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Revolution of the Soul: Awaken to Love Through Raw Truth, Radical Healing, and Conscious Action
Celebrated yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn shares pivotal accounts of her life with raw honesty―enriched with in-depth spiritual teachings―to help us heal, evolve, and change the world
“My first lessons in spirituality and yoga had nothing to do with a mat, but everything to do with waking up. They included angels, seeing God, and being in Heaven. But, believe me, not the way you might think.” So begins Revolution of the Soul .
What comes next reads like a riveting memoir filled with uncensored moments of joy, pain, wonder, and humor.
Except, this book is so much more than that.
Seane's real purpose is to guide us into a deep, gut-level understanding of our highest Self through yoga philosophy and other tools for emotional healing―not just as abstract ideas but as embodied, fully felt wisdom. Why? To spark a "revolution of the soul" in each of us, so we can awaken to our purpose and become true agents of change. Just a few of the stops along the way
The everyday "angels" Seane finds in the gritty corners of New York's 1980s East Village; her early struggles as a total yoga-class misfit; the profound shadow work and body-based practices that helped her to heal childhood trauma, OCD, unhealthy behaviors, and relationship wounding; hard-earned lessons from some of the most heartbreaking places on the planet; and many other unforgettable teaching stories.
“My first lessons in spirituality and yoga had nothing to do with a mat, but everything to do with waking up. They included angels, seeing God, and being in Heaven. But, believe me, not the way you might think.” So begins Revolution of the Soul .
What comes next reads like a riveting memoir filled with uncensored moments of joy, pain, wonder, and humor.
Except, this book is so much more than that.
Seane's real purpose is to guide us into a deep, gut-level understanding of our highest Self through yoga philosophy and other tools for emotional healing―not just as abstract ideas but as embodied, fully felt wisdom. Why? To spark a "revolution of the soul" in each of us, so we can awaken to our purpose and become true agents of change. Just a few of the stops along the way
The everyday "angels" Seane finds in the gritty corners of New York's 1980s East Village; her early struggles as a total yoga-class misfit; the profound shadow work and body-based practices that helped her to heal childhood trauma, OCD, unhealthy behaviors, and relationship wounding; hard-earned lessons from some of the most heartbreaking places on the planet; and many other unforgettable teaching stories.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 3, 2019
257 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
April 3, 2019
Seane has written an amazing book. I'm not even a yogi but I found this boon to be incredible. After reading about Seane's in Wanderlust advertisements when I visited the Squaw Valley every summer, I was curious to read about her journey. I loved her storytelling style and her authentic, raw way of sharing and interpreting her key life events. While the theoretical sections were new to me and not always easy to understand, I found them comprehensive and relevant. I will never forget Seane's lifechanging travels in which she depicts how she realized she couldn't swoop in to save the underprivileged the way she had envisioned. This is an extraordinary recounting of a full life. I highly recommend Seane's memoir!
December 26, 2019
What an incredible book: raw, honest and so necessary for all those who want to revolutionize their life, advance their personal growth and make a positive impact in the world today. Highly recommend.
December 8, 2021
Seane is one of my favorite people/yogi's, so I was thrilled to read this book and learn more about her life.
Here are some of the sections that stood out:
As a body-based meditation, yoga invites us to focus, stabilize, and move with more awareness.
When we let the mind dictate what our practice should look like or say about us, we've moved from a body-based practice to an ego-based one.
Asana can help you move any agitation out of your mind and into your body so you can identify it, notice where it lives, and release it.
I simply shoved all those emotions down, where they have remained trapped in my body ever since and have formed a deep layer of protective tension. Tension that I have long relied on to actually help me feel safe, or at least alert. Tension that practicing yoga had begun to release.
I could explain how I felt, but I couldn't always feel what I felt.
It's all old shit. And it's all too much. So, you go into shutdown as a way to project. This is how you've survived the overwhelm you felt as a kid, but it doesn't work anymore. You need to let your crazy voices speak.
Self-confidence comes from knowing who you really are - in here. She points to my heart and taps it. When you know that, you will always be whole. Be rinsing the crazy voices, by releasing the animal rage, you give voice to the ego and let the shadow self out. This creates space for the truth hidden under the suppression to make its way to the surface.
Sometimes our pain is our purpose. And the very thing you have been running from, once empowered, becomes the very place from which you will serve. It's the gift of karma. It's called empathy. And it's what will heal this world.
Go beyond the admitting, beyond the noticing - which was all ego-driven - and name our feelings, feel them, get down into the muck, and engage with them.
As long as we remain in separation on a personal level, we are perpetuating the very disconnect we with to transform on a global one.
My first mistake was to think that what worked for me would automatically work for them. I came equipped with sequences and breathing techniques that had changed my life and a whole spiel about the power of yoga, all of which was met with skepticism and plenty of eye rolls. . . I didn't get that yoga is more than a set of class plans, more than my personal experience, that yoga's power is in its ability to change and adapt and meet the needs of the population it's serving.
If we are to heal one another, we must commit to healing the earth; if we are to heal the earth, we must begin with ourselves.
In permaculture, as well as in yoga and other Eastern traditions, everything is connected, and nothing exists in isolation.
These kleshas, or personal obstacles, include ignorance, pride or ego, desire, aversion, and fear or attachment. They are not character flaws, rather, they are interruptions or disturbances that throw us off track. And it's part of our asana and meditation practice to identify and work with them. You'll notice that these kleshas start wit our mental obstacles and then move into our emotional ones.
The ego rejects the unknown, clinging desperately to the known.
For you to hurt this badly only means you got to love that big, and if that's all you get in a single lifetime, you are more than blessed. That's all there is. Love. Let that love lead your life and your choices. Let it become who you are, and just be grateful. For all of it. Life is really bad, but it's also really good.
