The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga [Hardcover]

Geshe Michael Roach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2004

Yoga came to Tibet from India more than a thousand years ago, and it was quickly absorbed into the culture's rich traditions. In this small book readers will discover Heart Yoga, which developed over the centuries in the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas. The program presented here combines popular yoga exercises wtih special Tibetan poses, and methods of working from the inside to give a healthy and a happy heart.

Roach discovered a number of previously unknown Tibetan works on yoga in the course of his ongoing efforts to find and preserve ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts. He discusses the ideas and insights presented in these texts and places them within the context of the Buddhist tradition. To help readers incorporate this ancient wisdom in their daily lives, he provides a specific regime of yoga postures and meditations. Combining instructive illustrations with the unique philosophical underpinnings of the Buddhist approach, Geshe Roach has created a unique program for yoga on a physical and spiritual level.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Geshe Michael Roach's The Tibetan Book of Yoga is an excellent second yoga book for someone who is interested in Buddhism and is looking to deepen his or her yoga practice. The slim volume--based on Heart Yoga from the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas--delves more into the philosophy behind the poses than their practice. In the first four chapters Roach provides a quick history of Heart Yoga and introduces the uniquely Tibetan Buddhist aspects of the practice. Drawing on Tibetan conceptions of human physiology, Heart Yoga imagines five levels to work in each yoga pose. These levels include the physical body and the breath but also encompass the "inner winds" (internal energy channels), thoughts, and "world-seeds" (each seed is a part of karma that "ripens when we look at something, and colors how we see it").

Heart Yoga is infused with tong-len, a Tibetan meditation of "giving and taking" where the practitioner generates compassion through a mental image of taking away pain from others and giving joy. In later chapters, Roach walks his readers through the 10 exercises that form the core of the daily, 30-minute Heart Yoga practice. Each exercise is described in modest detail (with a few accompanying black-and-white photographs) before Geshe Roach offers his commentary on how the exercise serves the development of the five levels. Throughout, he remains centered on the fifth level, world-seeds, and the generation of compassion, as the vital foundation for successful, long-term practice.

Roach, the first American to receive the title "Geshe," has done a valuable service in bringing these ancient Tibetan traditions to a wider, English-speaking audience. But The Tibetan Book of Yoga is not a comprehensive guide for a yoga beginner. Roach suggests in the text that readers "piggy back" on other yoga teachers and teachings to learn correct pose form and avoid injury. In the end, The Tibetan Book of Yoga fills an important niche in Western yoga as an introduction to Tibetan philosophy of yoga, an introduction that may well spawn a new generation of books, videos and schools to expand on its teaching. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Publishers Weekly

Roach, a Buddhist monk, spent three years in "deepretreat" in the Arizona desert pairing yoga postures with ancientTibetan Buddhist philosophical texts to reveal a program of "HeartYoga," a practice that strengthens the physical and spiritualcenter. Part of the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet,Heart Yoga combines rejuvenating breathing exercises and physicalposes with meditative thoughts. As with karmic Buddhist teaching,Roach says the best way to ensure one’s own well-being is bymeditating for someone else’s happiness; in that act, one plants a"world-seed" so that, in time, joy will come full-circle. Heincludes only 10 yoga exercises, designed to take just a half-hourwhen performed each day, six days a week. Many of these will befamiliar to anyone who has taken a yoga class. However, theinstructions for some poses are three pages long or more, and mayrequire readers to stop and refer to the book for step-by-stepdirections. (Although there are photographs and drawings—not seenby PW—an accompanying video would benefit both experienced andnovice students alike.) Roach touts Heart Yoga’s ability to "removeexcess fat at the waistline" and its positive effects on one’s"sexual and digestive energy"—additional, if odd, perks to aWesterner in the quest of spiritual renewal. But his enthusiasm forthis yoga practice is infectious, and his promise of "a cheerfulmind throughout the day, just like the Dalai Lama with his bigirrepressible smile" is genuinely appealing.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1 edition (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385508379
• ISBN-13: 978-0385508377
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 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: #167,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Roach is a fully ordained Buddhist monk who received his geshe (Master of Buddhism) degree from Sera Mey Tibetan Monastery after twenty-two years of study. A teacher of Buddhism since 1981, he is also a scholar of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Russian, and has translated numerous works.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Both brilliant and somewhat disappointing, February 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)

