Customer Reviews

Yoga and Vegetarianism: The Path to Greater Health and Happiness

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Being a vegetarian who has a daily yoga practice, I have read many books on both subjects. This was the first book that made me take a hard look as to why I had not made the commitment to veganism.

This compassionate viewpoint utilizes a step-by-step yoga method that reminds us via our daily practice that we are all part of the "oneness" of our planet.

I have typically been a little self conscious being around some vegans. Vegans are compassionate at heart and really very kind in purpose, but I would feel guilty about the fact that I have a hard time giving up cheese. This book was written so that I now have a hard time even looking at cheese.

I cried at the very real descriptions of the life of a dairy cow, and even though much of was not new news, Sharon Gannon communicates the message in such a heartfelt manner that it hits home.

This book contains many gifts and it will affect your life. One simple gift was my now gratitude toward PETA... being a peaceful soul, I always steered clear of taking a stance, but these fearless people have a new place in my heart.

Every yoga teacher and student should read this book. It is informative, insightful, and best of all, it relates a vegetarian/vegan diet to all five of Master Patanjali's yamas. Usually, only ahimsa (not causing pain) is linked to a veggie diet. But Gannon gives reasons that maybe you had yet to think about...GO Vegan! Thank you for this.

I am so taken with this book. I've done yoga since I was eighteen and I've been a vegetarian almost that long, but Gannon's exploration of the Yoga Sutras and their intimate connection to a compassionate way of living and eating is as fresh and new here as if this were the first book on these subjects I ever read. Although the author's claim to fame is as an innovative yoga instructor and vegan activist, she's also an engaging writer who makes what could seem like advanced, esoteric teachings readily accessible. I do want to go back over the book and highlight passages -- so many of her sentences are little jewels, both for my own understanding of these topics and to share with other people.

Sharon Gannon is one of the most inspiring teachers of our times. This book is for yoga teachers, yoga students and anyone interested in living a more compassionate and meaningful life. It give practical advice and explains the contradiction of calling yourself a yogi while participating in the cruel meat and dairy industry. It is inspiring and empowering as it demonstrates that each of us can and does make a difference. With every choice we make, every item we buy, we are voting for our future and the future of our planet.
Read it and buy it for your friends. Let us change the world together, one bite at a time!

Sharon Gannon, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga and animal rights activist, employs Patanjali's Yoga Sutras--particularly the 5 yamas, or restrictions--to prove that living a vegetarian lifestyle is fundamental to anyone who is practicing yoga for its highest purpose: enlightenment. As always, her passion and insight inspire the reader not just to read the book, but to take action based on its teachings, not just to DO yoga, but to BE yoga. If you are serious about yoga but are not yet a vegetarian, this book is for you.

"Yoga And Vegetarianism" by Sharon Gannon is an inspiring book, whether you are a yogi, a vegetarian or simply someone who is curious about exploring either path. With a compassionate yet compelling tone, Gannon weaves animal activism with Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - providing clear, moral reasons for why one should switch to a cruelty-free lifestyle. She is certainly passionate about her beliefs, but she never evolves into a "holier than thou" preachy tone. With kindness in every word, it is hard to not be swayed. I have had the good fortune of taking a few workshops with her in the past and I can attest that the woman is a living example of compassion in action. That same spirit shines through beautifully in this book.

Most yogis that I have met over the years do practice a vegetarian diet. And although I have practiced yoga for many years, I am a rather lax vegetarian. After reading this book, Gannon has influenced me to start changing my ways. I know it will take time, but with her words in the back of my mind, it may just become a bit more easy.

"Yoga and Vegetarianism" is a fascinating combination of yoga manual, religious/spiritual text, and cookbook. It's a melange. It has something for everyone. Sharon Gannon, who started Jivamukti Yoga in NYC, connects her vegan diet with ahimsa (non-violence) and inner peace. She sees her vegan diet as the path to enlightenment. While she cites the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, her book turns veganism/vegetarianism into a substitute for religion. She proposes an ethical system. Gannon decries the terrible conditions of factory farming and overfishing. She does call for good stewardship of the Earth's resources. However, former vegan Lierre Keith takes issue with vegetarians' sanctimonious naivete in The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability.

The book concludes with some yoga positions, as well as a very short cookbook. She has recipes for raw sauerkraut, "blended" salad, kitchari (an Indian lentil recipe) and oatmeal. Her "detox" diet includes aloe vera juice (one tends to think of aloe vera in soap, not food), seaweed, laxative tea, spirulina, and B12 supplements (since vegans can't obtain B12 naturally through dairy&eggs) When it comes to vegan cuisine, this book is FAR superior Vegan Fusion World Cuisine: Healing Recipes and Timeless Wisdom from our Hearts to Yours

"Yoga and Vegetarianism" is fascinating and thought-provoking. Bon appetit and om shakti!

If you are eager to live in a peaceful world, one that respects all living beings, this book is for you!

Both personal and universal, diet is part of our everyday experience; this book clearly outlines choices that will lead to a peaceful inner environment. Rooted in the teachings of Patanjali, the wisdom of a vegetarian diet as essential for individuals who practice yoga is explained with the passion of an animal rights activist.

Care is given in revealing the torture that animals endure as a consequence of our habits of meat and dairy consumption. A sincere desire for compassion for all shines like a bright light throughout the book, including kindness towards oneself rather than blame for actions taken in the past. The concept of Karma is explained clearly. The impact of eating meat on the Earth's air, water, oceans, land, forests, crops, and fossil fuel depletion may shock you. It did me.

I immediately began the 21 day cleansing diet and feel a greater sense of health and happiness, as the title suggests. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu-this mantra translates as: may all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and that freedom for all.

This is the best book I've read for newbies, as well as for those of us who need another push to continue our path toward whole and complete vegetarianism. I'm recommending this to all my friends, vegetarian and carnivore alike. It has none of the preachy, holier-than-thou attitude that you often seem to get from other books. Thanks to the author for this great service to all beings!

This book is making me laugh, cry and shout out loud in praise of Sharon Gannon's eloquent voice on behalf of animals (and humyns who want a more peaceful world). Having been a vegan for years, and having watched most of my vegan friends fall off the path one by one, this book comes as an incredible affirmation as well as a tool for deepening my own practice of Ahimsa (non-harming).

I recommend this book to all those who wish for world peace, to anyone who has ever had a vegetarian/vegan friend or family member, anyone who has ever defended their dietary choices (vegan or meat-eating), anyone who has ever taken a yoga class... Actually, I think this is useful and educational reading for everyone.

Highly quotable, this book is full of potent one-liners like, "There is no such thing as 'instant karma'. If there were, eating a hamburger would cause a person to drop dead."
It also contains unarguable facts about how our meat-eating culture is contributing to environmental devastation- from global warming to fossil fuel depletion, from water pollution to deforestation.

Sharon comes across as highly intelligent, compassionate, and enlightened as she elucidates the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and details her own path out of unconscious behaviors and into the light of consciousness.