Here are some of the sections that stood out:
As a body-based meditation, yoga invites us to focus, stabilize, and move with more awareness.
When we let the mind dictate what our practice should look like or say about us, we've moved from a body-based practice to an ego-based one.
Asana can help you move any agitation out of your mind and into your body so you can identify it, notice where it lives, and release it.
I simply shoved all those emotions down, where they have remained trapped in my body ever since and have formed a deep layer of protective tension. Tension that I have long relied on to actually help me feel safe, or at least alert. Tension that practicing yoga had begun to release.
I could explain how I felt, but I couldn't always feel what I felt.
It's all old shit. And it's all too much. So, you go into shutdown as a way to project. This is how you've survived the overwhelm you felt as a kid, but it doesn't work anymore. You need to let your crazy voices speak.
Self-confidence comes from knowing who you really are - in here. She points to my heart and taps it. When you know that, you will always be whole. Be rinsing the crazy voices, by releasing the animal rage, you give voice to the ego and let the shadow self out. This creates space for the truth hidden under the suppression to make its way to the surface.
Sometimes our pain is our purpose. And the very thing you have been running from, once empowered, becomes the very place from which you will serve. It's the gift of karma. It's called empathy. And it's what will heal this world.
Go beyond the admitting, beyond the noticing - which was all ego-driven - and name our feelings, feel them, get down into the muck, and engage with them.
As long as we remain in separation on a personal level, we are perpetuating the very disconnect we with to transform on a global one.
My first mistake was to think that what worked for me would automatically work for them. I came equipped with sequences and breathing techniques that had changed my life and a whole spiel about the power of yoga, all of which was met with skepticism and plenty of eye rolls. . . I didn't get that yoga is more than a set of class plans, more than my personal experience, that yoga's power is in its ability to change and adapt and meet the needs of the population it's serving.
If we are to heal one another, we must commit to healing the earth; if we are to heal the earth, we must begin with ourselves.
In permaculture, as well as in yoga and other Eastern traditions, everything is connected, and nothing exists in isolation.
These kleshas, or personal obstacles, include ignorance, pride or ego, desire, aversion, and fear or attachment. They are not character flaws, rather, they are interruptions or disturbances that throw us off track. And it's part of our asana and meditation practice to identify and work with them. You'll notice that these kleshas start wit our mental obstacles and then move into our emotional ones.
The ego rejects the unknown, clinging desperately to the known.
For you to hurt this badly only means you got to love that big, and if that's all you get in a single lifetime, you are more than blessed. That's all there is. Love. Let that love lead your life and your choices. Let it become who you are, and just be grateful. For all of it. Life is really bad, but it's also really good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2019
I wasn't sure about this book. I'm not really into yoga and yoga celebrities induce eye-rolling in me, and it also seemed like a woo-woo kind of book. But I needed to read it for work, so I did. And I'm glad I did. It wasn't what I was expecting at all.
First of all, it isn't a yoga book at all. It's a book in which Seane talks about yoga a lot, although more as a concept and a belief and lifestyle, rather than a physical events. But it's about the principles and core beliefs of yoga, not the movements or poses. It's not about yoga to lose weight or get healthy or gain flexibility. None of that. If you get into yoga and those things happen, good for you. But yoga is about applying the many underlying principles about how to live a good life, to your own life. You can be yoga without ever touching a mat.
It's also about Seane's personal journey. It starts off as she's a bartender in a sketchy but fun bar in the East Village in the late '80s when it's a very dangerous and rundown place. When her friends at the gay sex bar she works at start dying of AIDS, she starts rethinking her own life and how she can live it better. In her daytime waitressing job, her bosses are vegetarian and do yoga, and she decides to give these things a whirl in order to clean up her act somewhat, never expecting it to completely change her life. But it did. She eventually moves to LA and through yoga--and also therapy and a hilarious life coach--she starts to deal with traumas from her past, her not-great coping methods, and the results of those. After years of working on herself, she starts to give back to the community, with varying results, and also in ways that show her how far she still has to go, to reach perfection. She starts with the Evolution of the soul, and moves to the Revolution.
The book isn't overly preachy (and I was highly sensitive to that going in) and she very much emphasizes finding your own way. It's a tad pedantic when it comes to the principles of yoga, many of which overlap with Buddhism, so I was already familiar (having taken a class in Buddhism in college). Those parts might bog down for people who are baffled by the unfamiliar words and names and concepts. But she's really trying for an accessible introduction to these principles, and an easy-to-understand outline for how you can improve your life--and eventually the world--should you want to make things better. She very much emphasizes that everyone has their own path, although one area in which she's very rigid, is that radical honesty is the only way through--not just to others, but most importantly with ourselves, in seeing our flaws, our prejudices, our assumptions, and our areas for growth.
If you're looking for some help in changing things up and improving your life, Seane Corn can be an excellent guide onto a path. She hopes it will be a good path for you. I do too.
First of all, it isn't a yoga book at all. It's a book in which Seane talks about yoga a lot, although more as a concept and a belief and lifestyle, rather than a physical events. But it's about the principles and core beliefs of yoga, not the movements or poses. It's not about yoga to lose weight or get healthy or gain flexibility. None of that. If you get into yoga and those things happen, good for you. But yoga is about applying the many underlying principles about how to live a good life, to your own life. You can be yoga without ever touching a mat.
