Tag Archives: meditation

BOOK REVIEW: “Siva Samhita” Trans. by Srisa Chandra Vasu

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Siva Samhita (English and Sanskrit Edition)Siva Samhita by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Available online

This book is considered to be one of three surviving classic texts of Hatha Yoga. (The other two being Hatha Yoga Pradipika [probably the most famous of the three because of a popular translation and commentary put out by the Bihar School] and The Gheranda Samhita.) Siva Samhita distinguishes itself among the three. It puts less emphasis on discussing technique (with the possible exception of Mudra, which — like the other two — it explores in depth, covering nine mudra with specificity) and puts greater emphasis on philosophical topics as well as yogic physiology (e.g. chakra and mapping physiology to the macro-scale natural world.) Siva Samhita only discusses four seated postures with specificity (three of which are cross-legged meditation postures,) and discusses pranayama (breathwork) mostly in generic terms. I wouldn’t say that this reflects a lack of interest in technical topics because one other topic that this book puts great emphasis on is the importance of the teacher (meaning there might not be much discussion of technique because of an assumption by the (unknown) author(s) that techniques should be entirely passed down verbally — teacher to student.

Even having read the other two texts, I found the Siva Samhita well worth exploring. The text takes its own distinct approach. I should point out that this version doesn’t include commentary or elaboration (beyond the occasional footnote.) The text is presented bilingually with Sanskrit and an English translation. I enjoyed reading the text and the translation felt skillful, but I think I would benefit from reading an edition with commentary, (provided the translator / commentator knew of what they spoke both in terms of Sanskrit language and Yogic practice.)

If you are a serious student and / or teacher of yoga, I’d highly recommend this text.

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BOOK: “Hatha Yoga Pradipika” by Swatmarama [Commentary by Muktibodhanada Saraswati]

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Hatha Yoga PradipikaHatha Yoga Pradipika by Swatmarama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher – Yoga Publications Trusk

Hatha Yoga Pradipika [HYP] is one of the foundational documents of Hatha Yoga and is said to date to the 15th century. This edition, from the Bihar School’s Yoga Publications Trust, is the most popular one (at least among those offering English language translation and commentary; Note: the original text is also included in Sanskrit.) The book offers clear and detailed commentary on each shloka. (Sometimes one commentary per shloka, but other times a few are addressed at one go, as seemed logical to the editor.)

The book’s 389 shloka are divided into four parts: asana & lifestyle (e.g. diet;) pranayama & shatkarma (cleansing practices;) mudra & bandha; and meditation & samadhi. People are sometimes surprised to find that asana (postures) are barely mentioned in Patanjali’s Sutras (and none specifically,) given how central postural yoga is to our present-day conception and practice of yoga. In HYP, we see an expanded focus upon asana, but still only to a modest level. While the text mentions that Shiva taught 84 asana, HYP discusses less than 20 (mostly grounded postures — i.e. seated and supine or prone reclined.) The second part discusses breathwork (i.e. pranayama) that will be familiar to many present-day yoga practitioners and cleansing practices (i.e. shatkarma) practiced by relatively few. Readers may find it interesting that the greatest number of shlokas are devoted to mudra and bandha, techniques often only taught in the pranayama or asana in which they are employed. The final section is on Samadhi, which is not a surprise given that it is the goal of yoga and its discussion features in all the classical yoga texts.

This edition has several ancillary features of note. First, there is an extensive introduction to set the stage for a modern-day reader. Second, there are many line drawn graphics to clarify the text. Third, there are appendices including listings of the shloka — both a Sanskrit and an English list (making it easier to find what one is looking for without wading through interspersed commentary) and a glossary of useful Sanskrit terms (Romanized.)

Not only was this book interesting for its tidbits of information about yogic technique and philosophy, it also offered insight into the evolution of yoga over time. The latter is a topic which I’ve been researching of late, and this is a crucial text for understanding the subject.

