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Yoga and the Quest for the True Self

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Yoga and the Quest for the True Self

By: Stephen Cope
Narrated by: Paul Brion
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About this listen

Millions of Americans know yoga as a superb form of exercise and as a potent source of calm in the midst of our stress-filled lives. Far fewer are aware of the full promise of yoga as "the way of the fully alive human being" - a 4,000-year-old practical path of liberation that fits the needs of modern Western seekers with startling precision.

Now Stephen Cope, a Western-trained psychotherapist who has lived and taught for more than 10 years at the largest yoga center in America, offers this marvelously lively and irreverent "pilgrim's progress" for today's world. He demystifies the philosophy, psychology, and practice of yoga, and shows how it applies to our most human dilemmas: from loss, disappointment, and addiction, to the eternal conflicts around sex and relationship. And he shows us that in yoga, "liberation" does not require us to leave our everyday lives for some transcendent spiritual plane - life itself is the path.

Above all, Cope shows how yoga can heal the suffering of self-estrangement that pervades our society, leading us to a new sense of purpose and to a deeper, more satisfying life in the world.

©1999 Stephen Cope (P)2021 Tantor Consciousness & Thought Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Philosophy Yoga Physical Exercise Witty Spiritual Yoga
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Phenomenal synthesis of psychological understanding and yogic teachings. You will find yourself in this book.

A Classic

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The author does an amazing job in analysing incredible yogic journey from a psychological perspective. Would recommend to anyone serious or curious about yoga.

An absolute classic

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The author is a man of wealth and privilege. From his up bringing to his education, inheritance and more. The people in his life are high profile accomplished individuals who are privileged have the resources to explore this path. I feel the execution of this book lacked a level of raw authenticity because of this.

Given the subject matter of shedding the material self to discover the true self via yoga and spirituality, I found the people referenced to be lacklustre. Their journeys just another reflection of their privilege and their insight a matter of pretension. No acts of piety or charity were mentioned, nor how they viewed their wealth, waste, consumption.

I am grateful to this book as an introduction to the spiritual aspect and complexity of yoga itself. My prior understanding was restricted to breathing and postures. I have taken away a desire to learn through experience, not to be told.

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