Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 81
BOOK REVIEW
The Truth of Yoga
MARY-LOUISE AITKEN reviews Daniel Simpson’s book The Truth of Yoga
I QUALIFIED TO teach yoga, as many colleagues do, with a
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and
brain overflowing with Sanskrit asana names and those of
their wonderfully accessible, varied
medial and lateral tendons. However, my yearning for a
programmes of online courses. It was
comprehensive overview of how yoga evolved from its earhere I discovered the very book I needliest history to what it is now was left largely unsatisfied. We
ed through one of the Centre’s esdid of course cover certain aspects of yoga philosophy. Like
teemed tutors.
anyone, I felt that some spoke to me more clearly than othEntitled The Truth of Yoga, its auers. I particularly enjoyed learning about the subtler layers of
thor is a former foreign correspondent,
being – from the energetic qualities of chakras to the impact
Sanskrit scholar, and fellow yogi, Danof mantra. However, I had no obvious timeline to show how
iel Simpson. His book is a concise and
these areas of interest related to each
approachable
other as yoga evolved. Meanwhile,
guide to the ori“...my yearning for a comprehensive
some of the more exotic, mysterious
gins,
developpractices from ancient texts were hard
overview of how yoga evolved from its ment, key texts,
to relate to my Brighton-based yoga
concepts,
and
earliest history to what it is now was
mat in the 21s t century.
practices of yoga.
left largely unsatisfied.”
During my training, my philosophy tuIn other words, a
tor gave us a flavour of yogic traditions,
blueprint for the
with a focus on practical aspects, such as healing past trauma.
philosophy component of any teacher
I remain hugely grateful for the morning of mantra and prantraining, and at the same time a helpful
ayama practices she shared with us from her guru, as these
introduction for the average reader,
experiences ignited my passion to explore both further. To
with a relatable approach to a subject
complement this learning, what I really needed was a concise
that sometimes feels ‘otherworldly.’
compendium of yoga philosophy: one which clarified how
Since my passion is to point my fellow
things fit together; a not-so-rough guide to the whole of the
yogis in the direction of insights and
tradition in everyday language, with well-researched referinspiring resources, this was someences for further study. Until recently, I had no idea where to
thing I felt compelled to investigate in
find such an objective summary. Eventually, I discovered The
more depth, so I asked Daniel for an
www.yogaallianceprofessionals.org
AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 79