I’d highly recommend this book for students and teachers of yoga, particularly those interested in the philosophy and evolution of technique, and for understanding how Hatha Yoga is distinguished from the broader body of Yoga.

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BOOK: “Swami Kripalu’s Ladder of Yoga” by Richard Faulds

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Swami Kripalu’s Ladder of YogaSwami Kripalu’s Ladder of Yoga by Richard Faulds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Monkfish

Release Date: April 7, 2026

This book discusses the organizational structure of yoga as described by prominent 20th century yoga guru, Swami Kripalu, an approach that draws on (but distinguishes itself from) the 8-limb (Ashtanga) framework outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Swami Kripalu deemphasized yogic ethics (Yama and Niyama,) and put great emphasis on hierarchy among the elements of yoga — i.e. that one must pass through the lessons of some limbs before you can begin to move up to the next. (This idea is certainly taught in Patanjali’s Sutras, but not with the same emphasis — hence Kripalu’s “ladder,” rather than “limbs” — making clear that these are not independent elements but rather are completely dependent.)

The greatest strength of this book is in distinguishing concepts like dhyana (meditation) from samadhi, distinction of which is often given short shrift with simplistic soundbite-like definitions in books on yoga. The book is not the usual yoga text in that it spends a great deal of time discussing the “higher limbs” of yoga (to resort back to Patanjali’s formulation.) Faulds adds benefit by discussing his own subjective experiences, the lack of access to subjective understanding often gives even students actively training with teachers doubts about their experiences.

I should point out that the book does also spend a good deal of page count (perhaps more space than any other subject) on pranayama (breathwork,) both covering it over several chapters in the book’s midsection and then further in a couple appendices that get into the physiology of breathwork.

One nice feature is that almost all of the chapters end with sections entitled “Be a Discerning Student” and “Applying this Chapter in Practice” to help readers with practical insights into what is by and large a philosophical discussion. There are also several appendices (the most useful one to me was a discussion of the shifting understanding of the term “samadhi” over time and across disciplines.)

If you want to explore what the higher limbs are and how they are distinguished, I’d recommend this book. (As I said, it also deals with Pranayama in some detail, but that will likely offer less new insight for students and teachers of yoga who’ve received an education in [and maintain a practice of] yoga.)

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BOOK: “Breath” by James Nestor

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Breath: The New Science of a Lost ArtBreath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author’s Book Site

In this book, James Nestor takes an immersion journalism approach to reporting on the art and science of better breathing. In addition to participating in trainings on particular breathwork (e.g. Tummo / Wim Hof, Buteyko breathing, Sudarshan Kriya, the DeRose method, etc.,) he participates in a scientific studying involving closing off his nostrils for a few weeks and then systematically nose breathing for a few more. (The first half of which he describes as torturous.) In between discussions of his own experiences, he explores both ancient breathwork teachings and the discoveries of modern science.

While there’s not really anything new in this book, it does a good job of presenting the information in a clear and readable form. In truth, it would be hard to say something both profound and new on the subject, given that yogis, tantrics, Daoists, and others have been systematically observing and altering breath for centuries to improve health, concentration, and emotional poise. Even the seemingly modern systems are by-and-large variants of the old ways (e.g. Wim Hof breathwork adapts the Tummo of Vajrayana Buddhism, DeRose worked from ancient yoga teachings, and Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing is pretty much the 1:2:2 vrtti pranayama that yogi’s have practiced for centuries.) Still, despite the basic information in the book being widely available, there remains a crisis of bad breathing and the cascade of ill-health that results, therefrom, and so it is a valuable book. (The key takeaways are: nose breathe, breathe slowly and deeply, hyperventilate only consciously and occasionally, and elongate exhalation to facilitate relaxation.)

