The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice
Product Description
From the foremost living authority on Yoga comes the most comprehensive and reliable treatment of the subject available today. This is a work of impeccable scholarship by a person who has dedicated his life to the understanding and practice of yoga. The book offers a complete overview of every Yogic tradition, from the familiar to the lesser-known forms. It also covers all aspects of Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina Yoga, including history, philosophy, literature, psychology and practice. In addition, included are * translations of twenty Yoga treatises * the first translation of the Goraksha Paddhati … More >>
The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice
Tagged with: Buddhist Philosophy • Hindu • History • History Literature • History Philosophy • Literature • Literature Philosophy • Philosophy • Practice • Product Description • Psychology • Scholarship • Tradition • Translation • Translations • Treatises • Yoga • Yoga History • Yoga Philosophy • Yoga Tradition • Yogic Tradition
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If you are looking for an encyclopedia of yoga this book is a reasonable consideration. It is, however, very dry, fact-filled, clinical, and boring. I have practiced yoga daily for over 36 years. I also teach yoga. I appreciate the scholarship contained in this book. But it is too academic for most readers. Most readers will want something more engaging from the text. Perhaps this book will serve the needs of those who want a reference book for their bookshelf. Namaste.
I think this book attempts to cover too much information. There’s too much of an attempt to classify everything and too little an attempt to explain. It’s hard to follow and excessive.
On the other hand, it is very informative if you’re skimming for information. It can give you a very good over-all understanding of Yoga’s history if you read just a few key paragraphs from each section.
In the clubby world of American yoga Feurstein is often cited and recommended. Perhaps it is because he has a Ph.D. and quite a number of books published (largely recycling the same material). Maybe its because he has supplied them with effusive blurbs for their own books. Frankly, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
In my opinion, Fuerstein’s writing style is ponderous yet is lacking in academic rigor. Nor do I find him to be ispiring or substantial in any practical sense. The question I ask myself is if he is not a good academic writer nor a good practical writer, why should I read him? I can’t think of any reason!
One of his most irritating qualities to to present his marginal theories as if they are well accepted in authentic academic circles. Also, he cites some really insignificant writers as if they are renowned scholars, simply because they support his views. One author whom Fuerstein frequently cites has a dubious degree and is self-published. Fuerstein also cites as authoritative a book which he co-authored (a fact that is only mentioned in a foot note)that is academic junk and is published by a theosophical publisher!
On the plus side, this book is handsome and is well designed, with nice graphical images and photos throughout.
Yes, there is some interesting and valuable material contained in The Yoga Tradition. However, in my opinion getting to it is not worth the effort. There is far too much winnowing of chaff required. Still, if you want to impress your friends with the depth of your “knowledge”, leave this book lying around. It just may impress them.
I was looking for a book about the history, philosophy and evolution of Yoga in a simple and informative way. The reason I bought this book is mainly based on the customer reviews and average customer ratings of 5 stars. I am one reader who didn’t like the book nor benefited from it in anyway.
I am new at Yoga and this is my first read in Yoga. I wished that this book would give me insight into how this ancient tradition evolved over thousands of years, It didn’t. The organization of the book is terrible, unnecessary details that deviates from the main topics are all around. In every chapter extracts from Hindu sacred books spans many pages which I didn’t enjoy.
This is more of a text book that is might be useful for research purposes than a book to read. I have tried numerous times to read the book but failed; I also tried to use it to write a paper on the History of yoga but got totally confused and find resources elsewhere more helpful.