Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization

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years of Hindu Raja Yoga, and this book breaks it down into steps that are really beautiful and seemingly easy. I read it like poetry, all the words are beautiful to me. Bliss, joy, energy, love, compassion, alert, vibrance, thrive, diversity, timelessness, evolving, gratitude, grace. In just one paragraph. Der zweite Teil der ersten Hälfte wird dann immer abstrakter und spiritueller. Das ist dann eher was für Fortgeschrittene. In the second half of the book, yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger focuses on the asanas. She lost me a bit with some of her discussion of subtle energy (e.g., nadis, chakras, gunas, vayus, bandhas), but her presentation of 54 poses was mostly understandable. The poses are grouped into categories such as simple standing poses and forward bends with the intention that you can create a well-rounded practice by choosing one or two poses from each category. Each pose includes a drawing or two, an overview, how-to, benefits, therapeutic applications, and helpful tips, including cautions and modifications. My main frustration with this section is that the drawings didn’t always match up with the text. As an example, the how-to section might describe a twist to the left, while the drawing shows a twist to the right. Existence becomes blissful. You experience a joyful, energetic body, a loving, compassionate heart, an alert, vibrant mind, and lightness of being. Thank you to Net Galley, Deepak Chopra & Sarah Platt-Finger and Rodale Inc., Harmony Publishing for generously providing me with this fantastic ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In the Second Part, of this wonderful book, I believe, is where his Co-Author, Sarah Platt-Finger gives illustrations of Yoga Poses, followed by a written Overview of each yoga pose. Next is a written step-by-step How-to: with written sequential directions on how to do each yoga pose physically. Next, comes a written explanation of the Benefits of each yoga pose. Next, the Therapeutic applications of the yoga pose are described. Lastly, there is an explanation of Helpful Tips to each yoga pose.

Reach your highest potential and a deeper understanding of self with Deepak Chopra’s groundbreaking guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Be aware of your impulse to judge, criticize, and get offended. Don’t indulge in the impulse whenever possible. You see everyday life as a lucid dream, incredibly vivid but an illusion. You can improve the dream without getting trapped in it. The Gifts of Royal Yoga Existence becomes blissful. You experience a joyful, energetic body; a loving, compassionate heart; an alert, vibrant mind; and lightness of being. You control your mental activity. You can generate thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are evolutionary. You are the one who gives them meaning, and therefore the whole world as you perceive it has meaning. You see everyday life as a lucid dream, incredibly vivid but an illusion. You can improve the dream without getting trapped in it. Vor allem den ersten Teil der ersten Hälfte fand ich sehr erhellend. Hier skizziert Deepak Chopra einen Weg aus dem Negativ-Zyklus der Gedankenspirale hin zu einem positiveren Selbst- und Weltbild.

Joy becomes the only measure of success because your essential nature is joy. It is the beginning and endpoint of every journey.Living in the light, that’s where we all want to dwell. No one does this better than Chopra. This is an amazing gem of a book that combines Deepak Chopra’s wisdom, teachings and roadmap on how to get there in thirty days. He explains the concept of Royal Yoga and the benefits of shifting your mind to living in the light. Actually, he explains we are all living in the light, just not all the time. There are six chapters, you work on each for five days and the weekend is spent reflecting. He breaks down each aspect of life and how your awareness can grow in each area. He then connects it to Yoga. This isn’t too out there and woo woo, but rather Chopra is practical and relates each idea clearly and logically. Joy becomes the only measure of success because your essential nature is joy. It is the beginning and endpoint of every journey. You understand what it means to thrive. You savor the diversity of life, which brings richness to your unfolding story. You recognize that the point of arrival is always now. You can’t move to where you are already standing—this is the experience of timelessness. A ground-breaking guide to the philosophy and practice of yoga from master of modern meditation Deepak Chopra. Deepak Chopra, MD serves as the Founder and Chairman of The Chopra Foundation, and Co-Founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Chopra’s medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Dr. Chopra serves as Co-Founder and Chairman of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Founder of The Chopra Well on YouTube, Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Assistant Clinical Professor, in the Family and Preventive Medicine Department at the University of California, San Diego, Health Sciences, Faculty at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization.

