At Least Its An Easy Read...

How Yoga Works isn't going to win a Pulitzer Prize, but it could teach a Yoga Novice like me what yoga really is all about. It turns out, yoga isn't Buddhist, as my first blog post inferred, and it's a lot more than just a hipster exercise. 

How Yoga Works treats yoga like The Force. Yoga has the power to cure pain, ease stress, unclog bureaucracy, and inspire compassion. The novel switches between a story of a detained Nepalese girl teaching the practice of yoga to her guard, and an explanation of yoga philosophy (Inner winds and channels), and how to practice the poses.The narrator explains yoga simply enough, but the awkward story line and clumsy language keep me from "abiding in the true nature" of what the novel has to teach. 

Despite literary criticisms, How Yoga Works is crystal clear in yoga philosophy and practice instruction. The explanation of how breathing provided in the book has helped me to perfect one important aspect of my practice. The propagandist says, "The breath should always be in motion,deep motion- all the air being exchanged, in and out" (Roach 73), and so I practice. 

I'm thankful for How Yoga Works, and I find myself smiling at both the awkward story and the lessons learned.