It's also about Seane's personal journey. It starts off as she's a bartender in a sketchy but fun bar in the East Village in the late '80s when it's a very dangerous and rundown place. When her friends at the gay sex bar she works at start dying of AIDS, she starts rethinking her own life and how she can live it better. In her daytime waitressing job, her bosses are vegetarian and do yoga, and she decides to give these things a whirl in order to clean up her act somewhat, never expecting it to completely change her life. But it did. She eventually moves to LA and through yoga--and also therapy and a hilarious life coach--she starts to deal with traumas from her past, her not-great coping methods, and the results of those. After years of working on herself, she starts to give back to the community, with varying results, and also in ways that show her how far she still has to go, to reach perfection. She starts with the Evolution of the soul, and moves to the Revolution.
The book isn't overly preachy (and I was highly sensitive to that going in) and she very much emphasizes finding your own way. It's a tad pedantic when it comes to the principles of yoga, many of which overlap with Buddhism, so I was already familiar (having taken a class in Buddhism in college). Those parts might bog down for people who are baffled by the unfamiliar words and names and concepts. But she's really trying for an accessible introduction to these principles, and an easy-to-understand outline for how you can improve your life--and eventually the world--should you want to make things better. She very much emphasizes that everyone has their own path, although one area in which she's very rigid, is that radical honesty is the only way through--not just to others, but most importantly with ourselves, in seeing our flaws, our prejudices, our assumptions, and our areas for growth.
If you're looking for some help in changing things up and improving your life, Seane Corn can be an excellent guide onto a path. She hopes it will be a good path for you. I do too.
May 27, 2019
A raw, honest and powerful examination of her life and her spiritual teachings.
January 6, 2020
If I could give this 10 stars I would.
I’ve stayed up way too late to finish it, so shall ponder a more in depth review another time but if you practice or teach yoga be sure to grab a copy.
If you’ve never practiced yoga read it.
If you yearn for a more just and humane world and are curious about our roles in creating that, dive on into this book.
Seane’s teachings and her work in this world have had a profound impact on me and I’m so incredibly grateful to have so much of the gold put into a book to keep coming back to.
I’ve stayed up way too late to finish it, so shall ponder a more in depth review another time but if you practice or teach yoga be sure to grab a copy.
If you’ve never practiced yoga read it.
If you yearn for a more just and humane world and are curious about our roles in creating that, dive on into this book.
Seane’s teachings and her work in this world have had a profound impact on me and I’m so incredibly grateful to have so much of the gold put into a book to keep coming back to.
February 1, 2021
Love Big. Forgive Always. Do Good. And Don't Be An Asshole. The heart of her book and its final words.
Read
December 20, 2019I don't know anything about Corn besides the fact she's a "celebrity yogi," and picked up the book without any preconceived notions about her or her story. The book is pretty solid, though likely far more useful for those who aren't teachers or familiar with yogic philosophy than those who are. I disagreed with some of her interpretations of the philosophies (saucha, for example, doesn't actually mean you only eat organic food to remain pure and clear....that's a teacher putting THEIR preferences on the belief) but stuck with it to hear her experiences in understanding what those things mean to her.
My biggest plus with the book, though, is when she digs into her challenge of not experiencing and feeling emotions. Rather than letting it out, she intellectualizes and contextualizes. This is me to a T, and hearing someone else put this to words was really helpful (this is a thing I've been working on a lot, and it's extremely hard to explain what it means to people who can't understand not *feeling* your feelings).
Will this change my life or my yoga? Probably not, as I do believe deeply in love being a focus, and more, I think I've got a pretty solid understanding of the non-asana part of the practice. But would I recommend it to others who are curious about those things? I would.
Good on audio, as Corn performs the book herself.
My biggest plus with the book, though, is when she digs into her challenge of not experiencing and feeling emotions. Rather than letting it out, she intellectualizes and contextualizes. This is me to a T, and hearing someone else put this to words was really helpful (this is a thing I've been working on a lot, and it's extremely hard to explain what it means to people who can't understand not *feeling* your feelings).
Will this change my life or my yoga? Probably not, as I do believe deeply in love being a focus, and more, I think I've got a pretty solid understanding of the non-asana part of the practice. But would I recommend it to others who are curious about those things? I would.
Good on audio, as Corn performs the book herself.
May 1, 2019
Seane Corn can sure tell a good story! I really enjoyed Seane's "coming of age" narrative, as she works as a waitress and newbie yogi in New York and Los Angeles. She finds God while working in a gay men's sex club and eventually takes up yoga to deal with her issues. Her life lessons are both exotic and relatable.
Within this narrative, Corn teaches the basic philosophy of yoga. At times, this teaching gets to be a bit much. Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it gave me lots to think about.
Within this narrative, Corn teaches the basic philosophy of yoga. At times, this teaching gets to be a bit much. Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it gave me lots to think about.
December 8, 2019
If you’ve been a yogi, or newly into yoga, like me, this is an incredible read! Seane has so many teachings embedded in this book, her main one being to, “See the Soul.” She incorporates her life experiences, projects, and mentoring sessions with some monumental people in order to hopefully give, you too, some insight on how to heal your own self through conscious action to pave and live the life you were meant to. I definitely felt connected to this book, as I’m just learning all of these yogic principles/practices for myself.
November 2, 2019
This book should be called "Evolution of the Soul". It is filled with honest stories and reflections on how to be with discomfort in order to grow. There were many moments throughout the book where I felt my own discomfort rising. The reflections offered by Seane were truly medicine for the Soul and aptly timed for my own personal journey.
June 29, 2020
This was much more about yoga as a lifestyle than yoga just as the physical practice we normally think of. I loved Sean’s raw, honest voice - she admitted to mistakes, swore, talked about some wild experiences, and was just so real and down to earth. I love that she read the audiobook, too - it added a lot of humility and emotion to the book.
November 17, 2020
I loved this book -- it combines two of my favorites: memoir and yoga! Sean's story was relatable, human and shows how applicable yoga philosophy is to your day to do life.
