Yoga from the Inside Out

For my first Yoga memoir I chose to read about Christina Sell in her book, Yoga from the Inside Out. I really enjoyed the memoir. From the first chapter, aptly titled “War and Peace,” Sell shows remarkable openness with the reader while discussing her tragic past. The author narrates an early life of sexual abuse, abnormal self-consciousness, extreme physical exertion, as well as issues with bulimia and depression. Sell is candid and tells the story of her life with a detached acceptance. Later in the chapter, Sell tells about her emotional healing, breakthrough, and epiphany through yoga under the instruction of John Friend. Through Friend, Sell becomes more accepting of her body and engrossed in Tantric style yoga. Friend’s reinforcing teaching style and Tantric yoga combine to form Sell’s idea of “yoga from the inside out” and “accepting the body through yoga.”

Throughout the memoir, Sell’s deep understanding of yoga philosophy is revealed through her well explained descriptions of ideas like dharma, karma, samsara, and the atman. Sell’s memoir is rooted in Patanjali’s sutras, which is what one would hope to find from a yoga instructor and educator. Along with evidence of the sutras, a prevalent motif of body image and acceptance of one’s natural body. Early in the book, Sell explains her own issues with her body, her movement towards acceptance, and why others should learn to love their flaws and imperfections. She also diagnoses the root of many of society’s, and especially women’s problems as the unattainable preferences for beauty instilled in individuals by “The Sleeping World.”

One thing that really stuck out to me about the Yoga from the Inside Out was the chapter about body acceptance and the mention of Tantric yoga. Patanjali in his sutras does speak about using the body as a vehicle to gain enlightenment, but he also describes the need for practitioners to develop a segregation of body and self and a “distaste for one’s body.” Self, on the other hand, repeatedly remarks on the need to love one’s body and accept one’s physical form. This is far from the teaching of developing distaste as described in sutra II.40. As a beginning yogi, I was this deviation as an example of the versatility of the yoga practice. In class, we learned about how Patanjali describes many ways to enlightenment through yoga. The term yoga itself is broad enough in meaning to incorporate many different ways of practicing. Sell’s memoir maintains a close relationship with Patanjali’s first description of the practice, but makes changes where a modern American society needs changes to be made.

The way Christina Sell used yoga to overcome serious life challenges, along with the way Sell adapts the sutras to a modern audience, were really interesting. Her memoir was captivating, tragic, uplifting, inspiring, and reinforcing in one. I’m eagerly anticipating Ms. Sell’s visit to our yoga class later in the semester and I hope that she is able to sign my copy of Yoga from the Inside Out.