The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras [Paperback]

Nischala Joy Devi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2007

Yoga is well known for its power to create a healthy body, but few realize the emotional and spiritual benefits. In The Secret Power of Yoga, world-renowned Yoga expert Nischala Joy Devi interprets Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the principles at the basis of Yoga practice, from a heart-centered, intuitive, feminine perspective, resulting in the first translation intended for women.

Devi’s simple, elegant, and deeply personal interpretations capture the spirit of each sutra, and her suggested practices offer numerous ways to embrace the spirituality of Yoga throughout your day

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This sweetly voiced explication of the Yoga Sutras is disarming in its simplicity . . . I read it smiling.” —Sylvia Boorstein, author of Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness

“A dynamic new interpretation . . . that will make this wonderful ancient teaching accessible to modern readers and useful in their daily life.”
—David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri), author of Yoga and Ayurveda

“Truly life changing. A book to be read again and again.”
—Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T., author of A Year of Living Your Yoga

About the Author

Nischala Joy Dev is a renowned Yoga expert who has been teaching internationally for more than thirty years. She is the author of The Healing Path of Yoga, which is regarded as the definitive guide to the subtle use of body and mind in healing and stress management. Visit her website at www.abundantwellbeing.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307339696
• ISBN-13: 978-0307339690
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sutras from a feminine perspective, April 26, 2007

By 

Theresa Reed "The Tarot Lady" (MILWAUKEE, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras (Paperback)

Although most of us view yoga as simply a physical discipline, there is a far more spiritual dimension to it. The entire philosophy of yoga has been contained in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Sutra is Sanskrit for "thread" - the sutras are a collection of terse aphorisms threaded together, laying out the whole of yoga.

Translations of these sutras have been done by males over the years and although there are some wonderful books on the subject (Iyengar's "Light On the Yoga Sutras" for one), I have found these books to be rather dry. Well known yoga instructor, Nischala Joy Devi has written an entirely new and feminine perspective on these ancient proverbs. Devi writes in an almost poetic manner and substitutes words that are 'negative' with a more heart centered counterpart. For example, for Aparigraha which is often translated as non-greed, Devi uses "awareness of abundance". This is a very nurturing viewpoint that makes the sutras "friendlier" and more easier to relate to. Meditations and practices are sprinkled throughout to help intergrate the vibe of the sutras into your heart.

She covers books one and two of the sutras and did a brief scan of book three. I am somewhat hopeful that she is intending on covering books three and four (she didn't mention book four at all) in a further volume, but until then, this is enough food for thought for now.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Translation..., July 24, 2007

By 

Yoga Teacher "I LOVE yoga and anything that b... (OM-aha, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras (Paperback)

This book is truly a gem. It discusses the Sutras from a heartfelt perspective lacking in most other translations. It will compliment any other reading of the Sutras you have done, and will add a whole other dimension. A must-have for any complete yoga library.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A daily guide for spiritual practice, June 5, 2008

By 

Carol Ann Chidlaw "Yoga Grandmother" (Oakland, MS, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras (Paperback)

This set of CD's lives in my car and accompanies me down the road -- both the physical road and the road of my life. As an avid student of Yoga, I am enamored not only with asana (poses) practice, but with the metaphysics and philosophical underpinning of this ancient and sometimes complex system of whole health. Nischala Devi guides me from a woman's perspective, simply and clearly through the maze of the Yoga Sutras with her own unique flavor and world view. And while this is not an accurate "translation" of these ancient texts, her interpretation and commentary is for today, for women, and uncomplicates and simplifies the teachings so I can cease struggling and just rest in the depth of how to live my life in the 21st century where I am and as I am.