Georg FeuersteinRecensioni

Yoga Journal

3.75

This book is mostly designed as a reference where you can open at any chapter and not feel left out. As such, reading from cover to cover was redundant. However, what makes this book great are the broad array of beginner-adapted yoga exercises, advice for designing a program, and (my favorite) are the conceptual chapters in the front third of the book. I don't think many other books in the same niche properly address the mental aspects of yoga like its history and philosophies (just from the first chapters I would rate this 4.5).

Basically, this is a well-rounded, better-than-most beginner yoga book.

Tantra—often associated with Kundalini Yoga—is a fundamental dimension of Hinduism, emphasizing the cultivation of "divine power" (shakti) as a path to infinite bliss. Tantra has been widely misunderstood in the West, however, where its practices are often confused with eroticism and licentious morality. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy dispels many common misconceptions, providing an accessible introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of this extraordinary spiritual tradition.

The Tantric teachings are geared toward the attainment of enlightenment as well as spiritual power and are present not only in Hinduism but also Jainism and Vajrayana Buddhism. In this book, Georg Feuerstein offers readers a clear understanding of authentic Tantra, as well as appropriate guidance for spiritual practice and the attainment of higher consciousness.

The Bhagavad-Gita is an ancient masterpiece of India. It focuses only on one part of a larger whole wherein the God-man Krishna lectures Prince Arjuna on the righteousness of the battle that he is to take part in. The battle pitted his former friends and teachers against him and they were on the opposing side for various reasons. Krishna offers his godly wisdom and sage advice in this matter, telling Arjuna that it is correct to fight since that is his duty given the caste that he was born into.

As I mentioned, the Bhagavad-Gita is a part of a longer work called the Mahabharata, composed beyond the mists of time. It is ostensibly based upon a true series of events, namely the Bharata War. In that sense, it is similar to The Iliad and The Odyssey, which was formulated so long ago that it is attributed to someone that may have not existed. I am pretty sure that people argue about the existence of Homer, but I don’t know if they do the same for Vyasa, the guy that wrote the Mahabharata. According to Wikipedia Vyasa has reached mythological status, so I suppose it is somewhat the same.

Going into this book, I was only familiar with the quote that J. Robert Oppenheimer said when the first Atomic Bomb was set off in Los Alamos back in 1945; “If the radiance of a thousand suns / were to burst into the sky / that would be like / the splendor of the Mighty One and I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds.” This is only because I played a lot of Civilization IV back in the day.

This book exceeded my expectations. When I got it, I didn’t realize that it would have the original Sanskrit Text, a Romanized transliteration, and a translation to English. This made the book seem longer than it actually is. Along with all of that are a number of references in order to put the work in context and to discuss things like how to read Sanskrit. A full table is devoted to each letter of the alphabet and how to pronounce it. The book also contains essays to further explain the historical and cultural context of this work.

I haven’t read any of the other translations of this and I can’t read Sanskrit, so I am unable to determine how accurate the book is to the original piece. However, I did have a lot of things that I liked about it. There are some things that I skimmed over, to be sure, but this is mainly because I am not really trying to learn Sanskrit. I think this book would be a fantastic resource for scholars but I am sure they probably have their own books that they are fans of.

Une très bonne présentation de la Bhagavad-Gita. Cette dernière est d'abord expliquée dans son contexte historique et symbolique avant d'en dégager les doctrines essentielles. Le yoga est envisagé comme une voie de transformation. Bonne mise en garde contre les rapprochements faciles entre la psychologie moderne et le yoga.(anglais)

