Yoga philosophy for advanced students
In the title "The Little Yoga Philosophy" I thought of light fare. In fact, it is more of a heavy tome, scientifically written and with many footnotes. I really work it through. I do not get more than 30 pages a day. After that, my head is full first. I find the book illuminating, almost hungry for knowledge. Yoga beginners, however, I would rather advise against it. The book is primarily aimed at people who already have yoga experience and are interested in the "behind". And who want to deepen their knowledge. It is about the history and the philosophy of yogic teaching.
I had aha experiences in many places, because I finally realized some connections that are behind the yoga practice. Mantras singing, for example, is not about worshiping the gods, but an attempt to connect with them. The Hierarchy man-God falls away in yoga. By singing the mantras shall we ground ourselves? and focus. We receive knowledge and recognize ourselves better? free from anything external.
As I read, I deeply regret that there is so little teaching in the West about the philosophy and background of yoga in the classroom. Yoga should pick us up where we are right now. For this we need a spiritual teacher who guides us. In India there are often individual lessons, we do not have this offer. It's nice that Anna Trökes wrote a book for that and she wants to do just that, but to read a book or to deepen knowledge individually and in the context of practice, are two different pairs of shoes.
Like Anna Trökes, I wish that here in the West we also have the opportunity to see more in yoga than a "series of interesting body and breathing exercises".
The book: Anna Trökes "The Little Yoga Philosophy: Basics and Practice Practice Understand", 368 pages, 22,99 Euro, Publisher: O.W. Barth.
Ewa Scherwinsky, Interaction Designer at Gruner + Jahr, 38, has been practicing yoga (including training as a child yoga teacher) for more than ten years, taking care of herself and her environment much more attentively. She lives vegetarian and consumes much less than before.
