Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life?: Personal Stories from 25 of North America's Leading Teachers

by Stephen Cope, Richard Faulds (Contribution by)

As one of the largest and most successful yoga-based retreat and education centers in the world, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, attracts many of the leading teachers of yoga and Buddhist meditation to its annual retreat, East meets East: Yoga & Buddhism. In Will Yoga & Meditation Really Change My Life? Stephen Cope brings to the printed page the fascinating dialogue that he has fostered in these retreats.

Cope asks participating teachers to share their Tales from the Path, stories of how the long-term practice of these ancient traditions has changed their lives. The result is an inspirational volume featuring 26 distinct voices telling their stories, how they became interested in these traditions, the teachers who inspired them, and how the practice of yoga and meditation has shaped their lives and perspectives.

The contributors, many of whom are authors of well-known books on these topics, speak of their experiences as real people living in our complex world, complete with spouses, children, aging parents, financial demands, illnesses, injuries, and all of the ordinary aggravations of everyday life. Many of these teachers have studied and explored the practice of yoga or meditation over the course of 30 years and have been pivotal in creating retreat centers, styles of yoga, and teaching techniques that have contributed to the widespread popularity of these practices in mainstream culture.

The stories of these teachers ask the questions, What is possible for me, in my life, right now? How can my practice of yoga and meditation help me lead a more satisfying life? These are questions on which every spiritual seeker andpractitioner of yoga and meditation inevitably must reflect.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Buddhism, Health, Meditation, Philosophy

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2003

About the author

Stephen Cope is the director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living, the largest yoga research institute in the Western world—with a team of scientists affiliated with major medical schools on the East coast, primarily Harvard Medical School. He has been for many years the senior scholar in residence at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, and is the author of four best-selling books.

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the ridiculous title, the idea of having lots of yoga/meditation teachers write about their experience of a life of reflection seems interesting; seeing the range of experience and getting a few bits of real insight was nice, although it was hard to see how the lessons of people whose lives are entirely focused around meditation and yoga would impact me as someone who squeezes a practice in as much as I can.

[Bess · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, let me say that I felt compelled to finish the book.

Second, let me say that I am an occasional practitioner of meditation, and I can go years without getting on the mat but still consider myself to be a student of yoga.

It's important for me to be clear about where I am right now, because I found this book to be *so pretentious* that I actually didn't want to finish it. And I'll just leave it right there.

[Anne Earney · Rating 4 out of 5]

25 essays or interviews on the question addressed in the title. Some were predictable, but others were surprising. I enjoyed the ones in which the writer had more to overcome in order to get to a good place. Reading about those who had the ability and means to seriously undertake spiritual study in their 20s wasn't particularly helpful, but reading about those who struggled along the way was interesting. The variety of approaches the writers either studied or practiced at the time of writing or, in some cases, created themselves, was interesting. My favorites were the writers who ended up in a calm place, no longer be striving, just enjoying life and their practice.

[Mirra Price]

I liked most of the stories from yoga and meditation practitioners on how these practices changed their lives. A few were great reads; others were boring, and some of the authors seemed pretty self involved, the opposite of what I hope spiritual practices would bring. I think Cope could have edited better, and perhaps chosen a few more women. I liked all the stories by women, actually.

[Alex Boon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, with a lot of interesting stories (and several not so interesting) but the tone and nature of the stories got a bit repetitive after a while. A bit more variation within the topic might have helped.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Each story is filled with stories that resonate in some way or another, and give a different perspective on the practice of yoga and/or meditation. If you are an aspiring yogi, or a yogi who is striving to deepen your practice, this book is for you.

[Monica Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some essays were good; others, meh.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it would be stories from normal folks !

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, essays by different yoga teachers of how yoga and meditation changed their lives.

[Clif Brittain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A desire for an added dimension to fitness led me to yoga. Yoga led me to concentrate more on breath work. Breath work led me to meditation. Yoga and meditation led me to Buddhism. The new pope, the new archbishop and the new priest have led me to explore other spiritual outlets than Roman Catholicism. Hence this book.

