Kind, wise, and reflective of timeless truths, this yoga manual merits careful reading and rereading.
A spiritual guidebook explains basic tenets of yogic philosophy and how they can be integrated into everyday routines.
In this book, the search for happiness is characterized as “the greatest adventure of human life.” And the way to begin that hunt is to commit to the practices of Yama and Niyama, the first two “limbs” of the eightfold path of Ashtanga Yoga. Yama centers on avoiding actions that derail the mystical journey and cause harm to others, like lying or theft. By contrast, Niyama aims to foster serenity and a deeper connection to eternal truths through study and self-discipline. The text explores the qualities of love, mercy, appreciation, and empathy. It offers insights such as “Having compassion for living beings, their pain and the harsh actions that come from their pain, is the root of forgiveness” and “Loving yourself is essential because it is by loving your own self that you become able to love others.” Understanding the causes of conflict and violence, reconciling clashes between instincts and ethics, and learning how to deal with negative judgments are other topics, along with behavioral exercises to help readers incorporate the instructions into their lives. In this well-written guide, Ma (Feminine Mysticism, 2014, etc.), a licensed clinical psychologist as well as a teacher, deftly examines the structure of society, including how survival-based fears drive many of humanity’s most destructive deeds against itself. The concepts she lucidly explains have a universal quality, with echoes in the ideological principles of major religions like Christianity and Islam. A glossary at the back of the book is helpful, though the Sanskrit terms used throughout the text may be unfamiliar and off-putting to some readers. Getting the most out of this valuable guide requires personal self-examination and a willingness to consider fundamental yet simple lifestyle changes, such as showing gratitude and committing to performing a daily selfless act of service to another.
Kind, wise, and reflective of timeless truths, this yoga manual merits careful reading and rereading.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9863047-1-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Ananda Guru Kula Publications
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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