Practical Yoga Psychology

by Rishi Vivekananda

The great mysteries in our lives are the understanding of our personality,how we relate with other people and the world around us,and our place,if any,in the vast scheme of things.The other question we face is how we can improve our personal experience and our interactions with society,so that we live a happy harmonious and helpful life.For thousands of years yoga has been addressing these questions and supplying the answers to them. Practical Yoga Psychology is an attempt to simply blend the teachings of yoga with those of pschology,psychiatry and other branches of western science to give us an overview of the human personality,an idea of where we are going and guidelines to proceed on our journey. A worthy companion to the many other classics brought out by Bihar School of Yoga and Yoga Publications trust,Bihar.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Psychology

Paperback

First published October 30, 2006

Reviews

[Johannes Bertus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitated quite some time before reading this book, because in my experience books on yoga often tend to be tedious collections of Sanskrit anatomical terms and skandhas. I am one of those people who would rather spend time on a mat than read about it. But was I pleasantly surprised once I got into this one - the text is clear, easy and above all useful. I would recommend this book even to yogis who are not that partial to philosophy or psychology. The title is somewhat misleading though - the book's range is much wider that psychology, also encompassing bakhti, pranayama, physiology, asanas and more. One of the most enlightening yoga books I have read.

[Sujata Sahni]

Life's a game, it's a game in which you accumulate as much money as you can and the one who has the most money when he dies wins ~ Danny de Vito, Other People's Money. That which is looking is what you are looking for ~ St. Francis Assisi. We should take care not to make the intellect our God, it has of course powerful muscle but no personality. The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift ~ Albert Einstein. Emotions like joy, fright, anger, calmness are the power that propel us to behave in the appropriate manner to deal with a situation. In an untrained animal, this happens automatically however in humans the more evolved species, the neo-cortex can override automatic responses, to behave in a better way or not react at all to move up Maslow's Hierarrchy of Needs. The book provides ideas on identifying issues with the neo-cortex and overcoming them.

[Abhinav · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there's any book out there talking about Yoga and psychology, this is the probably the first book one must read. Simple, clear and straight-forward in explaining concepts, RV makes reading a very good experience. My heartfelt gratitude to him.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

accessible and well-written.

That said, he comes from the Bihar/satyananda tradition which is an abusive, vindictive cult.

Let the buyer beware.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very clearly written explanation of yogic physical, mental, and spiritual practices and how they affect our psyche and personality. A good introduction to yoga beyond the physical postures.

[Jan Hallé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know about anybody else out there but in general I can tell if a book is going to resonate with me in the first 10 pages....and on the odd occasion when a book has not ticked the right boxes in this timeframe and I have persevered regardless I come to the conclusion that I should trust my first instincts and move on to the next book in an ever growing pile. This little volume promises great things. OK at 300 + pages not one might say it is that little but compared to some tomes on yoga it is certainly not large. It is easy to read and holds your attention. Having only arrived today I've not had much time to sit down to read but once I started Chapter 1 everything had to go on hold til I finished it. Now on Page 22 ...so that's got to be a good sign. Will update feedback if and when it seems appropriate but so far, so good.

[Utkarsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very excellent book