to do these sequences. I have incorporated some of these lessons into my home practice and have found their sequencing extremely enjoyable.Basic meditation and pranayama (breathing) techniques are also given. They do suggest exhale retention, a practice many do not advise until experience in pranayama is gained; however, they don't go into discussion about the various theories behind this.There is much discussion of spiritualism throughout the book and devotion to the divine in whatever form you see it. in the authors' opinion, this is the goal of yoga/life. There are also discussions of the arts in worship. Building a spiritual community is another major focus in the book.There is a considerable bit of name dropping in this book. This may be American name dropping but I want to offer another explanation. In many yoga traditions you are supposed to recognize anyone and everyone who has contributed to your growth. It is a sign of humility: I would not be here without all th

A really different book about Yoga!

This book Jivamukti Yoga is very different than most yoga books in that it is about Yoga in a more holistic sense. It has some material on asana sequencing (very interesting I might add), but that is the smallest part of the book. I would also agree with others that the photographs have a lot to be desired in their size and the way they are cropped. Not user friendly at all. It seems as they were willing to sacrifice clarity for the sake of being "artsy". Jivamukti Yoga is more of an overview of the more spiritual aspects of yoga and puts the asana practice in the context of this more complete picture. It truly treats asana as just one limb of yoga practice. While I enjoyed it on many levels, I must also say that there are many times where I felt the authors got very preachy and sometimes seemed a bit off base to me. For example, Gannon and Life's view of "Ahimsa" compared to other authors on the subject. Most writing on this concept of non-harming that I've read also stresses not harming oneself, Gannon and Life don't give very much importance to this aspect of it which has a bit of a "martyr-like" attitude to it. In Desikachar's book "The Heart Of Yoga" he says (I'm paraphrasing) that "Ahimsa also means acting in kindness toward ourselves". and goes on to say for example that " if one is a vegetarian but are in a situation where one must eat meat in order to survive then one must do what they need to do so they can continue to take care of their family and other responsibilities" and goes on to say that "it would show a lack of consideration and arrogance to become stuck on one's principles". Gannon and Life often seem to be stuck on their principles which I found to be a bit of a turn off. Even Buddhist Metta practices start with the idea that one has to love themselves in a healthy way(not in a hedonistic or egotiscal way) before they can truly have space and peace in their hearts for others. Only then can people love in a pure and unconditional way as that love expands outward. How can one give what they don't have? Anyway, besides occasional somewhat "fanatical" attitudes throughout, I enjoyed this book immensely. I am currently reading it for the second time and can see that I will go back to it and re-read it many many times in spite of my occasional disagreements with the authors. I have read some complain of a lack of "thoroughness" regarding the "yoga philosphy" in this book, but in fairness to the authors, this book isn't a scholarly book on Yoga philosophy but rather an introduction that will surely open many eyes to Yoga as a broader practice than just the asanas. Most people new to the more philosophical and religious aspects of yoga practice are not going to start with Patanjali but would be better off getting the overview from a book like this. As mentioned above, for those interested, I would highly recommend Desikachar's "Heart of Yoga", which does have the "Yoga Sutras" translated at the end of the book. It is preceded by

Simply Amazing

This book.....what can I say? I got it and read the whole thing in 2 days. This book challenges you to look at your yoga practice, and your life. Often i have felt empty after, and during yoga class -- but why? I was doing the poses right, but i was missing something -- as David and Sharon put it; I had taken apart the clock and still expect it to work. Yoga is a system, a spirtiual system that leads to enlighment. A yoga body and a clam mind are simply the bi-products of the work. This book talks about the differnt braches of yoga and how they are still able to be practiced in today's busy life. The book has jivamukti yoga class out lines and ALOT of spirtural theory in a manner that is easy to digest. I recomend it highly for anyone who wants to take their practice to the next level.