The newest information to me, personally, was that of Chapter 7, which dealt with the role that shifting to softer, cooked foods played in humanity’s proclivity for breathing problems. Chapter 1, which deals with humankind’s unique breathing issues, also provides insight into why people have so many problems with something so fundamental to life as breathing. Nestor also presented some of the breath-relevant insights of Albert Szent-Györgyi, a Nobel-winning biochemist whose work offered some insight into the connection between electrons and both cancer and aging. So, in addition to some nice reminders and references, I did learn a thing or two as well.

This is a fine overview of breath and how to improve it for better living, and I’d recommend it for anyone looking to learn more on the subject.

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PROMPT: Negative Feelings

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Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
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Feel them, but don’t feed them. By that I mean take time to be aware of the feelings, but do not let the mind go into its default mode of fixation upon the object informing these sensations and worst-case scenario building. Give the feelings your attention but recognize that you influence your experience of the world and don’t give the mind free reign to build an illusory scenario that it accepts as its reality. (i.e. Remember what Mark Twain said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”)

The biggest problem with negative feelings is that the go-to modern strategy is attempted distraction (by vice, by entertainment, by activity, etc.) this leads the body to turn up the heat. If you give the sensations your attention without adding value judgements, it becomes impossible to obsess. For yoga practitioners who’ve done Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) the experience will be familiar. One often begins by being attentive to sounds, by giving the sounds attention without judgement, your mind starts to lose interest and it becomes harder for those sounds to distract you throughout the practice. This approach to negative feelings is much the same.

Also, breathwork that extends the exhalation component of breath will shift the balance toward rest and digest activity.

Ultimately, realize that these feelings are just sensations your body and brain use to turn your attention in certain directions. They have no more power than that, other than what one grants them. They are not identical to — or inextricably linked with — the events of the world that triggered them, and — therefore — you get to be the master of, and not the slave to, your feelings.

The next time you find yourself getting bogged down by a negative feeling, give the feeling a minute or two of pure undivided attention, and then think, “This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how my body and mind work.” See what happens.

BOOKS: “Practical Taoism” ed. / trans. by Thomas Cleary

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Practical TaoismPractical Taoism by Thomas Cleary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Shambhala

Like a number of Eastern systems, Taoism is thought of in many different ways by many different people, and a few of those ways are fairly “out there.” To some, it is a philosophy. To others, it is a religion. To still others, it is a style of magic. By “practical Taoism” Cleary is suggesting that the many varied sources from which he drew snippets, assembling them together to make a coherent whole, reflect some of the more down-to-earth philosophy of “inner alchemy.” [Not to be confused with the “alchemy” in which lead is turned to gold, but sharing the central idea that methods exist to convert a low-quality entity into a high-quality one, but in the case of inner alchemy these methods are breathwork, meditation, and movement techniques that improve one’s vitality as a human being.]

The good news is that Cleary does collect a group of ideas that seem less arcane and cryptic than the average Taoist inner alchemy manual content (or, at least, they are translated so as to seem so.) The bad news is that the average Taoist inner alchemy manual was apparently pretty darn arcane and cryptic, such that even this selection isn’t exactly clear as a limpid stream. Some parts of it are straightforward, but one still has some work to do to make sense of what the original authors were trying to get across. [Some readers will enjoy that more than others.]

Presumably owing to the attempt to simplify through selection and translation, the book isn’t annotated, nor does it feature much ancillary material besides a relatively lengthy introduction to setup the reader with a contextual backdrop. So, there is not a lot of help to clarify ideas that are murky. (I do recognize the translator’s challenge in that there is only so much he can do to try to clarify ideas without imposing upon the authors’ intensions.)

I enjoyed, and learned from, this book — even if I didn’t always feel I was reading a “practical” guide to self-betterment.

