Michael told me that he likes this blog (and it always does this old English major's heart good when published authors tell me they like my writing - he thinks LYJ is "not simply the repetition of familiar yoga cliches") and asked whether I wanted to contribute to the conversation about his book.
I am sorry to say that I have not yet read the book, but I'm getting a copy from the publisher. When read, I will review it here. I am especially interested in his book that will come out in September Freeing the Body, Freeing the Mind. The subject is one that is near and dear to my heart, the yoking of yoga and Buddhism:
"Buddhism and yoga share a common history that goes back centuries. But because yoga and Buddhism came to North America from Asia as two separate traditions, their commonalities in the West often seem invisible. Most people choose to study either yoga or Buddhism and generally don’t combine the practices. Michael Stone brings together a collection of intriguing voices to show how Buddhism and yoga really do share the same values and spiritual goals."
In my humble opinion, Patanjali could not have written the Yoga Sutra-s without being a bit influenced by the wandering Buddhist monks during his time. When I sat in my Sutra-s classes I would think "yes! and Buddhism says...." Then in any Buddhism classes I would think, "yes! and the Sutra-s say...." In my own mind, there was never any separation of the two philosophies. As they say in India, "same same but different, madam!"
For those of you interested in this idea, read Chip Hartranft's translation, The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary.
Here is an exceptional video of Michael Stone. It's about 30 minutes long, so make some tea, pull up a comfy chair, and listen to a dharma talk on things such as the Self, karma, transcending patterns, and meditation. I like the reference to "heat" in the title since I always tell my students how yoga marinates and cooks us!
Michael Stone Dharma Talk: Let the Heat Kill You from Centre of Gravity on Vimeo.