The second part begins with a high-level introduction to some yoga fundamentals. Then it dives into wonderfully specific detail on certain yoga poses including an overview,, how-to, benefits, therapeutic applications, and helpful tips. I’ve been practicing yoga for a while, and it took me some time to find a yoga style and teachers that resonated for me. I appreciate yoga instructors who explain the posture, the benefits, and the subtle micro movements to help you get the most out of the position. That’s exactly what the second half of the book does very skillfully. Royal Yoga is unique in that it seeks to make everyday life ideal. There is infinite bliss available to your true self. Whenever you experience less bliss, no bliss, or actual pain and suffering, only one thing has changed, how close you are to the light. This concept defines the entire Yoga system, no matter how complex its traditions are in India. We can cut through the complexity by focusing on just one goal: living in the light. Part 2, the yoga postures, is written by Sarah Platt-Finger. It doesn’t just show an illustration of each yoga pose covered, it explains how to do it, the benefits, the therapeutic applications and tips, which I love. I found part 2 to be more interesting. THE PRACTICES OF PEACE Don’t create stress for yourself and others. Look for areas of agreement instead of areas of discord. Take responsibility for your own anger and resentment. Don’t unleash them on other people. Get out of the habit of blaming others. Be aware of your impulse to judge, criticize, and get offended. Don’t indulge in the impulse whenever possible. Distance yourself from hostile people and hostile situations.

You recognize that the point of arrival is always now. You can’t move to where you are already standing—this is the experience of timelessness. I experience my body as a flow of awareness. I experience my body as a flow of awareness. Your body isn’t a machine, even a miraculous machine, but a storehouse of infinite knowledge. If we look at any process in the body, from a cell dividing to reproduce itself to the immune system repelling an invader or the digestive tract extracting energy from food, a vast amount of knowledge is on display. No process is mechanical. The body’s knowledge is alive, flowing, and conscious. In the first half of this book, Deepak Chopra explains the eight limbs of Raja Yoga and presents a six-week program for conscious living and self-realization. Each week focuses on a different stage of transformation, presented as themes such as Social Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence. There are five lessons within each week, one for each weekday with weekends off for integration. Each lesson begins with an affirmation and discussion, followed by an exercise. Many lists are provided, making the material easy to understand and implement.

Reach your highest potential and a deeper understanding of self with Deepak Chopra’s groundbreaking guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Royal Yoga is the highest and most important of the yoga traditions–an all-embrracing path to personal transformation that reaches beyond any approach to wellness and healing that exists today. Whatever you are doing to enhance your life, Royal Yoga can bring you more of everything you want; it brings every experience, no matter how small, into the light. By learning to live in the light, you deliberately and consciously accept your true self as a being of infinite possibilities, unfettered by worry or self-doubt. In this groundbreaking new work, international bestselling author Deepak Chopra and his coauthor Sarah Platt-Finger, yoga director at Chopra Global and co-founder of ISHTA Yoga, offer an illuminating program for self-realization, bliss, and wholeness. Combining a practical thirty-day program that will help you break limiting habits and belief systems with an in-depth exploration of fifty stimulating and restorative yoga poses, Deepak and Sarah provide a thorough and inspiring way to unite the mind, body, and soul. With new insights on social and emotional intelligence, the power of attention, body awareness, breathing, wholeness, and transcendence, and with dozens of specially commissioned illustrations of yoga poses (accessible for all skill levels, from beginner to enthusiast), Living in the Light provides the ultimate guide to your exciting, bright, and enlightening future. Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization by Deepak Chopra – eBook Details I want to underscore that living in the light is the most natural way to live. It is actually easier to live more consciously than to continue experiencing things unconsciously, driven by habit, routine, old conditioning, and denial. The habit of being more conscious will emerge effortlessly and without pain and discomfort if you keep in mind that the best experiences in your life indicate that you have glimpsed the light already without struggling to get there. As your chosen path, living in the light can begin anytime you choose. What I’ve offered here is motivation at the beginning of the path. Once inspired, you’ve taken the most important step in a journey where every step brings you closer to your true self. I wish the book had a more detailed table of contents, but otherwise, I liked the presentation. I recommend this book for anyone interested in yoga and personal growth. In place of trying to control other people and the events of the day, give them space to unfold the way they want to. I did some of the exercises, and I can see how this is powerful stuff. The poses ranged from easy to hard, and I will continue to sample one. I am a sampler, less an acolyte. Of nearly everything. Except love, I am an acolyte of love.Connecting spirituality with “the light” has a long tradition, which continues for the devout who want to live by the light of faith or in the light of God. But the term is vague and seems to have little relevance to modern secular life, the life that the vast majority of people lead. You recognize that there is no fixed identity. Your identity is unique but always evolving. It is your karmic story, but you don’t need to be bound by it.