February 5, 2020
I am very surprised by this book. I was expecting a book about poses, energy and, self-help. Instead, it is a journey with what feels like a friend, or, sister. It's wide open and completely honest, exploring social activism, generational bias, privilege and living 'angels' who walk among us. I am deeply moved by the content of this book, and, genuinely hope that there are more to follow it.
October 8, 2019
Interesting journey!
December 15, 2019
I am 100% with Seane Corn on everything she says in this book! Honest, real and insightful - I loved it.
January 2, 2020
Celebrated yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn shares pivotal accounts of her life with raw honesty—enriched with in-depth spiritual teachings—to help us heal, evolve, and change the world
July 5, 2020
Why I read the book:
I very much enjoyed seeing Seane Corn a movie called Yogawoman. The film interviewed several socially-conscience yoga teachers. It highlighted how Seane generated many positive changes in her “off the mat and into the world” activities, helping women transform their lives through yoga practice, in the US, and in other countries. I admired her positive attitude, her energy, and the huge impact she has on others’ daily lives. When I saw this book, therefore, I immediately wanted to read it. To be fair, I am not tremendously experienced or knowledgeable with or about yoga; I am an off and on beginner – a dabbler in yoga.
This book is about the deep changes she made within herself, her understanding of what is crucial in life, why helping others helps us, and why self-examination and transformation can change our world.
Here is a summary of my take on the book:
One core trauma in childhood, influenced all Seane’s future attitudes and decisions in life, for many, many years. As an adult, her co-worker, Billy, mentored her with heartfelt advice. It was his lifetime’s accumulated, core wisdom, even more potent to her because they both knew he would be dying soon. He told her to look beyond the stories people showed or told others and to see them as they essentially are, their true nature. In other words, in spite of people’s behaviors, which could, in some cases (which he pointed out to her specific people) be raunchy or not life-affirming, he urged her to look for and see their untarnished pure, dignity inside, even if it was not obvious to her or to themselves. He encouraged her to see herself that way too. If she or they were either acting out or not making the best choices in life, know that, become aware of our / their better selves are the true nature of the person. See their God-like potential in them to be their very best.
The author remembered this but didn’t totally understand this initially. Eventually, she began studying yoga, went on an inner and outer journey, leaving New York and traveling to California and then India, earnestly desiring to discover the meaning of her life, her struggles, and of all life in general. She had always been resistant to religion and “God”, due to her early childhood experiences, but later found a deep understanding of and belief in a universal power inside us all and came to know what she sees as God. She is able to make a lot of progress in healing her life, then a close friend then refers her to a woman named Mona. Mona helps advance her healing tremendously. She helps Seane uncover her core suffering, the one trauma that happened to her as a child, the impetus of all her other less value-creating decisions and behaviors for years, leading her to choose partners who were not supportive and for her to assuage her pain in destructive ways and not solve her problems. By discovering this, and working through her pain, she transforms it and her the entire manner she approaches life. Next, she learns how to correctly help and relate to others, not out of charity, but with genuine empathy, treasuring each person. Later, she confronts the hidden attitudes inside herself which separates her from others, the biases she was not aware of, and which she abhorred – she confronts within herself head-on and transforms it. She explains how her own inner attitudes relate to the balance of justice and injustice in the world. She asks us all to do the same, especially white people who need to “unpack” our own hidden cultural, familial, historical biases – facing them, owning them, and doing better.
The core concepts she emphasizes are:
Our lives are all precious. We all have a God-like self in the core of our being. Embracing all aspects of our own lives, good and “cringe-worthy” with love, she says, while working on our inner selves – unpacking the core suffering and confronting it, is key - bringing out our best selves. Understanding the damaging effects of abuse and low self-esteem are also very important. Forgiveness is, absolutely necessary for our happiness in order to release the bad experiences and to be able to move forward. Serving others is also key to our own and others' happiness. Uncovering hidden biases are the way to world peace. Yoga is instrumental in doing these things.
Comments about this book:
Seane Corn is an extremely sincere person, pouring out her heart, and generously sharing her life’s experiences and aspects of herself in a very honest, open way, both the positive and the “cringe-worthy” ones.
Things that make it a difficult read:
It is very worthwhile, but not an easy read. It is very intense. There is a lot of raw life experiences in it, her own and others. If you are very empathetic, like I am, it can be hard to experience this.
She relates many detailed yoga philosophical ideas and terms in the book, which she does explain, but is still not very clear to me. She does go back and forth between them a lot and is repetitive so, because I was not familiar with the ideas, it was somewhat confusing. There is a lot of repetition in the book in general.
Things that make it worthwhile:
I focused on the main concepts of the book and was able to anchor my reading (not get lost in the detail, etc.) and I was deeply touched. The book was eye-opening, touching, and Seane had many valuable, positive things to share and to ask of us.
Overall:
I agree with many of her core concepts, listed, above, those which are also core concepts found in my SGI-USA Nichiren Buddhist practice and study: the absolute value of life, looking for the core of a person, (seeing their Buddha or God-like core nature), making inner changes in our lives to produce outer results - which we call Human Revolution, and helping others thereby helping them and ourselves. We do have some differences in philosophy and practice, though. I feel that is it important to know many people and many ways of viewing the world, gaining a deeper understanding of them and of ourselves. Sharing and using what agrees with our values can benefit us and help the world.
One more important thing:
Seane was distressed about her reaction to African American men in her last chapter. I took a class called Survey of the Black Press, in the last 1970's, early 1980's with George Anthony Moore, who is the first African American to write for a major US newspaper. He told me the reason that Blacks created their own newspapers was that the only news that the major newspapers printed about Blacks were crime stories. They would not print positive things about them. If you think about many generations of people reading the major newspapers then you can see one reason for her thinking the way she did.