very good manual for yoga beginners

This book offers novice Yoga practitioners a solid foundation on which to begin or build their personal practice. Written by two highly-respected Yoga teachers and scholars in the West-Georg Feuerstein and his wife Brenda Feuerstein-the book will also augment Yoga teacher trainings, and provide current Yoga teachers with an invaluable text to use with or recommend to their new students. Yoga stands for spiritual discipline, as it was developed in India over thousands of years. This is the focus and purpose of The Matrix of Yoga: to provide as simple an introduction to the authentic teachings of Yoga as possible. While Yoga traditionally included physical postures, this was just one aspect of practice. Mental discipline was counted as far more important. Above all, Yoga was wrapped into an overall spiritual framework. Every single discipline had the purpose of helping the practitioner to grow toward inner (or spiritual) freedom. This reader-friendly handbook is divided into two sections. In Part 1 the authors establish the substructure of Yoga, with short essays that cover basic principles: the meaning of Yoga, the practice, the types, the deeper commitment and levels. They go on to explain practical applications of Yogic philosophy to all aspects of life, including: diet, working with the mind, livelihood, and the transcendence of ego. In Part 2, presented in a unique question and answer format, they address 30 of the most important and widely-asked questions by newcomers to this path. Their straightforward and highly-authoritative responses will give any practitioner a more direct understanding of the issues involved in adopting Yoga as a practice, a lifestyle, a spiritual philosophy. Rather than requiring research through numerous and complicated texts to find answers, newcomers will appreciate having wise elders to guide them along the way. Some of the relevant issues include: Can one be a Christian and still practice Yoga? Does Yoga require the need for a guru, and if so how to find one? Is the market appeal of Yoga today an asset or a detriment to the serious practitioner? Without denying that modern practitioners of the physical postures of Yoga are significantly helped by them, the Feuersteins emphasize the "so much more!" The core power of Yoga-which is in its spiritual and ethical wisdom-remains untapped in so many contemporary approaches. This book seeks to address that lack.

The ever-increasing popularity of Yoga and related practices makes a desktop reference like this indispensible. With over twenty-five hundred entries and extensive illustrations, it combines comprehensiveness with accessibility. The book is arranged and written in a manner that will inform rather than overwhelm the lay reader, while at the same time offering valuable references for the professional researcher and the historian of religion. This new edition includes information about contemporary Yoga teachers. It also provides fuller descriptions and illustrations of Yoga poses, and features additional cross references.

This overview of the essentials of Yoga is meant to both broaden and deepen the understanding of beginning students. It covers all the basic elements of this ancient discipline and philosophy of India--including Yoga poses, diet, breath control, meditation, mantras, Kundalini energy, and more. It also includes newly translated excerpts from the scriptures and pays special attention to branches of Yoga, such as Tantra, that are of great interest to Western students but are frequently misunderstood.

For decades, schoolbooks have taught that Sumer was the cradle of civilization. Conventional scholarship has also held that Aryan civilization came to India by way of invasions from the north. But in this ground-breaking book, three renowned scholars show that there was no "Aryan invasion," and that India, not Sumer, was the cradle of civilized humanity. Through exploring the rich symbols, metaphors, and myths of the Vedas, this book also examines the wealth of India's spirituality and its relevance for today's world.

How the mind works according to the ancient yogic traditions, compared and contrasted to the approaches of Western psychology--by one of the greatest yoga scholars of our time. Georg Feuerstein begins the book by establishing the historical context of modern Western psychology and its gradual encounter with Indian thought, then follows this introduction with twenty-three chapters, each of which presents a topic--generally a point of correspondence or distinction--between Western and Eastern paradigms. These are grouped into three general sections: Foundations, Mind and Beyond, and Mind In Transition. The book concludes with a brief epilogue as well as three appendices, adding depth to the discussion of the ancient yoga traditions as well as an informative survey of yoga psychology literature. "The Psychology of Yoga" is a feast of wisdom and lore, assembled from a perspective possible only for one whose monumental scholarship has been tempered and leavened by practice.

There can be little doubt as to the overall health benefits of practising yoga. This substantial Dummies Guide (nearly 400 pages) is an introduction and a beginner's reference guide to anyone wanting to take it up, either at home or in a class with others. Like all Dummies guides, exceptional thought has gone into the layout and design: apart from an overview of the yoga philosophy, there are exercises for one person or doubled up with a partner, during and after pregnancy, yoga especially for women, children, teenagers, midlifers and older adults, floor exercises and exercises against a wall, breathing exercises and exercises to improve balance, basic postures and more advanced ones, postures to relieve stress and chronic pain, and that's by no means all. Among others, it gives advice on how to use props, and how to customise your own personalised yoga programme. If anything, there is maybe a little too much information, and I found the degree of choice and variation slightly bewildering, having had no previous experience apart from the odd posture here and there.

The actual exercises are well explained and feature step-by-step instructions and loads of photographs of the various postures. There is even some bonus content online that can be accessed with this book.

So, the good intention to incorporate some yoga exercises into my life is there, but how will I find the time?

(This review was written as part of Amazon's Vine programme.)

This is the only part of Coast of Utopia that really holds up as a play on its own. Which is not to say it's bad -- Mikhail Bakunin is adorable, in the same way a puppy who keeps chewing on your shoes is adorable, the classic Stoppard wordplay is delightful (if unusually artificial; the running summerhouse gag gets tired pretty quickly), and Liubov makes my heart crack into little pieces. Turgenev is my favoritest ever, for the record.

