The Warrior's Path: Living Yoga's Ten Codes

by Derek Beres

Yoga has become one of the most popular exercise routines in America, as well as a big $10.3 billion is generated each year from this growing industry. While hundreds of styles and philosophies have emerged from this Indian discipline, a writer named Patanjali set the stage in the second century when compiling the Yoga Sutras. While most Americans begin with his third rung, asanas (postures), the first two are little the yamas (prohibitions) and niyamas (disciplines) that serve as the moral foundation of yoga.In The Warrior’s Path, veteran author and yoga instructor Derek Beres explores these ten yogic codes by investigating their role in modern culture through the lens of neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and moral and developmental psychology. The creator of Flow Play, a national program at Equinox Fitness spotlighting the intersection of yoga, music, and neuroscience, Beres uses his research as a springboard for looking into how our brains and bodies operate and what that means for yoga today. An inquisitive and insightful work, The Warrior’s Path explores the tribal roots of yoga while helping modern yogis understand the ethical and moral sentiments of this millennia-old art. The result is a practice that offers compassion and empathy to the planet and our fellow human beings.

Genres: Nonfiction

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author, speaker, and media expert based in Portland, Oregon. He has served in senior editorial positions at a number of tech companies and has years of experience in health, science, and music writing. He regularly speaks on science and media literacy. Derek is the co-host of the Conspirituality podcast.

Reviews

[Paul Newman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it enough, while being a bit disappointed with this book, it contained some fairly loose and anecdotal examples of each strand. Nothing outstanding that has really stayed with me. Better to read the closing chapters of Beyond Power Yoga by Beryl Bender Birch for more insight and practical application.