Note: I listened to the Audible edition, not the CD, but it wasn't listed and I didn't want to take the time to add it.
I very much enjoyed seeing Seane Corn a movie called Yogawoman. The film interviewed several socially-conscience yoga teachers. It highlighted how Seane generated many positive changes in her “off the mat and into the world” activities, helping women transform their lives through yoga practice, in the US, and in other countries. I admired her positive attitude, her energy, and the huge impact she has on others’ daily lives. When I saw this book, therefore, I immediately wanted to read it. To be fair, I am not tremendously experienced or knowledgeable with or about yoga; I am an off and on beginner – a dabbler in yoga.
This book is about the deep changes she made within herself, her understanding of what is crucial in life, why helping others helps us, and why self-examination and transformation can change our world.
Here is a summary of my take on the book:
One core trauma in childhood, influenced all Seane’s future attitudes and decisions in life, for many, many years. As an adult, her co-worker, Billy, mentored her with heartfelt advice. It was his lifetime’s accumulated, core wisdom, even more potent to her because they both knew he would be dying soon. He told her to look beyond the stories people showed or told others and to see them as they essentially are, their true nature. In other words, in spite of people’s behaviors, which could, in some cases (which he pointed out to her specific people) be raunchy or not life-affirming, he urged her to look for and see their untarnished pure, dignity inside, even if it was not obvious to her or to themselves. He encouraged her to see herself that way too. If she or they were either acting out or not making the best choices in life, know that, become aware of our / their better selves are the true nature of the person. See their God-like potential in them to be their very best.
The author remembered this but didn’t totally understand this initially. Eventually, she began studying yoga, went on an inner and outer journey, leaving New York and traveling to California and then India, earnestly desiring to discover the meaning of her life, her struggles, and of all life in general. She had always been resistant to religion and “God”, due to her early childhood experiences, but later found a deep understanding of and belief in a universal power inside us all and came to know what she sees as God. She is able to make a lot of progress in healing her life, then a close friend then refers her to a woman named Mona. Mona helps advance her healing tremendously. She helps Seane uncover her core suffering, the one trauma that happened to her as a child, the impetus of all her other less value-creating decisions and behaviors for years, leading her to choose partners who were not supportive and for her to assuage her pain in destructive ways and not solve her problems. By discovering this, and working through her pain, she transforms it and her the entire manner she approaches life. Next, she learns how to correctly help and relate to others, not out of charity, but with genuine empathy, treasuring each person. Later, she confronts the hidden attitudes inside herself which separates her from others, the biases she was not aware of, and which she abhorred – she confronts within herself head-on and transforms it. She explains how her own inner attitudes relate to the balance of justice and injustice in the world. She asks us all to do the same, especially white people who need to “unpack” our own hidden cultural, familial, historical biases – facing them, owning them, and doing better.
The core concepts she emphasizes are:
Our lives are all precious. We all have a God-like self in the core of our being. Embracing all aspects of our own lives, good and “cringe-worthy” with love, she says, while working on our inner selves – unpacking the core suffering and confronting it, is key - bringing out our best selves. Understanding the damaging effects of abuse and low self-esteem are also very important. Forgiveness is, absolutely necessary for our happiness in order to release the bad experiences and to be able to move forward. Serving others is also key to our own and others' happiness. Uncovering hidden biases are the way to world peace. Yoga is instrumental in doing these things.
Comments about this book:
Seane Corn is an extremely sincere person, pouring out her heart, and generously sharing her life’s experiences and aspects of herself in a very honest, open way, both the positive and the “cringe-worthy” ones.
Things that make it a difficult read:
It is very worthwhile, but not an easy read. It is very intense. There is a lot of raw life experiences in it, her own and others. If you are very empathetic, like I am, it can be hard to experience this.
She relates many detailed yoga philosophical ideas and terms in the book, which she does explain, but is still not very clear to me. She does go back and forth between them a lot and is repetitive so, because I was not familiar with the ideas, it was somewhat confusing. There is a lot of repetition in the book in general.
Things that make it worthwhile:
I focused on the main concepts of the book and was able to anchor my reading (not get lost in the detail, etc.) and I was deeply touched. The book was eye-opening, touching, and Seane had many valuable, positive things to share and to ask of us.
Overall:
I agree with many of her core concepts, listed, above, those which are also core concepts found in my SGI-USA Nichiren Buddhist practice and study: the absolute value of life, looking for the core of a person, (seeing their Buddha or God-like core nature), making inner changes in our lives to produce outer results - which we call Human Revolution, and helping others thereby helping them and ourselves. We do have some differences in philosophy and practice, though. I feel that is it important to know many people and many ways of viewing the world, gaining a deeper understanding of them and of ourselves. Sharing and using what agrees with our values can benefit us and help the world.
One more important thing:
Seane was distressed about her reaction to African American men in her last chapter. I took a class called Survey of the Black Press, in the last 1970's, early 1980's with George Anthony Moore, who is the first African American to write for a major US newspaper. He told me the reason that Blacks created their own newspapers was that the only news that the major newspapers printed about Blacks were crime stories. They would not print positive things about them. If you think about many generations of people reading the major newspapers then you can see one reason for her thinking the way she did.
Note: I listened to the Audible edition, not the CD, but it wasn't listed and I didn't want to take the time to add it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2020
I have been a huge fan of Seane Corn's since her first yoga DVD came out in the early 2000s. Obviously, then, I was super excited when I found out she was writing a book. This is a really interesting book that defies categories - it is part memoir/part yogic philosophy. Basically, Seane tells a story from her life and then links it to a series of yoga teachings, making these applicable to the reader. I do wish we learned even more about Seane because I find her fascinating, but that is not the book she set out to write and this is a really accessible book that makes yoga understandable to anyone while not making the author out to be perfect.