Belinsky's act I monologue works better on the page than on the stage, in my experience (sorry, Lincoln Center production), but it rewards re-rereading.

Amazon.com Review:

Consider for a moment that the Dalai Lama is a tantric adept, and those visions of sexual bliss that the word "tantra" conjures up quickly dissolve. Tantra is more than the sex play of popular articles and books. Georg Feuerstein, authority of the yogic traditions, conjures up a much richer world of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and theology. Tantra is a form of devotionalism, in which ritual sounds, gestures, and actions figure prominently. Reverence of the guru as god also plays a part, but Feuerstein tempers our suspicion by repeating the admonitions of tantric texts down through the ages to choose carefully. As much prudence must also go into reflection on the disciple's own person, who engages in strict yogic discipline designed to conquer the six enemies: desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and envy. Feuerstein draws on the ancient texts to describe the tantric path in great detail, including realization of the subtle body, directing energy through the chakras, and, yes, sex. Taken together, tantra becomes a vivid, multifaceted path to self-realization. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly:

Feuerstein has attempted a daunting task, defining Tantric Yoga drawn from Hindu and not Tibetan Buddhist sources. To do this, he has assembled a wide-ranging compendium of Hindu, Tantric and Shaivite texts almost impossible to find in one place elsewhere. To plunge into this book is to find yourself rushing down the sacred River Ganges through the heart of India. Like a sophisticated travelogue, it brings into sharp focus the rich tapestry of the Indian ecstatic life and the exotic practices of Tantric Yoga that take place, metaphorically, on the banks of this Queen of rivers. The inner eye is challenged with mystical beasts bathing in the waters; holy men daubed in ashes undertaking bizarre and often previously never-before-seen Tantric rituals; the inner ear is filled with the rhythmic, pulsating chant of Om, and all its associated Sanskrit sounds; the senses are awash with meditative visions. It is a passage through Indian spiritual life that may be too sophisticated for the casual tourist, although for those who have passed this way before, it is a comprehensive and provocative commentary on the basic and advanced precepts of Tantric yoga. Written with literate modesty and erudition, this book is an invaluable resource. -
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Feuerstein is a renowned yoga scholar and a tireless communicator, sharing his knowledge in more than two dozen books on the subject as well as translations of key yoga scriptures. Most Westerners have a limited understanding of what the term yoga, which means "union," implies. Feuerstein describes yoga as a "spectacularly multifaceted phenomena," and performs a truly yogic feat by combining commentary with translated Sanskrit teachings, history with theory, the spiritual with the practical, and the classical with the contemporary. He illuminates every facet and phase of yoga from its roots in shamanism to its connections to the complex and dynamic spirituality of India, especially yoga's relationship with Hinduism and Buddhism. Feuerstein explicates the different yogic schools and profiles key yoga teachers. Yoga is a vast and vital universe maintained over the centuries by the discipline and persistence of its practitioners, who strive to join the physical with the spiritual, the "individual self with the supreme Self." No more adept or comprehensive study of yoga aimed at a Western audience is to be found". - Donna Seaman

"Without a doubt the finest overall explanation of Yoga ... Destined to become a classic". -- Ken Wilber, author of A Brief History of Everything.

Feuerstein is a respected scholar as well as a longtime yoga practioner and author of numerous books on the topic. His latest is a comprehensive guide to the history and current practices of yoga. Feuerstein has an incredible breadth of knowledge on the subject of yoga, and he masterfully synthesizes material from both well-known and esoteric yogic texts in explaining numerous paths of yoga. Ultimately, his thoughtful reflections on various yogic and Buddhist practices help the reader understand the spiritual context of yoga practice and its relevance to twenty-first-century life. Jane Tuma
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.

Green Yoga is a book for those wishing to make their Yoga practice relevant to today's environmental and social crisis. It shows how the ancient wisdom teachings of Yoga are relevant to a "green" lifestyle.

About the Author:

Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., is the author of over 30 books, including Yoga Morality, The Yoga Tradition, Holy Madness, and Transparent Leaves From the Tree of Life. Brenda Feuerstein is a former music teacher, health and fitness consultant, yoga teacher and present director of Traditional Yoga Studies. Both authors are committed to a sustainable lifestyle.

