It’s All Yoga, Baby, a great yoga blog I’ve recently discovered, has a great review of A World Out of Balance, a yoga book I’m eager to read. Written by Michael Stone, this book brings the ancient aphorisms of Patanjali into our modern context.
One thing I really like about her review is the opening paragraph which calls attention to something that also has bothered me about the ultra-hip, self-absorbed yogi class. She writes:
One of the drawbacks about being a yogi blogger is that I get regular exposure to some of the most tasteless and depressing aspects of yoga in Western culture (and y’all know what I’m talking about, because I can’t stop myself from commenting on it). Crass commercialism, hypersexualization, narcissism, branding… it’s enough to sometimes make me wonder why I bother with this practice.
Which is why I’m so grateful for Yoga for a World Out of Balance: Teachings on Ethics and Social Action (Shambala Publications, 2009). The latest book by Michael Stone, a Toronto-based yoga teacher, psychotherapist and author, puts to rest my unease about current developments of yoga and assures me that it’s a practice that is not only worthwhile, but essential for modern life.
Agreed. I’ve been put off more than a few times by self-absorbed yogis who are more into image and posing (not the asana kind) than any kind of true practice that leads to change or realization.
I’m off to find this book. I’ll write my own review at some point down the road. In the meantime, check out the