March 7, 2020
This is such an intimate, raw, gut-wrenching, shame-breaking, heart-warning, inspiring story of healing and spiritual awakening. With honesty, humor, warmth, and vulnerability, Seane shares her journey of healing trauma and learning how to love. Simply love. It is the only correct answer. For everyone who has trauma to heal (and let’s face it, that’s all of us), and no matter where you are on your journey to healing, this book should be an essential companion. There is so much wisdom to be learned through the teachings of yoga if we will only open our hearts and bodies and really listen. Very highly recommended.
October 8, 2019
Took me by the nape of the neck and shook me hard
I came expecting a surface glimpse into the world of beautiful Seane and her amazing journey, maybe a superficial peek into being a modern woman doing an ancient practice.
I never expected to find a true writer, a damn good storyteller sharing an honest look into the soul of being a human on the yogic journey. I loved the structure, alternating story with deeper yoga teachings. I never expected to FEEL the lessons not only in my head, but my heart, and hell yes, my body.
I came expecting a surface glimpse into the world of beautiful Seane and her amazing journey, maybe a superficial peek into being a modern woman doing an ancient practice.
I never expected to find a true writer, a damn good storyteller sharing an honest look into the soul of being a human on the yogic journey. I loved the structure, alternating story with deeper yoga teachings. I never expected to FEEL the lessons not only in my head, but my heart, and hell yes, my body.
June 11, 2021
This book provided an excellent overview of yogic philosophy in a highly relatable fashion. I recommend it for yogis who are just entering their practices, and also for established yoga practitioners who have not received yoga teacher training. It is chock full of insights-I annotated the heck out it! It definitely lit a fire under my ass to reignite my practice and take it beyond the mat. It made me want to undertake YTT and read a lot more foundational texts on the origins and applications of yoga in our minds, bodies and spirits.
February 28, 2020
Revolution of the Soul is a raw and authentic story of Seane Corn’s journey in the yoga world and in transforming her life and soul. It makes you laugh, cry and question your own experiences. Easy to make connections on varying levels. Inspiring read! Her story makes you want to take out your yoga mat and ground yourself, yell out at those who have hurt you or the ones you love and then travel the world to help others. Highly recommended!
October 20, 2019
I didn't connect with this book. I am a longtime yogi and this just didn't resonate for me.
March 4, 2020
Seane Corn’s personal story is interwoven with lessons from the yoga sutras in this memoir, and she shows how her personal practice later expanded into community and world-wide service. I honestly wasn’t sure about this book at first, but she really broke down my walls, revealed my shadows, and I found myself vulnerably devouring through it the further I dove in.
I love how brutally honest she is throughout; I found my own embarrassments and shame within these pages & it was illuminating to see how she faced and worked through her own shadows, as well as the shadows of privilege, power, and politics. As someone who studied under Patthabi Jois, I appreciated her reflections on forgiveness in regards to his abuse of students, and how that is actually part of practicing radical accountability. As she says: "Forgiving them never once meant that I condoned their behavior. Not even a little bit. Forgiveness means i refuse to carry them, their energy, their wounds, and their story within me. As long as I stay stuck in the story, bound to them in negativity, I can never break free. Our commingled pain will continue to influence my present and my future choices and keep me disconnected from my truth." (pg. 163)
It boils down to separation and the realization that it doesn’t exist. We are bound to one another in all our ugliness and beauty, in all of our sorrows and joys. When we can transform our fear into love, that’s when the separation begins to dissolve. I loved seeing how Sean’s personal experiences contributed to the evolution of her own soul, reading them makes it feel easy to apply to my own personal & community yoga practices.
I especially love one of these last lines about expanding yoga beyond a personal practice, and how it blatantly addresses political work. Too often within the US yoga culture we see spiritual bypassing, claiming that “we are all one” erases inequality and suffering. That's not how it works with Seane. In her words:
"Yoga is also social, racial, and immigration justice. It is sexuality and gender justice. Disability justice. Environmental and economic justice. It is Indigenous sovereignty, animal rights, and, most certainly, politics. It’s a practice of remembrance, an opportunity to shine a light on all the shattered places, and do whatever is possible to make us, each other, and this planet once again both holy and whole…. So do your inner work and take action. Act as though lives depend on it, as though equality, justice, peace, and freedom depend on it. Because they do. Act like your own liberation depends on it. Because it does." (pg. 249)
I love how brutally honest she is throughout; I found my own embarrassments and shame within these pages & it was illuminating to see how she faced and worked through her own shadows, as well as the shadows of privilege, power, and politics. As someone who studied under Patthabi Jois, I appreciated her reflections on forgiveness in regards to his abuse of students, and how that is actually part of practicing radical accountability. As she says: "Forgiving them never once meant that I condoned their behavior. Not even a little bit. Forgiveness means i refuse to carry them, their energy, their wounds, and their story within me. As long as I stay stuck in the story, bound to them in negativity, I can never break free. Our commingled pain will continue to influence my present and my future choices and keep me disconnected from my truth." (pg. 163)
It boils down to separation and the realization that it doesn’t exist. We are bound to one another in all our ugliness and beauty, in all of our sorrows and joys. When we can transform our fear into love, that’s when the separation begins to dissolve. I loved seeing how Sean’s personal experiences contributed to the evolution of her own soul, reading them makes it feel easy to apply to my own personal & community yoga practices.
