I have just finished reading one of the proposed books in my yoga teacher training – How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach (click here for more info about the book). A book explaining the Yoga Sutra (the oldest and most famous book about how yoga works) in a more easy and understandable way.
The story is about a girl (and her dog) getting locked inside a prison in a small town, and starting to teach yoga to the man who put her there. The man has a very soar back and he is in a lot of pain and that is why the girl starts to teach him yoga. You get to follow the journey from the very start where the man (the Captain) does not know anything about yoga. In all the lessons where the girl teaches the man yoga, she is always referring to the old book of Yoga Sutra, explaining with examples and stories on what it really means.
You get to know a few different people throughout the book, all of them with different backgrounds that put them where they are today, living lives with different kind of struggles and experiences, good and bad, as we all do. By finding out about their personal history you get to understand better along the way why they do what they do in different situations.
It is a sweet, although sometimes sad, story, where you really get to understand what the yoga sutra book is about. So if you are interested or curious in about this ancient teaching, and do not want to read the more “heavy” books, I can really recommend this one. I personally liked it a lot.
If I should pick one specific thing to share from the book, then I liked the thought of the different steps of your yoga journey. Starting with the Noticeable step, in the very beginning where you only notice small changes in your every day life. Secondly, you have the Surprising step, where positive things can happen that really surprises you, instead of small, just noticeable things. Thirdly, you have the step of Amazing, where things happen to you that is really amazing. Big things, that will change your life situation or leading you into another path in life maybe. Lastly, it is the Impossible step. Meaning you experience some things that you thought were impossible to happen. IF this happens, the message in the book is for you to embrace this, because it is really important how you respond to this. Do not try to find and explanation, but just accept. And I am sure you can benefit from approach in other experiences as well. Sometimes the best thing to do is just acceptance, not digging to deep to find answers.
I am not going to tell you the end for those of you who have not yet read the book How Yoga works, and want to do so. And for those of you who already have read it, I think you will understand why I choose the picture of today’s post.
Wish you the best. Take care. Namaste.
Beayogawoman 