Acknowledgments xi
Preface xiii
PART ONE: ORIENTATION 1
1. What Is Yoga? 3
2. Mapping Yoga 10
3. Yoga: What For? 13
4. Yoga: For Whom? 14
5. Guidelines for Selecting a Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, or Class 16
6. Ten Fundamental Principles of Yoga 21
7. Is Yoga a Religion? 25
8. Yoga as Art and Science 28
7. The Yoga of Science 30
10. Traditional Definitions of Yoga 31
11. Yoga in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism 32
12. Forty Types of Hindu Yoga 36
13. The Tree of Hindu Yoga 39
14. Styles of Hatha-Yoga
15. Crossing the Boundary between Hinduism and Buddhism via Tantra-Yoga 57
16. Vajrayna Buddhist Yoga 60
17. Introducing the Great Literary Heritage of Hindu Yoga 64
18. Yoga Symbolism 77
PART TWO: APPROACHING PRACTICE 83
19. Approaching Spiritual Practice 85
20. The Twelve Steps of Spiritual Recovery 89
21. Happiness, Well-Being, and Reality 95
22. The Quest for Happiness 101
23. Spiritual Discipline 104
24. Life Is an Earthquake 107
25. Samsara Means Running Around in Circles 110
26. Spiritual Friendship 113
27. The Guru: Dispeller of Darkness 116
28. The Guru Function: Broadcasting Reality 118
29. Understanding the Guru 127
30. Holy Madness 132
31. Grace Has a Place in Yoga 141
32. Tapas, or Voluntary Self-Change 143
33. The Art of Purification 146
34. Obstacles on the Path According to Patanjali 155
35. In Praise of Study 164
36. Silence Is Golden: The Practice of Mauna 166
37. Die While You Live and Last-Hour Yoga 170
38. Living in the Dark Age (Kali-Yuga) 177
39. Yoga and Terrorism 185
PART THREE: MORAL FOUNDATIONS 195
40. Yoga Begins and Ends with Virtuous Action 197
41. Is Nonharming (Ahimsa) an Old-Fashioned Value? 200
42. Nonharming According to Jaina Yoga 204
43. Yoga and Vegetarianism 207
44. The Practice of Eco-Yoga 210
45. Overcoming Greed 215
46. Authenticity, Integrity, Unity 218
47. The Power of Truth 220
48. Compassion 223
49. Ethical Guidelines for Yoga Teachers 226
PART FOUR: THE SPECTRUM OF YOGA PRACTICE 229
50. Asanas for the Body and the Mind 231
51. Shava-Asana, or Corpse Posture 235
52. The Breath of Life 238
53. Cultivating Wisdom 240
54. Buddhi-Yoga 243
55. Jnana-Yoga: The Path of Wisdom 248
56. "That Art Thou"—The Essence of Nondualist Yoga 257
57. Discernment and Self-Transcendence 262
58. Karma-Yoga: The Way of Self-Transcending Action 265
59. Bhakti-Yoga: "Worship Me with Love" 270
60. Degrees of Love 276
61. The Kriya-Yoga of Patanjali 279
62. Faith and Surrender: A New Look at the Eightfold Path 285
63. Mantra-Yoga: Sounding Out the Depth Within 297
64. The Gayatri-Mantra 300
65. The Sacred Syllable Om 304
66. Mudras: Gestures of Wholeness 315
67. Taraka-Yoga: Seeing the Light 317
68. Yantra-Yoga: Divine Geometry 323
69. What Is Tantra? 329
70. Sex, Asceticism, and Mythology 332
PART FIVE: HIGHER STAGES OF PRACTICE 339
71. Pathways to Relaxation and Meditation 341
72. What Is Meditation? 346
73. Prayer in Yoga 355
74. The Ecstatic State 357
75. The Serpent Power and Spiritual Life 362
76. Who or What Is the Self in Self-Realization? 365
77. Emptiness 368
78. Liberation 372
Notes 377
Glossary: Key Sanskrit Terms of Hindu Yoga 387
Index 399
About the Author 416
