Customer Reviews

The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In his book, "The Wisdom of Yoga," Stephen Cope has created a small masterpiece. He has not tried to answer questions about man's place in the universe or or the existence of an external world. He has, however, by means of telling vignettes from the lives of people he knows well and insightful comments about what must be one of the most gnomic series of insights into the practice of Yoga, given the average reader a sence of what it is to become involved in the practice of Yoga and some of its life-changing potential. In addition to this, he has included illustrations from other belief systems, specifically Buddhist thought and Christianity that provide a wider context for his practice. The Yoga practioner, as well as the average person who would like to learn a little about Yoga, could both benefit from the wonderful book.

I am a huge fan of this book. In novel like prose, Stephen beautifully illustrates how the yoga sutras apply to our very modern, complicated lives. If you want to go deeper into the yoga wisdom tradition but have been put off by more esoteric texts, this is the book for you.

This book is about the transformations that can occur thru the practice of yoga. It is an easy read, but has true depth and soul that true practitioners can relate to. I enjoyed this book even more than Stephen Cope's previous book which is also a good read. I recommend this book to anyone who is dedicated and wishes to achieve a deeper understanding of how to use their body and mind to evolve spiritually.

The absolute best in its field, Wisdom of Yoga is no 'Idiot's Guide to Yoga'; you actually need gray matter in order to read it. However it's well worth it. I don't know of a more enriching, comprehensive (and above all) enjoyable read that will take you to the heart of the YogaSutras and the real purpose for taking up yoga.

Stephen Cope has laid a map of the internal journey of yoga for beginners and experienced yogis all in the same brushstroke. He has brought together ancient texts, modern stories, and wise direction with practicle, simple, humorous dialogue. You will keep turning the pages as you effortlessly learn about the depth of yoga through his real charachters of today. Loved It! Great for anyone who wants to know more about meditation, it's benefits, and how to do it easily!

This is a unique and oustanding book which, for starters, points out that what most Americans think of as "Yoga", i.e. asana or postures, is the tip of an iceberg which began hundreds of years before, but which has had little clear explanation for Western readers. Stephen Cope is obviously a learned scholar, and able to explain rather impenetrable Eastern philosophy in clear, concise, understandable writing, and to place it in the contexts of both centuries of philosophical thought (both Eastern and Western) and of modern psychology, fields in which Mr. Cope is clearly a master. By juxtaposing his crystal clear discussions of yogic philosophy with easy-reading examples of 5 contemporary "seekers", he has made the book extremely accessable to beginner and veteran yogis alike. With his unique background as a psychotherapist and "scholar in residence" at Kripalu, I suspect there are few if any others who could do this.
If you have practiced yoga postures and found something special, you have only dipped your toe into an ocean. This book will open the door to a new world.

This is a great book. Cope's characters face the kinds of life challenges we all face and it's easy to see ourselves in their stories -- coming into relationship with our parents, considering what our life dreams really are, discovering the real demands of love, or facing the demons of addiction.

Cope has interwoven these stories with Patanjali's yoga sutras and penetrating analysis of the sutras' meaning in relation to real life. He bring us into direct relationship with Yoga, not tell us about his yoga, which so many of today's yoga books do.

As a psychotherapist and yogi, Stephen Cope brings a unique and valuable perspective to the yoga conversation here in the West.

Cope explores the turbulence of the mind, which he calls Puppy Mind, as he opens his tale of his and his students' journeys through meditation, yoga, and life. This analytical breakdown of Patanjali's Sutra is conveyed through individual stories that apply to specific mental states, emotions, and techniques. Though some of his students' problems seemed trite to me, I found this mostly compelling, particularly the section on truthfulness. The material is presented in a manner that is extremely thought-provoking. He discusses morals, and the fact they aren't discussed in psycotherapy. Most books of this genre do discuss morals in the form of non-harming, etc., but Cope points out in plain English how our bad behaviors harm us. Includes a brief, but excellent definition of Karma.

I love this book from the first page to the last! The introduction, prologue and appendices are quite helpful in providing vital information to the reader. Cope takes some everyday people and their life's challenges and brings to light some answers to the struggles of the human condition. The book reads like a novel, in a way, but is very scholarly and cites the words and philosophies of many pundits in the field of religion such as Mircea Eliade, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Thomas Merton and Georg Feuerstein, to name but a few. I didn't want the book to end and the final chapter made me cry with joy of the knowledge of contentment, despite challenges, in our lives. Thank you Stephen Cope!

There is little need for another rave review about this book as I agree with the other positive reviews. I just would like to add this: I became a Cope fan reading his articles in Yoga Journal and his first book. Most of my yoga instructors learned at Kripalu. Amrit Desai, who started Kripalu, requires 2 years of daily yoga practice before you can take his teacher's training course. Now I understand why, as I have been practicing hatha yoga daily for that long now. A daily practice, from a few days a week for decades, has opened me up in ways that I would never have imagined. Reading and absorbing this fantastic, understandable interpretation of the Sutra I have now been given the gift of validation for how I manage to live an "extraordinary life" and can manage my "human" moments. Read this book and then...practice, practice, practice.