Roots of Yoga

De: James Mallinson, Mark Singleton

Narrado por: Julian Elfer

The first single, reliable collection of primary material from the source traditions of yoga.

Despite the immense popularity of yoga today, there is surprisingly little knowledge of its roots among practitioners. This book brings together, for the first time, the core teachings of yoga in the words of their authors, rather than in the secondary versions of modern interpreters. Including key passages from the Upanishads, the Buddhist and Jaina traditions, the yoga sections of the Indian Tantras, and many texts that are being critically translated for the first time, Roots of Yoga provides a comprehensive and immediate insight into the essential texts of the Indian traditions of yoga. This book is a first stop for anyone wishing to learn more than they are told at their yoga class and an indispensable resource for serious yoga practitioners and teachers.

©2017 James Mallinson and Mark Singleton (P)2021 Tantor

Too many quoted text number references.

Some good info and the reader is fantastic. However the publisher or audio producer or writer; whoever made the decision to leave the quoted text numbers in the audiobook made a mistake. It’s too much. After every other sentence, there is “one three chapter two section 3…” it’s absurd and ruins the flow of the book. Ironically, a book about flow! 🙂

Horrible

Every reference is read so that the sentences are constantly interrupted by a string of numbers. It’s impossible to comprehend because of the amount of references.

Unlistenable

So very disappointing!

The book is read like an academic research paper.
Just a list of referenced string of thoughts tied together.

What is worse is the narrator recites EVERY reference - so a sentence is constantly interrupted with recited numbers.

Horrible - save your money!

Best book on yoga on Audible

Hands down the best book on yoga you can get on Audible. Each chapter has a theme (e.g. Posture, Breath Control, Mantra, Liberation etc.), a long introduction by the editors, and then followed by quotes from a varied tapestry of sources. This book will challenge any orthodox dogmas about “authentic” yoga; the ancient and medieval world is a strange and complicated place. The book’s chapter introductions reflect current scholarship, but in a style accessible to those of us outside of academia. The quoted translations that follow each introduction are high quality translations—something rare for yoga books on Audible, don’t get me started, but most yoga books on here are not reliable translations. They pull from a vast variety of yoga traditions in India that precede colonization.

Other reviewers mentioned it’s hard to follow. First, it’s ok to only listen to the introductions to the chapter, that alone would be better than anything else about yoga on Audible. But you can really just let all the quotes wash over you and not get too tangled trying to grasp all the citations as they are read. I didn’t find the pastiche style too frustrating, the paperback book itself poses the same challenges. (I recommend borrowing or purchasing a copy of the book for orientation. For me, after spending time struggling with the paperback, so much was unlocked when I heard it read.) Finally, the narrator has a clear style and warm tone, and his accurate pronunciations are worth applauding. I hope more books like this are made available on Audible.

If you’re a practitioner of yoga and you don’t have much context for this book and it’s relationship with modern postural yoga practiced in studios across the world, I’d recommend listening to interviews with Mark Singleton (editor of this book) on The Yogic Studies podcast and on the Embodied Philosophy podcast. The other editor (Mallinson) is also interviewed about the history of Hatha yoga on The Yogic Studies podcast. Mark Singleton’s classic book “Yoga Body” is on Audible.

If you want a clear and linear history of yoga that accounts for contemporary scholarship, I’d highly recommend “The Truth of Yoga” on Audible as a good pre-read and companion to this book. If you’re a newbie to ancient and contemporary Indian traditions, I’d recommend two audiobooks books that manage to both be short but take up a wide historical scope: “The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography” by Richard H. Davis and “Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction”. For someone interested in literary and cultural history, definitely check out the magnum opus “The Hindus: An Alternative History” by Wendy Doniger. For the more advanced students of yoga interested in history and philosophy, I’d recommend the short but detailed book: “The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography” by David Gordon White (and his interview and Andrea Jain’s interview on the New Books Network podcast). For Tibetan Buddhist yoga on Audible, listen to “The Life of Milarepa” (and “Words of My Perfect Teacher” and “Tibetan Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction” for more background on doctrine and context respectively). And of course “Mindfulness in Plain English” for instruction on seated posture and breathing technique from the most senior Sri Lankan monk in the US (to go one step deeper, “The Life of the Buddha” by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and “The Buddha” by John Strong). I highly recommend all the above audiobooks to anyone interested in yoga.

But this book, “Roots of Yoga”, is the essential and indispensable single-volume source. Every instructor, practitioner, and student can benefit.

Superb

While decidedly an academic work, the author presents a medley of snippets harvested from among the oldest and most venerated texts on the subject, all with exacting reference locations. The references allow the reader the opportunity to further explore each salient point — should she choose to do so. This bibliographic referencing is done in-line, which may be disconcerting to some listeners. I love it. I also appreciate that the author presents multiple viewpoints, often contradictory. Again, this is the true value of this work. Mr. Malinson is not evangelical, he’s a scholar who is generous enough to digest and share his research. Well done James!