I especially love one of these last lines about expanding yoga beyond a personal practice, and how it blatantly addresses political work. Too often within the US yoga culture we see spiritual bypassing, claiming that “we are all one” erases inequality and suffering. That's not how it works with Seane. In her words:
"Yoga is also social, racial, and immigration justice. It is sexuality and gender justice. Disability justice. Environmental and economic justice. It is Indigenous sovereignty, animal rights, and, most certainly, politics. It’s a practice of remembrance, an opportunity to shine a light on all the shattered places, and do whatever is possible to make us, each other, and this planet once again both holy and whole…. So do your inner work and take action. Act as though lives depend on it, as though equality, justice, peace, and freedom depend on it. Because they do. Act like your own liberation depends on it. Because it does." (pg. 249)
August 10, 2020
This one was a little more focused on yoga than I had anticipated, but it's definitely worth the listen. The revolution Corn describes is one that takes place over many years and delves deeply into her personal traumas and those of our society in general. Through the lens of yoga and the words of the people she encounters in life, she finds the ability to look back and understand how she interacts with the traumas of her past and how that creates her treatment of others.
The story begins in the 80s in New York when Corn is working as a bartender in a gay bar. She does drugs and has severe OCD. She meets a person who describes to her how he sees God everywhere, in everyone. She starts doing yoga and leaves the drugs behind. Through her practice, she starts to get in touch with her body and the ways in which she carries the trauma of her past. She seeks out mentors and gurus to learn more about yoga and about how it can clarify her own self.
After a bad breakup, she seeks a new way to cope and starts working with a woman named Mona, who shows her how to connect to her emotions. This is a whole new world. The author says she has primarily been coping through disassociation for the majority of her life, so having to feel the feelings is not easy. This was a particularly eye-opening part of the book to me because I think that's something I can connect to.
Once she's done a lot of the work of dealing with her own trifles, she starts to look for ways to connect with those in her community and elsewhere--especially focusing on causes she's passionate about because of herself or others she's met. She learns through this process that she's thought about serving through the lens of being the white savior--through the lens of herself--not through the lens of loving those she's intending to serve.
She leaves us with these words from her father that pretty well encapsulate the message of the book: "Love big. Forgive always. Do good. And don't be an asshole. That's yoga. That's a life well lived. It's really that simple." Any time you spend with a book with that message is time well spent in my opinion.
The story begins in the 80s in New York when Corn is working as a bartender in a gay bar. She does drugs and has severe OCD. She meets a person who describes to her how he sees God everywhere, in everyone. She starts doing yoga and leaves the drugs behind. Through her practice, she starts to get in touch with her body and the ways in which she carries the trauma of her past. She seeks out mentors and gurus to learn more about yoga and about how it can clarify her own self.
After a bad breakup, she seeks a new way to cope and starts working with a woman named Mona, who shows her how to connect to her emotions. This is a whole new world. The author says she has primarily been coping through disassociation for the majority of her life, so having to feel the feelings is not easy. This was a particularly eye-opening part of the book to me because I think that's something I can connect to.
Once she's done a lot of the work of dealing with her own trifles, she starts to look for ways to connect with those in her community and elsewhere--especially focusing on causes she's passionate about because of herself or others she's met. She learns through this process that she's thought about serving through the lens of being the white savior--through the lens of herself--not through the lens of loving those she's intending to serve.
She leaves us with these words from her father that pretty well encapsulate the message of the book: "Love big. Forgive always. Do good. And don't be an asshole. That's yoga. That's a life well lived. It's really that simple." Any time you spend with a book with that message is time well spent in my opinion.
September 11, 2019
I love her yoga DVDs and she is one of the most inspiring yoga teachers out there due to her genuine yoga activism but the nicest thing I can say about the book is that she has come a long way. She is so inspiring in her public events but reading this book was such a slog. Between her routinely stealing from her employer at Life Cafe (which she cheerfully admits with the comment that everyone was doing it), her using drugs and her promiscuity (cheating on a lot of boyfriends), the Seane that she describes in the late 1980s is not someone I care to know much about. I guess raw truth is code for writing about all that. Also the inserts about yoga philosophy at the end of each chapter are very dry. The book begs for a prologue about Seane's current uplifting work and activism to pull readers through the long stretch of her writing about the not so great Seane of the 1980s and Seane's instruction about a couple of yoga poses and also color inserts of Seane practicing yoga. I think it would make the less palatable aspects of her then-personality a lot easier to put up with while reading the book. (Again, I'm aware she has changed and she is a wonderful person now.)
Colleen Saidman Yee's memoir/yoga book is actually a far better book and I don't even particularly care about Saidman Yee and of course no one can beat Seane in terms of teaching and social activism. Yet, while I really feel the book is closer to one or two stars than three, Seane's message of not judging others etc has inspired me to re-think how I viewed some recent incidents in my life, and so there is no doubt that she is a gifted teacher. I adore Seane and with a bit more advice from the publishing company the resulting book could have been much better.
Colleen Saidman Yee's memoir/yoga book is actually a far better book and I don't even particularly care about Saidman Yee and of course no one can beat Seane in terms of teaching and social activism. Yet, while I really feel the book is closer to one or two stars than three, Seane's message of not judging others etc has inspired me to re-think how I viewed some recent incidents in my life, and so there is no doubt that she is a gifted teacher. I adore Seane and with a bit more advice from the publishing company the resulting book could have been much better.
September 6, 2019
The title of this book tells you exactly what to expect: Seane Corn discusses her own revolution of the soul and how she awakened to love through raw truth, radical healing, and conscious action. Some of the stories she shares are quite disturbing, but she uses the ugly parts of her life to grow, and overall, it’s a very inspiring story.
I love how Seane uses her experiences to teach about the eight limbs of yoga. It grounded the teachings for me, making yogic philosophy much easier to understand and relate to. This is also a very quotable book; I highlighted countless passages to come back to again and again, and “ahimsa before satya” is my new mantra.
