THE TREE OF YOGA by B.K.S Iyengar
I was actually looking for “Light on Yoga”, another book by Iyengar, when I found this one. Still, I’m glad I had picked it up as it turned out to be a pleasant surprise; an insightful text that consists of Iyengar’s reflections on the practice and teachings of Yoga.
This read is divided into five parts:
“Yoga and Life,” describing generally the traditional Hindu view on life, childhood, love, marriage, family and death and how yoga fits in with all these aspects;
”The Tree and Its Parts,” where the Eight Limbs of Yoga in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are described;
Yama (attitudes toward our environment), Niyama (attitudes toward ourselves), Asana (physical postures), Pranayama (restraint or expansion of the breath), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (spiritual bliss)
“Yoga and Health,” which is looking at “yoga as a healing art”, its physical and mental benefits together with Ayurvedic medicine.
“The Self and Its Journey,” examining the more advanced practices of pranayama and meditation leading to samadhi;
"Consciousness is always present in our finger, but most of the time we are not aware of it, so the consciousness of the finger is dormant. You should know the difference between consciousness and awareness. Consciousness exists everywhere in the body. Awareness may extend two feet, one foot, one inch or half an inch. The yogi says that by practising asanas, you can bring awareness to an extension equal to that of consciousness. This is total awareness. This is meditation."
“Yoga In the World,” discussing mainly about the requirements and responsibilities of yoga teachers.
To me, in my own practice, it served as a support and as an inspiring reminder of what is important.
It’s a good book to go through if you want to go deeper than just doing the asanas and find out more about the philosophy of yoga as well.