The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice
• A contemporary classic by a world-renowned teacher.
• This new edition adds thirty-two poems by Krishnamacharya that capture the essence of his teachings.
Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value.
In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle.
This is a revised edition of The Heart of Yoga.
Reviews (184)
Lessons on How to practice Yoga from a master
This is recommended read for our YTT. I like the humility of Desikachar and his kindness that flows in the book. The breath alignment with movement is a very important aspect of Asana practice and one that is sometimes over looked when trying to get in to a posture. I haven't finished the book but will update the review once I am done. I also have the Light of Yoga and The Key Muscles of Yoga to go with this book
Classic and for good reason.
An essential for anyone interested in a deeper understand of yoga. Sublime topics communicated in a down to earth manner from a teacher who chose to embrace his impressive lineage (it not being forced apron him). With so much information coming out about dodgy "gurus", and with so many people virtue signalling with pseudo spiritual trappings, T. K. V. Desikachar is the real deal, primarily because he is not a guru, nor makes claims to be one, but instead is clearly only interested in passing on quality information to the best of his ability. Yoga, much like everything else evolves with time (for positive and negative reasons) but some sources of information are more "future proof" than others, there are some parts of "the heart of yoga" that may be less relevant or even unsuitable for some contemporarily, BUT, in my humble opinion, this book is a must for students... I know I got a lot from it.
A Must for any yogi
A great overview of yogic philosophy with enough thought provoking ideas from real practitioners to pursue a lifetime of correct yogic viewpoint. You also won't need Feurstein's heavy duty dissertation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as they are contained in the back of the book in abbreviated format.
Wonderful tool for anyone wishing to deepen their practice, or lead others.
This is a beautiful book, and I can see why it's on so many of the recommended/required reading lists for yoga teacher training. It covers a lot of information, and in a down to earth and accessible way. Especially the section on sequencing. This was very informative for me. Would recommend for anyone who wishes to deepen their practice, or is thinking about leading others in their practice.
and I have to say the illustrations are not the greatest, but the text
I got the kindle version, and I have to say the illustrations are not the greatest, but the text, particularly the introductory text (first 1/3 of the book) are very well-written in clear English. A lot of principles of yoga are explained that teachers in many classes simply don't have time to explain. There is a lot of emphasis on how the breath and the postures work together. This is probably the best explanation I have ever read. One of my teachers has this book with him and he plans his lessons from it.
Interesting reading, and a source for lots of pithy quotes.
In reading this book, I was first taken by the interview at its beginning. I began bookmarking quotes for transfer to my personal noebook (taken to each class), and soon found myself with nearly every other page bookmarked! The quotes available in this book are outstanding. And not just in the interview section. There are many interesting points Desikachar makes in his approach to asana sequencing: the importance of breath, the importance of tailoring the pose (and the sequence) to the individual, the importance of resting before engaging in a counter pose. One of my favorite quotes from this book (attributed to the Mahabharata) is “Speak the truth which is pleasant. Do not speak unpleasant truths. Do not lie, even if the lies are pleasing to the ear. That is the eternal law, the dharma.” To my mind this is much more practicable to practice than “Always tell the truth”. Another is “We can never experience our real nature if we do not expose ourselves to change”. I take this as at once being both a caution in life style, and also in becoming too comfortable in one’s yogic pursuits, including asanas and meditation. Then we get to “The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali” with Translation and Commentary by T.K.V. Desikachar. “If you tell a person who cannot find their own house that there is a pot of gold inside, they would be happier had they not had this information. What use is the gold if it cannot be found? It only causes pain. First they must find the house and enter it. Then there are many possibilities.” I take this to mean that everyone must start at the beginning…everyone must find their own house [way, path]. His views on dualism: (3.35 “The mind, which is subject to change, and the Perceiver, which is not are in proximity but are of distinct and different characters.” as opposed to Reductionism are also presented in this book. This Dualistic approach is softened later “Thus the mind serves a dual purpose. It serves the Perceiver by presenting the external to it. It also respects or presents the Perceiver to itself for its own enlightenment.” leaving open the possibility of a more Reductionist interpretation. This section of the book is the one I shall most refer to in future.
Yoga phyosophy put in a blunt, nonpretentious way
Really interesting book. As an aspiring yogi, I am learning a lot of new concepts and different perspectives from this book. I do not see it as an introductory reading but instead as a reunion of relevant concepts and lines of thoughts of yoga that should be read and studied more than once. Please note that I am not yet an expert to judge the quality and accuracy of the content. I am enjoying this book as an additional source of information and exposure to different perspectives on the phylosophy, as I normally approach all my readings on yoga given the diversity of thoughts, schools, and traditions. Overall, I think it's a great reading that offers a lot of interesting information put in a blunt, nonpretentious way. I totally recommend this book for those who are already familiar with yoga and would like to trace a path for personal development through this phylosophy.
Yoga for Everyone!
This book gives an excellent review of the basics of yoga, the tradition, and practical applications of basic techniques to achieve real-world results. The translation of the yoga sutras at the end of the book is my favorite part, as Desikachar is able to convey the essence of the text in a way that is universal to all people, showing us that yoga as a method can be just as easily applied to seeking self-realization as to making us better at our professions and loving our family members. I recommend this book to all beginners, all you middle-aged-ladies who work 40 hours a week have very little time and energy but want gentle exercise that helps restore you, ALL students going through teacher training, philosophy nuts, and anyone who is wondering whether yoga might be able to help them with a problem or weakness in their life but they aren't sure how to approach it. If you are looking for a book that will teach you power yoga, strong vinyasas, tips and tricks for getting into better headstands, or how to do anything with your kundalini, this book does not contain much on those avenues.
I felt some of the concepts and new terms in the second half could have been explained much better for someone who hasn't heard
I had to buy this book for my 200hr RYT training. The first half of the book reads well, but I struggled with the second half. I felt some of the concepts and new terms in the second half could have been explained much better for someone who hasn't heard of the terms before. If you are already familiar with the terms and concepts, then you won't have trouble comprehending it. There is a lot of great information in the book, I just know I need to do some more studying rather than just reading through it.
A must read!
There may not be a better yoga resource out there. This was required reading for the 200 hour teacher training I took recently, and it's obvious why. This book dives deep into the many different aspects of yoga, but is still accessible; it's not overly philosophical. Would highly recommend for anyone who is interested in the history of yoga, is new to your, or to anyone who is looking to deepen their practice. Actually, I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
