The Eight Limbs of Yoga: A Handbook for Living Yoga Philosophy

by Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Kevin Kimple, Christopher Key Chapple (Foreword by)

Overview

A clear, concise guidebook to the essentials of yogic thought and practice

Many people think yoga simply means postures and breathing. Not true. The intention of this short guide is practical and straightforward: to say what yoga really is and to apply its principles to everyday life. It leads us through the eight-limbed system, a coherent framework that has been handed down and elaborated upon for thousands of years and consists of five "outer limbs," which pertain to our experience of the social world and the operation of our senses, and three "inner limbs," which focus on the mind. Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple present the eight-limbed system as something that can be turned to again and again to deepen and expand understanding and practice. As an introduction and overview to the essence of yoga, The Eight Limbs of Yoga is unparalleled for clarity, usefulness, and concision.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865477681
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Stuart Ray Sarbacker is an associate professor of comparative religion and Indian philosophy at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. His academic work is centered upon the theory and practice of yoga in the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and in its contemporary nonsectarian manifestations. He is the author of Samadhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga and of numerous scholarly articles on yoga. He has trained extensively in contemporary yoga and meditation traditions in India and the United States.

Kevin Kimple is the founder and director of the Eugene School of Yoga in Eugene, Oregon, where he instructs daily in the Mysorestyle setting. He is among a select group of practitioners to be personally authorized to teach Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, after living in Mysore, India, for more than three years studying yoga, Sanskrit, philosophy, and music. A former professional dancer, Kimple toured extensively with the Martha Graham Ensemble, MOMIX, Bella Lewitzky, and other notable dance troupes. He received a black belt in Shaolin kung fu and has been teaching mind- body disciplines in intimate studio settings for the past twenty years. He is also an avid gardener and shares his experience and enthusiasm for life freely.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple

Introduction

1. What Is Yoga?

2. Yama · Restraint

3. Niyama · Observance

4. Asana · Posture

Pranayama · Breath Control

Pratyahara · Sense Withdrawal

5. Dharana · Concentration

Dhyana · Meditation

Samadhi · Contemplation

6. Integration

Suggested Reading

Acknowledgments