Questions about Yoga Bind, including for author Meryl Davids Landau > Likes and Comments
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I am starting here, with my thoughts. I chose questions 1 and 6. 1. As the novel opens, Janelle has a steady spiritual path, until she learns about Guruji's potential misdeeds. Do you like this major plotline? Has any bit of news ever thrown your own spiritual or emotional life into a tailspin?
I really enjoyed the plot of the story. It raises an interesting question about what happens when someone we admire, respect and learn from turns out to be human, with flaws and failings of their own, and how it fits with our practice and our own humaneness.
I've experienced something similar with someone I worked with and looked up to. The circumstances and flaws were different, but the experience changed how I saw that person. It diminished them in my eyes, and I had to reconcile the person I thought I knew with the person I came to see.
What I've come to appreciate is that the experience didn't diminish everything I had learned from them. In fact, recognizing their flaws became an important part of my own growth. I learned from both their strengths and their shortcomings.
I think that's what resonated with me about Janelle's journey. We can appreciate the wisdom someone has shared without agreeing with their choices or excusing their behavior. Sometimes the greatest growth comes from questioning what we've believed, seeing people more clearly and deciding what we want to carry forward.
6. Forgiveness—who it benefits, what it means and doesn’t mean—is a core theme. Talk about how it struck you, both in Janelle’s quest to do this and for your own life.
Forgiveness was one of the themes that resonated with me, although I sometimes found myself questioning Janelle's reaction. She's an intelligent, capable woman with a strong yoga practice, yet the allegations against Guruji seemed to shake the very foundation of what she had learned and believed.
I understood her desire to hear directly from her friend rather than rely on gossip or make assumptions. I respected that. At the same time, I wondered why she allowed the uncertainty to have so much power over her. Did she really need someone else's answers to continue practicing what she knew to be meaningful and true for herself?
I enjoyed how her conversations with Danny and her exploration of other spiritual traditions helped her find a broader perspective. Perhaps part of her journey was learning that wisdom doesn't have to come from one person or one source.
For me, forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting, excusing someone's behavior or necessarily restoring a relationship. Sometimes it's accepting what we cannot change, letting go of the need for answers and choosing not to carry the weight of someone else's actions.
I think that's what stayed with me about Janelle's journey. We don't always get the answers or resolution we're looking for, but we can still embrace what we've learned and find our own peace. It's something I'm continuing to learn and practice in my own life.
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I've really enjoyed all three of Meryl's novels, but Yoga Bind resonated with me the most. Perhaps it's the shift in focus or the complexity of the challenges Janelle faces, but this story felt more tangible and true to life. I've grown to love this circle of characters, and I appreciated seeing them from a different perspective. I'm curious whether others felt the same way or connected more with one of the earlier books. I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially if you saw Janelle's journey differently than I did.
Hi Kris:Thanks so much for weighing in! Sorry for the delay; I've been away.
1) I'm so glad you answered the question about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I've found in my life that while that's so much easier to do than, it's served me better to grapple with how and what to keep in my life when it's delivered by a really flawed person. I've grappled with this over the years with personal friends, celebrities in the news, and, of course, several fallen yoga gurus. Like Janelle (not surprisingly, since I invented her!) I ultimately came to see the value in keeping teaching that. help my life even while I don't condone the person's actions. Glad you've found that too!
2) Forgiveness is a weighty subject for sure. I appreciate your feedback that Janelle seemed like she would be too spiritually advanced to not be so thrown by her guru's actions. Lorna would have thought that too, which is why as I was writing Warrior Won from Lorna's perspective I decided I needed to write a novel from Janelle's perspective too, since Lorna kept thinking Janelle had it all together. My own experience, even as someone on a spiritual path for decades, as well as that of two separate swamis I know who've been at this for 40 years, is that when something big happens, it's easy to lose your center, even when you "know" you shouldn't. But not all readers clearly agree this should have thrown off Janelle, a group that clearly includes you. I have tried to find big problems for all of my novels--huge mother issues, a potentially ill baby, a betraying guru--because I never wanted it to seem like people on a spiritual path are easily disconnected from their higher self.
I'm glad this was your favorite of my novels. I'll confess that it's my favorite too. I think the topics here are more universal. My which other yoga mostly appealed to people already in the yoga/meditation world. I'm getting feedback on this novel from people who've never done a pose or a meditation session who are still relating to the novel and its themes and feel uplifted by the end, which is of course always my objective.
I appreciate your thoughtful feedback.
If you have any questions of me in terms of why I made certain decisions in the book feel free to ask. And I'd also love to hear from others who've read my prior two novels as well of which one is their favorite.
Thanks!!
Meryl
Thank you for your perspective Meryl. It is a great read and I hope more of our group will have more thoughts, feedback and questions to consider. The story flows very well. The characters are interesting and dimensional. I think the topic is one that can hide different aspects and you did a great job shedding light.
Thanks for your interest in my latest novel, Yoga Bind!
Here are some prompts, both about the book and how it impacted your own life. Please answer only the questions that truly interest you, skipping the rest. Feel free to discuss other themes not included here and to add a few questions of your own for me, as the book author, to answer.
We’ll keep this thread active in September and October. (If the discussion is lively enough we’ll move on to other yoga books in the coming months.)
1. As the novel opens, Janelle has a steady spiritual path, until she learns about Guruji's potential misdeeds. Do you like this major plotline? Has any bit of news ever thrown your own spiritual or emotional life into a tailspin?
2. Janelle relies heavily on mindfulness practices, especially her favorite “inner-outer pause.” Have you tried this practice? What do you think of it? What other grounding practices did you enjoy reading about in the novel or that you use to keep your inner peace?
3. Let's talk about the girlfriends who populate the novel. Who was your favorite? Did you appreciate that Janelle has such a large posse of girlfriends to lean on or were there too many to keep track of?
4. Cousin Danny becomes a key source of Janelle's personal growth and transformation as the novel unfolds. What did you like most about Janelle and Danny's relationship? Anything you disliked?
5. Danny also helps Janelle explore her Jewish ancestors and faith as a way to understand herself and her future. How important was this exploration of religion and heritage (regardless of whether you’re Jewish or not) to you as a reader and to Janelle's healing as a character?
6. Forgiveness—who it benefits, what it means and doesn’t mean—is a core theme. Talk about how it struck you, both in Janelle’s quest to do this and for your own life.
7. Work problems also throw Janelle off her path, because life sometimes piles one problem on top of another. Did you enjoy that element of the story? Do you ever struggle to keep your own anger in check at the office?
8. I wrote this novel with the intention of exploring emotional, spiritual, and personal growth in a fun fiction read. Do you think I succeeded? (I won’t be insulted if the answer is no.) Did the ways Janelle and her friends work through their various emotions feel realistic to you? And if you've read my prior two mindfulness/yoga novels, Downward Dog, Upward Fog and Warrior Won, did you enjoy seeing the same characters and themes pop up here?
9. How do you envision Janelle's life will be the same or different a year or two after the story ends, in terms of work, romance, and her emotional/spiritual life? How do you see your own unfolding in that time?