Customer Reviews

Yoga, Power, and Spirit: Patanjali the Shaman

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If any of the mystical traditions appeal to you, please invest the small price to own this book. Clearly and concisely this small treasure reviews Patanjali's sutras. Alberto Villoldo makes them poetry to the soul and heart. Each sutra is given a few sentences so beautifully expressed that no more is necessary. To alleviate "disciple-quilt" he states so wonderfully to the advancing student on page xxvii "As Swami Venkatesananda said: "Renounce the self that does the renunciation". With so many New Age books leaving enthusiasts with an almost inability to speak a sentence without self-correction, "Yoga, Power, and Spirit" takes the true student to the heart of the ancient traditions and well beyond the superficial hype of the current, sometimes, very limiting explanation of the metaphysical and sacred. Simply Dr. Villoldo gives us an easily understood adjunct to other sound authors such as Paramahansa Yogananda, Wayne Dyer and Greg Braden. He is in that class!

This book is a portable treasure chest of inspirations. Dr. Villoldo doesn't just reword the old, he renews it for what is needed by today's humanity. It is a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow. Read it and let it come alive within you and renew your spirit for the future.

Yoga, Power, and Spirit: Patanjali the Shaman
This translation was referrenced at the Yoga Journal Conference in Hollywood, Fl. a few months ago during a workshop on the Yoga Sutras. I immediately purchased a copy for myself and one of my students. I own four other translations of the Yoga Sutras, but I was able to go through this translation and find passages easily in language that I am using daily for readings in my classes. I teach to newer students and the sutras on breath are easily incorporated into classes and easily understood. I would recommend this for any student of the Sutras as a compliment to any other translations they may be studying.

If you think Patanjali was a shaman then you know little about either Yoga or Shamanism. Shamans as such only exist in Siberia and Mongolia. How is it that Alberto, someone supposedly trained by the 'Laika' (cough, I mean Quero) is an expert on Yoga? Does he teach asanas or Raja yoga? Or is he selling New Age wares and putting names like Patanjali and Shaman on his stuff in order to get folks to buy it? There is no content in this book. He says he met saddhus, anyone going to India can. Then he has a translation, not interpretation nor erudation of Patanjali's yoga sutras. What? Where is his detailed interpretation of what Patanjali is saying? He uses the word saddhu, pranayama, etc. Is he a yogi? A guru trained in a yoga tradition? It's just words, bla, bla. This is silly. If you want to wrap yourself around Patanjali it takes years. Then you could not only understand Patanjali but move beyond his paradigms as well. So there is nothing in this book to help you understand Patanjali.

If you want a book on understanding Patanjali then you should spend your money wisely and make another choice like this one The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary (Shambhala Classics).

Generally, from what I have read, this publisher is known more for pop/beginner material rather than deep and real wisdom.

Yoga, Power and Spirit was a lovely experience, one I will give as Christmas gifts and refer to again and again. The text in the beginning of the book is written in simple beauty and clarity. The poetry speaks for itself.

This audio is based on the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, a classic text on the spiritual practice of yoga written more than 2,000 years ago. Villoldo explains important parts of the spiritual and philosophical sides of yoga that many westerners are unfamiliar with. Alberto Villoldo is a shaman who has practiced yoga for 25 years. He has traveled to the source of India's holy rivers in the Himalayas to research the material for this audio. You can see our complete review at [...]

This book helps me to enter a "mindless"state. I gives me fast relaxation and helps to enter a state of stillness where I can experience nonduality. This is a resource for the duality in daily life. I can suggest this book for everybody who want's to live more consciously. It is a wonderful contribution for happiness in daily life.

Well, it gives me some information with regards to the yoga practices. It is a kind of book that will help change your ideal and views in life.

My teacher recommended this book along side Patanjali's Sutras. I used both but found this one much easier to interpret with its simple phrases. For this day and age, a small paragraph or a few phrases summing up the sutras is wonderful and just as balanced for the yoga student or inspiring yoga teacher.