It is a shame that I have to point out the book's greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness with equal importance. First, one cannot overstate the importance of moving beyond the overemphasis on strictly bodily exercise of Westernized yoga schools. Most U.S. yoga teachers sell the strictly physical benefits (which ultimately is pointless) or worse yet, mix a mostly physical curriculum with muddled, poorly understood jibber jabber about "energy" or "chakras" or other buzzwords culled from Hindu tradition without an understanding of the overarching, and highly technical, theories behind the complete science of yoga. In other words, much of Western yoga has Patanjali rolling in his grave. As a refreshing contrast, this book explains, albeit in a more simplified manner for the non-Buddhists, the exact reason why yoga can work and how lasting transformation can be achieved. It is also a joy to see Tonglen being taught in "stealth" mode. Thus, we have a Dharma practice that non-Buddhists can practice without feeling alienated or uncomfortable with religious imagery. Buddhists with more experience in these traditions will recognize the deeper meanings to Geshe Roach's non-Buddhist-friendly presentations instantly, whether they are trained in the Sutra tradition only, or in higher teachings. There is a great deal of knowledge stuffed into this rather slender volume for those who are familiar with the Tibetan tradition.

Unfortunately, it does not seem that physical culture is the author's strong suit. Yoga DOES have an important physical dimension, and one would not want to make the opposite mistake of many yoga teachers and stress mental exercise to the detriment of physical positioning. Having been a student of yoga for quite some time, I must say that the description of the postures is imprecise and sometimes confusing. Being a student of yoga doesn't help, as many postures are different from tradition to tradition, especially Sun Salutations! With a posture that has many steps like Sun Salutations, a picture of a competent yogi executing the posture MUST be included with the instructions. It isn't. Even so-so or tragically average yoga books have clearer illustrations and better instructions. Beginners may not be doing these postures correctly. Frankly, since I learned the postures in a different tradition, I am not sure that I am doing some things exactly as the author intends. This is doubly disappointing because the author stresses great precision in the postures and breathing, yet provides instructions that sometimes fall short of this precision. I will admit that this is more of a problem for people who are newer to yoga, but doesn't this book seem written for such a person? I highly recommend doing what the author suggests in later chapters - get instruction from a qualified teacher. When you have some experience with the postures, you probably will be able to piece together what the occasional fuzzy instruction means in this tradition.

The format of the book does not lend itself to opening on the floor so that a new student can glance at the instructions while halfway into a posture. It flies shut. Many home yoga students find it necessary to do this when a posture is new to them. I still can't get over the lack of photos of some aspects of the postures.

Still, one must look at Yoga in the Western world when evaluating this book. We have strictly physical teachers who see yoga as just another health club activity, and we have teachers that try to be "spiritual" but are borrowing bits and pieces from many different traditions that they don't really understand. This book really does eliminate that problem by having a solid, logical theory behind the asanas. I can't stress how important that is to have. So I can give this book four stars and recommend it to others without reservation. Still, I feel the need to reiterate my warning to the newbie: get a good teacher, even if he or she lacks the spiritual understanding of yoga, and gain experience with the physical side of the postures. One misplaced foot or one improperly rounded shoulder can render a posture incorrect, and much less effective.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hate exercise; I love this, March 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)

This book finally tells the reader how yoga works. If you want to stay toned up! Great! Go to yoga class. But if you want to connect with your higher nature, this book tells you how. Based on the wisdom of the Yoga sutras as well as the wisdom of Tibetan masters, it melds mind and body together in a unified cause - to end the suffering of all living beings.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More fun than I thought it would be, March 25, 2004

By 

Jocelyn L. (Denver Co) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga (Hardcover)

It's definitely a serious program, but it wasn't as stodgy as I thought it would be. I enjoy yoga and didn't find any of the postures difficult or particularly challenging, but the philosophy that is meant to come into your practice is amazing. I've been using the book's program for the past few weeks in my daily practice and I love the insights it has given me. I definitely feel that I am even more connected and grounded, more focused, and more in touch with myself and those around me. I do recommend this book to casual or experienced yoga practitioners.