Yoga and Psychotherapy: The Evolution of Consciousness

by Swami Rama, Ajaya, Rudolpy Ballentine

For thousands of years, yoga has offered what Western therapists seek to provide a way to achieve the total health of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Yoga & Psychotherapy is an in-depth analysis of Western and Eastern models of the mind and their differing perspectives on such functions as ego, instinct, and consciousness. This book draws upon the rich and diverse experience of Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, MD, and Swami Ajaya, PhD, to show you how the ancient findings of yoga can be used to supplement or replace less complete Western theories and techniques

Yoga & Psychotherapy was written to be accessible to the layperson, yet detailed enough to be of value to the professional. This text is a perfect and succinct introduction to some of the cardinal concepts of yoga philosophy, presented in a clear and logical format. Purchase your copy of Yoga & Psychotherapy and see how the timeless of yoga can make an impact in your life.

Genres: Psychology, Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Science

313 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 1975

About the author

Swāmī Rāma was born Brij Kiśore Dhasmana or Brij Kiśore Kumar,to a northern Indian Brahmin family in a small village called Toli in the Garhwal Himalayas. From an early age he was raised in the Himalayas by his master Bengali Baba and, under the guidance of his master, traveled from temple to temple and studied with a variety of Himalayan saints and sages, including his grandmaster, who was living in a remote region of Tibet. From 1949 to 1952 he held the prestigious position of Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham in South India. After returning to his master in 1952 and practising further for many years in the Himalayan caves, Swami Rama was encouraged by his teacher to go to the West, where he spent a considerable portion of his life teaching, specifically in the United States and Europe.
He is especially notable as one of the first yogis to allow himself to be studied by Western scientists.
Swami Rama authored several books in which he describes the path he took to becoming a yogi and lays out the philosophy and benefits behind practices such as meditation. One of the common themes expressed in such books as "Enlightenment Without God" and "Living with the Himalayan Masters" is the ability of any person to achieve peace without the need for a structured religion. He was critical of the tendency for yogis to use supernatural feats to demonstrate their enlightenment, arguing that these only demonstrated the ability to perform a feat.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors compare and contrast yoga and western psychotherapy. The writing is somewhat dense as this seems to be more of a scholarly work than for the lay reader. Even with that, the authors provide a good understanding of where the two sciences overlap, where they differ and how they may be used together. Several interesting observations...
- western psychotherapy has been around for just over a century while yoga has been practiced for millennia
- western psychotherapy starts with healing a disabled mind while yoga seeks to enhance an able mind
- western psychotherapy (and medicine in general) deal with healing external disease while yoga seeks to heal by harnessing the internal energy we all possess

[Emrhys Raine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SUCH a beautiful and insightful read that replaces the walls of limitations in modern, Western Psychology with windows and doors to the vast-reaching world of ancient, Eastern psychology with grace

My version had many easy-to-make-sense-of editing errors such as the word modem instead of modern.

TW: mentions rape and child molestation in the context of treating and rehabilitating the individuals who have committed these crimes with a yoga psychotherapy lens. Majority (not all) of this content is in the Appendix: 'An Example of the Clinical Application of Yoga in Psychotherapy' and can be avoided if necessary.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, easy to digest. I do very much like Swami Ajaya (even though I have been turned off from the current Himalayan Institute's "business mindset" and there was some highly-charged rumours and legal accusations surrounding his guru, the late Swami Rama. Ajaya, however speaks from a place of reverence for the subject.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the more studied yogi, this book was fairly heavy but VERY informative.

[Chalumuri Dinesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

very super

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

My two favorite subjects. I'm surprised the authors didn't include Ken Wilbur and transpersonal psychology into the picture, but it is still a good analysis nonetheless.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

More than a little creepy.

Mind-expanding insights from a classical yoga lineage, interwoven with gaslighting, megalomania and delusion.

Fascinating and very hard work.

There are two things I did to keep this book from conditioning my deep mind:

1. I read backwards to forwards, in fragments.

2. I read top down - in other words, scaled in from the highest level of abstraction (chapter headings) to select topic paragraphs and topic sentences.

This kept me from identifying with the mind and voice of the author. Instead, it kept me in the headspace of saying "what is he saying and what is the logical attempt he is making to justify it?" ... instead of the headspace of "what kind of voice does he have and how does his reasoning mind move from idea to idea?"

So I was mostly outside the ride, instead of inside it next to the driver for the course of the book.

[Pradnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time reading yielded new insights.