the WHY

I first discovered yoga in the 1980s when I went to college in California.  In fact, my boss at a investment brokerage took me to my first class, which was an Iyengar yoga class.  Yoga has helped me to work with my tall body, and I pored through Light on Yoga as a guide.  Yet I wanted to know more than the poses (asanas), I wanted to understand the true purpose and life philosophy of yoga.  I will never forget typing notes next to Iyengar as he stood on his head or watching him describe—with his x-ray vision of the body—the impact of a cancerous tumor on a person’s form in a medical yoga class.

FILED UNDER: NON-FICTION

B. K.S. Iyengar—hailed as "the Michelangelo of yoga" (BBC) and considered by many to be one of the most important yoga masters—spent much of his life introducing the modern world to the ancient practice of yoga.

Yoga's popularity is soaring, but its widespread acceptance as an exercise for physical fitness and the recognition of its health benefits have not been matched by an understanding of the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development that the yogic tradition can also offer. In Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar brings readers this new and more complete understanding of the yogic journey. Here Iyengar explores the yogic goal to integrate the different parts of the self (body, emotions, mind, and soul), the role that the yoga postures and breathing techniques play in our search for wholeness, the external and internal obstacles that keep us from progressing along the path, and how yoga can transform our lives and help us to live in harmony with the world around us. For the first time, Iyengar uses stories from his own life, humor, and examples from modern culture to illustrate the profound gifts that yoga offers. Written with the depth of this sage's great wisdom, Light on Life is the culmination of a master's spiritual genius, a treasured companion to his seminal Light on Yoga.

  • The New York Times

    “Like his other books, "Light on Life" is rich in yoga philosophy and methodology. But unlike his previous writings, this new book is full of rich in autobiographical anecdotes.” — FULL REVIEW

  • Publisher's Weekly

    “Chapters elaborate on aspects of yoga—the physical, energetic, mental, intellectual and divine, showing the architecture of the comprehensive system of spiritual teachings that lead to samadhi , the state of blissful absorption.” — FULL REVIEW

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