The book is a series of four & five page interviews conducted by Cope. The final piece talks about him and his experiences. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but a lot of interesting people.

There are basically two types of people in this book, dropouts at an early age who have experienced train wrecks in their early life and found their way to health, and frequently, wealth, through yoga. The other is men who are overachievers who drop out of very successful careers to become yoga instructors. It is very interesting to me that many of the men make their living with words, mostly psychotherapists and teachers. They seek a more physical practice, sometimes combining yoga with therapy, but just as often dropping their professional practice altogether.

Before I started this yoga reading binge, I'd never heard of many of these people, but they are (aging) rock stars in the yoga world, at least in the US. A lot of them talk about "graduating" from the physical practice of yoga and getting more into meditative and spiritual aspects. I'm greatly enjoying the physical yoga. I can't imagine graduating.

It is interesting to me that many of these people have started their own yoga disciplines. I think this must be because in the US, in order to earn a living, you have to have a salable product, and you can't do this with a generic yoga product. This leaves the beginning yogi with a vast and confusing number of ways to practice. It is sort of like deciding you are going to be a Christian and then trying to discover which denomination best suits you. As there are new denominations split off every day, it is an impossible task.

This book gave me some familiarity with some of the possible alternatives, but no definite leaning. Of all the teachers, John Friend was the most interesting to me.

Friend recommends the book The Yoga of Breath by Richard Rosen, so I think this may be my next yoga exploration.

[Jennifer Dines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely - I felt very calm as I read the interviews and essays of the wide survey of American yoga and meditation practitioners featured. I am not new to yoga, but I am new to reading about and committing more deeply to a daily practice, and this is the first book on yoga that I have read cover to cover. The words of wisdom from these teachers inspired me to also try meditation - just a few minutes a day - and it is something I think I will continue to explore.
I found some of the teachers more relatable than others - particularly those who had families and careers and educations outside of yoga. However, I found value in each and every chapter. My main take-aways from this book are: 1) yoga and meditation practices change over time 2) people are attracted to these practices for a variety of reasons (for me - mental and physical health and the joy the practice brings to my life) and 3) the practices are deeply personal and oriented towards finding one's own path within them.
Reading this book encourages me to continue to explore my own connection with these practices and to keep reading onwards. This book also has an incredibly useful and concise glossary as well as links and resources from the 25 featured teachers.

[Sam Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very personal book as these 25 are sharing their unique experiences. You get the impression that the accounts ("Tales of the Path") are very honest. One example was in part of Robert Hall's response to the question "How did you first encounter Fritz Perls?"
"Perls taught us to be present: That life happens at no other time than here and now. In order to be fully present we have to be free of any unfinished physical, mental,or emotional business. So the work was clearing anything that was an obstacle to being present.
Landing on the hot seat in Perls' group one day, I remember looking into his eyes and beginning some aimless chatter. The next thing I knew by hands were bleeding and there was broken furniture everywhere. I had gone into a rage because of what was locked inside me. That release was the beginning of my path. I was ecstatic."

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Interesting to hear some of the U.S. industry icons speak about finding their way and all the things they tried along the way. Mentions meditation techniques that I never even heard of before and it definitely provides food for thought.

Each chapter covers a different person starting with a (sometimes very long winded) list of accomplishments covering their 30+ year careers; followed by a mostly impersonal q&a. A few contributors really laid their hearts out with true dignity and grace but those moments of real connection were rare.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated between 2 and 3 stars for this one. I almost knocked it down to 2 because of the horrible title, but thought that would be a bit harsh. Some of the personal stories in this book were fascinating to me, others not so much. In the end, I'm glad I read it, but I should have used more of a skimming approach to focus on the stories that really resonated with me.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting interviews and personal essays from 25 leading yoga and meditation teachers. Inspiring!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice variety of perspectives from all kinds of teachers.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

the answer is YES. Enjoy this anthology of well-known practioners' journeys onto their mats. I bought this while visiting Kripalu and find myself re-reading it often.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with teachings, I'll be going back to this again and again for inspiration.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, and no! ;)

[Rose]

294.3 Cop