 First edition | |
| Author | B. K. S. Iyengar |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Hatha Yoga |
| Publisher | George Allen and Unwin |
Publication date | 1966 |
| OCLC | 51315708 |
Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on theIyengar Yoga style of modernyoga as exercise byB. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga postures orasanas, and is illustrated with some 600 monochrome photographs of Iyengar demonstrating these.
The book has been described as the 'bible of modern yoga',[1][2] and its presentation of the asanas has been called "unprecedented"[3] and "encyclopedic".[3]
It has been translated into at least 23 languages and has sold over three million copies.[4][5]
Yoga is a group ofphysical,mental, andspiritual practices fromancient India, forming one of the six orthodox schools ofHindu philosophical traditions.[6][7] In the Western world, however, yoga is often taken to mean a modern form of medievalHatha yoga,practised mainly for exercise, consisting largely of the postures calledasanas.[8]
B. K. S. Iyengar (1918-2014) was born in a poor family ofBrahmins inKarnataka, India. In childhood he suffered from diseases includingtyphoid,malaria andtuberculosis, and became extremely stiff. At the age of 18 he decided to spend his life doing yoga, and by 1938 he was already performing the asanas fluently. The violinistYehudi Menuhin became his pupil in 1952 and then invited him to teach in Europe, which he did from the 1960s.[9] Iyengar made yoga popular, first in India and then around the world.[10]
Light on Yoga was first published in English byGeorge Allen and Unwin in 1966, with a foreword by his pupil, the violinistYehudi Menuhin. Revised editions were brought out in 1968 and 1976. A paperback edition was published by The Aquarian Press in 1991 under theThorsons imprint. The book became an international best-seller; it has been translated into at least 23 languages including Chinese, Czech, Hebrew, Japanese, Hungarian, Portuguese, Russian, and Thai[11] and has sold over three million copies.[4][5]
The book has three parts: a technical introduction toyoga, in whichhatha yoga is explained to be one of theeight limbs of yoga;[LoY 1] a detailed illustrated description of theasanas (some 200 postures, illustrated by some 600 monochrome photographs of Iyengar),[LoY 2] followed by a brief account of thebandhas andkriyas;[LoY 3] and an account ofpranayama, yoga breathing.[LoY 4] An appendix defines a set of asana courses, i.e. which postures to do each week, building up in difficulty, in courses structured to last up to 300 weeks.[LoY 5] A second appendix defines theasanas supposed to be "curative" for a range of diseases and conditions from "Acidity" to "Varicose Veins".[LoY 6] The book has a glossary of all theSanskrit terms employed.[LoY 7]
Each asana is named in Sanskrit with itsetymology, graded, and described separately with two or more pages of text and monochrome photographs of Iyengar. For example,Utthita Trikonasana, the extended triangle pose, is stated to be at grade 3 out of a possible 60 in terms of difficulty. The technique for going into the triangle pose, performing it, and returning from it, is described in eight steps. The technique is written as a set of instructions, such as "Inhale deeply and with a jump spread apart the legs sideways 3 to 3½ feet". Its claimed effects on the muscles and body are described in a concluding paragraph. The three photographs show Iyengar in a preparatory pose and then in the triangle pose itself from front and rear.[LoY 8]
The scholar-practitionerNorman Sjoman notes thatLight on Yoga served to popularise the practice of asanas more than any previous book for three reasons, namely the large number of asanas illustrated, the "clear no-nonsense descriptions, and the obvious refinement of the illustrations."[12]
The approximately 600 illustrations of the 200 asanas are all monochrome photographs (though many paperback editions have a later colour photograph on the cover). Within the confines of a conventionally sized book, the photographs are never more than about 3 inches (7.6 cm) by 2 inches (5.1 cm). All are of Iyengar, dressed only in a pair of briefs and a necklace string. The images are sometimes shown three (e.g. forKoundinyasana)[LoY 9] or four (e.g. forMulabandhasana) to a page, generally and in those cases illustrating a single asana.[LoY 10] The degree of attention to detail in the illustrations may be understood from the coverage of one asana,Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand), which is illustrated with 15 photographs of the main pose, and 37 more of the "Sarvangasana cycle".[LoY 11]
Light on Yoga has become known as the "bible" of yoga;[1][2]Publishers Weekly wrote that it "set the standard" for books about yoga, with instructions and illustrations of the poses.[2] The yoga scholarMark Singleton, writing inYoga Journal, called the presentation of the asanas "unprecedented" and "encyclopedic",[3] describingLight on Yoga as "the most influential do-it-yourself yoga book of all time".[13]
Yehudi Menuhin, in his foreword to the book, wrote that "Whoever has had the privilege of receiving Mr Iyengar's attention, or of witnessing the precision, refinement and beauty of his art, is introduced to that vision of perfection and innocence which is man as first created — unarmed, unashamed, son of God, lord of creation — in theGarden of Eden".[LoY 12]
The scholar of religionAndrea Jain observes that the book "prescribed a thoroughly individualistic system of postural yoga",[14] one that was "rigorous and disciplined",[14] requiring "belts,bricks, and ropes".[14] She quotesElizabeth De Michelis as writing that it "instantly became the global standard reference on modern yoga as a body practice."[14] Jain argues thatLight on Yoga had the particular attraction for a consumer audience that its clear stepwise instructions enabled them to practice at home, and to read about the "biomedical explanations of each posture and its fitness and health benefits."[15] Jain notes also that the book built up theIyengar Yoga brand by claiming a connection to the ancient tradition of yoga as far back asPatanjali'sYoga Sutras, for instance with theepigraphicprayer to Patanjali at the front of the book.[15]
Michelle Goldberg, inThe New Yorker, states that the book "remains unparallelled as a guide to asana practice", and quotesYoga Journal as saying "when 'teachers refer to the correct way to do a posture, they're usually alluding to the alignment Mr. Iyengar instructs and expertly models in his book.'" She notes that while Iyengar attributes the asanas toPatanjali'sYoga Sutras, he was being "too modest. It was he, not any ancient sage, who figured out how to show people the world over the safest way to stand on their heads." For example, she explains, the triangle pose and thesun salutation "don't appear in any ancient yogic text" but were put together into a method by Iyengar's brother-in-law and first teacher,Krishnamacharya.[1]
Derek Beres, writing inBig Think, called the book "wildly popular" and "essentially the bible for yoga practitioners." He describes some of the science that Iyengar claims for yoga as suspect: "Iyengar had a habit of calling things proven even though no actualscientific research had been conducted."[16] Beres tried Iyengar yoga alongside the "moreaerobic Vinyasa" style, and "always appreciated [Iyengar yoga's] anatomical focus and the emphasis on breath before anything else."[16]
The yoga teacher Bernie Gourley notes the book's strengths, the asanas "with his perfect alignment", but also that the book does not "systematically address contraindications" to each asana,nor does it provide evidence for the claimed benefits.[17]
TheLight on Yoga project by the yoga teacher Jack Cuneo and the photographer Rick Cummings has attempted to photograph all the yoga poses in the book, to be followed by restating all the instructions in Cuneo's own words.[18]
These references are supplied to indicate the parts of theLight on Yoga text being discussed.
The book became a global bestseller, with more than 3 million copies sold, and has been translated into 17 languages.
| Topics |
|  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History |
| ||||||||||||
| Schools (Gurus) |
| ||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||