I have only two minor complaints about this book, both related to the organization. Each chapter starts with stories from Seane’s past, and then concludes with teachings based on those experiences. It’s a logical way to organize her content, but it gets a bit repetitive at times. Also, I sometimes felt disoriented by the frequent changes in verb tense. I was reading an uncorrected and not fully formatted proof, so these transitions may be smoother in the final published version.
I highly recommend this book both for those who enjoy reading memoirs and for those interested in learning about yoga.
Readers should be aware that the author frequently uses profanity, including f-bombs. In addition, some of her stories may be quite triggering, including discussions of child abuse, sexual assault, and people living in extreme poverty.
I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.
I love how Seane uses her experiences to teach about the eight limbs of yoga. It grounded the teachings for me, making yogic philosophy much easier to understand and relate to. This is also a very quotable book; I highlighted countless passages to come back to again and again, and “ahimsa before satya” is my new mantra.
I have only two minor complaints about this book, both related to the organization. Each chapter starts with stories from Seane’s past, and then concludes with teachings based on those experiences. It’s a logical way to organize her content, but it gets a bit repetitive at times. Also, I sometimes felt disoriented by the frequent changes in verb tense. I was reading an uncorrected and not fully formatted proof, so these transitions may be smoother in the final published version.
I highly recommend this book both for those who enjoy reading memoirs and for those interested in learning about yoga.
Readers should be aware that the author frequently uses profanity, including f-bombs. In addition, some of her stories may be quite triggering, including discussions of child abuse, sexual assault, and people living in extreme poverty.
I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.
October 11, 2020
Authentic, penetrating, uncensored, and written with love. Seane reveals episodes of her real journey from bartending New York sex clubs in the 80’s all the way to the international rock star yogi and global humanitarian she is today. It is a riveting and inspiring crescendo - the tale of one beautiful heart making Rocky’s climb to championship, then reaching out to the rest of us to do the same.
Seane clearly reflects on all of her key experiences in a section at the end of each chapter. Her inner work includes all of the ugly parts, unconcealed, and she maps her revelations in terms of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy that all of us can understand. As a student of these philosophies, I prefer some of Seane’s explanations to any I have yet read.
Seane is profoundly honest with us, openly discussing childhood trauma, drug abuse, OCD, romantic heart-break, grief, and scenes of abject human depravity. But we also experience joy, wonder, and laugh-out-loud humor, all told with relatable skill as if from a wise best friend. Her path is paved with “angels,” regular human beings with profound wisdom to share, and their messages are fresh, as if relayed just for us.
Read the book, live from your heart, commit to love, and be of service to the world!
Seane clearly reflects on all of her key experiences in a section at the end of each chapter. Her inner work includes all of the ugly parts, unconcealed, and she maps her revelations in terms of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy that all of us can understand. As a student of these philosophies, I prefer some of Seane’s explanations to any I have yet read.
Seane is profoundly honest with us, openly discussing childhood trauma, drug abuse, OCD, romantic heart-break, grief, and scenes of abject human depravity. But we also experience joy, wonder, and laugh-out-loud humor, all told with relatable skill as if from a wise best friend. Her path is paved with “angels,” regular human beings with profound wisdom to share, and their messages are fresh, as if relayed just for us.
Read the book, live from your heart, commit to love, and be of service to the world!
November 30, 2020
La lectura es una invitación a emprender un viaje de sanción del Ser, una revolución del alma como lo llama Sean Corn.
Practico yoga, y sí, durante las sesiones me concentro en sentir el balance y la flexibilidad de mi cuerpo en armonía con la respiración y la quietud, todo con el fin de encontrarme en las posturas, pero la invitación de Sean va mucho más del cuerpo que medita o se entrena mientras "hace" yoga. La autora muestra con su propia experiencia de vida, cómo a través de la practica de yoga, logra conectarse consigo misma, con los demás y con la tierra que habita. Y es precisamente porque al entrar en sí misma encuentra, reconoce, siente la unidad con Dios, (fuente, energía, divinidad, espíritu... ).
En este tiempo de covid, yo, como muchas personas en el mundo, he decidido no regresar a algunas de las muchas actividades que realizaba antes del covid. ¿Por qué? Porque cuando el mundo redujo la velocidad de su andar, me gustó. Entonces me pregunté: ¿por qué seguimos haciendo cosas que resultan en lo que nadie quiere? Consumo, descuido del ambiente, desigualdad, separación, violencia, pobreza. El reto es gigante, sin embargo...
"We change the system by changing the people who keep it alive -and that change begins with ourselves".
¡Bravo Sean Corn!
Practico yoga, y sí, durante las sesiones me concentro en sentir el balance y la flexibilidad de mi cuerpo en armonía con la respiración y la quietud, todo con el fin de encontrarme en las posturas, pero la invitación de Sean va mucho más del cuerpo que medita o se entrena mientras "hace" yoga. La autora muestra con su propia experiencia de vida, cómo a través de la practica de yoga, logra conectarse consigo misma, con los demás y con la tierra que habita. Y es precisamente porque al entrar en sí misma encuentra, reconoce, siente la unidad con Dios, (fuente, energía, divinidad, espíritu... ).
En este tiempo de covid, yo, como muchas personas en el mundo, he decidido no regresar a algunas de las muchas actividades que realizaba antes del covid. ¿Por qué? Porque cuando el mundo redujo la velocidad de su andar, me gustó. Entonces me pregunté: ¿por qué seguimos haciendo cosas que resultan en lo que nadie quiere? Consumo, descuido del ambiente, desigualdad, separación, violencia, pobreza. El reto es gigante, sin embargo...
"We change the system by changing the people who keep it alive -and that change begins with ourselves".
¡Bravo Sean Corn!
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