Green Yoga is a book for those wishing to make their Yoga practice relevant to today's environmental and social crisis. It shows how the ancient wisdom teachings of Yoga are relevant to a "green" lifestyle.

About the Author:

Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., is the author of over 30 books, including Yoga Morality, The Yoga Tradition, Holy Madness, and Transparent Leaves From the Tree of Life. Brenda Feuerstein is a former music teacher, health and fitness consultant, yoga teacher and present director of Traditional Yoga Studies. Both authors are committed to a sustainable lifestyle.

After looking over many yoga books in an effort to find a good resource for beginners, I finally found this book. This book is ideal for anyone needing a general overview of yoga, its purpose, usefulness, and rewards. With all the books, magazines, and internet information at our disposal it can be a daunting task to figure out how it all fits together, without feeling discouraged. This book does a nice job of explaining Yoga in a easy-to-digest manner, without making you feel overwhelmed. The tips sprinkled throughout the book are helpful and the jargon alerts are nice because they clarify unfamiliar terms. Most importantly, the overall tone encouraged me to incorporate Yoga into my life at my pace- whether I have 15 minutes a day or three hours. In addition, the resources section helped me find reliable resources.

Todo el mundo puede practicar yoga, sólo tiene que encontrar los ejercicios adecuados. Esta práctica física y mental milenaria sigue siendo perfectamente válida en el siglo XXI. Deportistas de élite, personas convalecientes de lesiones o enfermos con dolores crónicos se benefician de las virtudes del yoga. En Yoga para Dummies encontrará todo lo que necesita para conocer y comprender a fondo la sabiduría del yoga y una guía ilustrada para practicarlo. Después de leer y poner en práctica los ejercicios de este libro,notará la diferencia.

A unique and authoritative collection of dictionary-style ready references. Featuring a wealth of quotations from the yoga scriptures, the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga lucidly defines hundreds of the common words, expressions and concepts of yoga, plus technical terms. A number of essay length entries also offer readers an invaluable overview of yoga's history, literature, psychology and metaphysics.

A noted scholar of Eastern philosophy explains how to make the experience of heightened awareness a part of everyday life, and how this can transform the planet.

Lucid waking means bringing an intense awareness to the business of living by meeting the challenges of existence sanely, creatively, and philosophically. It is the goal of all the great spiritual traditions of the world.

Georg Feuerstein shows how this awareness is quietly emerging in individuals in the West after a prolonged spiritual slumber. "Lucid Waking" shows us that it is possible to be so vividly engaged in life that it will seem as though others are sleepwalking by comparison. Feuerstein brings clarity to the often murky concepts of soul, spirit, imagination, wholeness, and enlightenment, providing a sensible accounting of higher consciousness and self-transcendence in modern life as we approach the millennium. Rich with philosophy and insight from one of our most gifted chroniclers of the inner experience, "Lucid Waking" is a statement of unshakable faith in the great potential of humanity.

A comprehensive survey of the history, schools, literature, philosophy and practice of Yoga. This is a book for both teachers and students. Assuming no prior knowledge of Yoga, Georg Feuerstein presents a well-rounded birds-eye view of this many faceted tradition.

"Sacred Sexuality: The Erotic Spirit in the World's Great Religions" is a historical, cross-cultural survey of sexuality as a sacred spiritual practice. This book examines sacred sexuality in the world's religious and mystery traditions, explores contemporary "sexual stress syndrome" resulting from the absence of the sacred in sexual practice and reveals how to find the sacred in the ordinary.

This book examines the history of sexuality as a sacramental act. In spite of our culture's recent sexual liberalizations, sexual intimacy often remains unfulfilling. Georg Feuerstein instructs that the fulfillment we long for in our sex lives can only be attained once we have explored the spiritual depths of our erotic natures.

Feuerstein delves into a wide variety of spiritual traditions-including Christianity, Judaism, goddess worship, Taoism, and Hinduism-in search of sacred truths regarding sexuality. He reveals that all of these great teachings share the hidden message that spirituality is, in essence, erotic and that sexuality is inherently spiritual. From the erotic cult of the Great Mother and the archaic ritual of heiros gamos (sacred marriage) to the institution of sacred prostitution and the erotic spirituality practiced in the mystery traditions, Feuerstein offers a wealth of historical practices and perspectives that serve as the bases for a positive sexual spirituality suited to our contemporary needs.

This book contains the best of Yoga Journal: the most outstanding interviews, essays, illustrations, and photographs.