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BOOKS: “Original Tao” by Harold D. Roth

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Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism (Translations from the Asian Classics)Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism by Harold D. Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher site – Columbia University Press

This book is built around a translation of an old Taoist manual called “Inward Training” (i.e. 内业,) and the book serves not only to elaborate the meaning of the twenty-six poems that make up the manual, but also to put this work in a context with respect to its place in early Taoist mysticism — which raises further questions as to what constitutes early Taoism and early Taoist mysticism. (Just as the earliest followers of Jesus didn’t think of themselves as “Christians” – at least not as we understand that term – it’s an open question as to when people started to think of themselves as Taoists and how that start relates to when people began holding a set of proto-beliefs that formed the basis of the school(s) of philosophy.)

“Inward Training” presents breathwork and meditational exercises that Roth calls “inner cultivation” — or what some have called “inner alchemy.” The book does contain the entire manual both in Traditional Chinese and an English translation, as well as a much more extensive elaboration of the teachings of the manual. The latter is necessary because, like many old manuals, sparse description, archaic language, and assumptions about common knowledge du jour make it difficult for the layman to get any depth of understanding from the manual, itself.

This is a scholarly work, which means that its readability isn’t the highest and it does dive into matters that will be arcana for non-expert readers. That said, particularly as works of academic philosophy go, its readability isn’t bad. The book is heavily annotated and offers and extensive bibliography.

If you are interested in Taoist practices of breath, meditation, and alignment, this book is well worth investigating.

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BOOKS: “The Secret of the Golden Flower” ed. / trans. by Thomas Cleary

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The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classical Chinese Book of LifeThe Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classical Chinese Book of Life by Lü Dongbin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Online – Archive.org

This is a manual on Taoist inner alchemy practices, particularly a meditative practice called “turning the light around.” The book has been attributed to Lü Dongbin, said to be an immortal who lived during the Tang Dynasty, though there are differing views about the manual’s actual origins. While it is nominally a Taoist manual, it also discusses the Buddhist approach extensively (and Confucian ideas to a lesser extent) such that it could be considered a Buddhist teaching as much as a Taoist one.

The Cleary translation seems to exist not merely to provide an English translation of this Chinese manual, but to combat the misunderstandings perpetrated by the earlier English translation, that of Richard Wilhelm, a translation famously associated with the psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Neither Wilhelm nor Jung had any depth of understanding of Taoist and Buddhist methods and philosophy, and Wilhelm’s grasp of the Chinese language, itself, seems to have been fairly rudimentary. (At least the Chinese of the 1600’s, which is when the edition that Wilhelm is believed to have worked from is dated.) Thus, there is a lot of peddling of the notion that the ideas of this manual were in line with twentieth century psychotherapy in ways that were really not true — either because Wilhelm was mistaken or wanted them to be true or some combination, thereof.

The translation, itself, is quite short and makes up less than half of the text length of this book. More than half consists of extensive notes as well as an Afterward. While I have complained many times about publishers padding out pamphlet length publications to make them salable at book prices, in this case I believe the “ancillary” matter is helpful to achieving a better understanding of the text. The translation itself is not only sparse but features a bit of Taoist and Buddhist arcana that is likely to be unfamiliar — even to those with some understanding of the traditions. The notes and afterward help one to comprehend this book’s ideas much better.

If you’re interested in Taoist inner alchemy or Buddhist meditative practices, this book is worth checking out. That said, it can be a bit of a tedious read, flipping between the translation and the notes to make sense of ideas that don’t readily translate.

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BOOKS: “Tranquil Sitting” by Yin Shi Zi

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Tranquil Sitting: A Taoist Journal on Meditation and Chinese Medical QigongTranquil Sitting: A Taoist Journal on Meditation and Chinese Medical Qigong by Yin Shih Tzu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

This manual is an English translation of a work earlier published in Chinese. It is nominally on Taoist meditation and is written by a Taoist author, but it does include discussion of Buddhist practices as well (specifically Mahamudra.) Also, part of the author’s declared intent with this text is to write in a manner approachable to a wider audience, and because of this sect is rendered less important. So, for example, the book employs more scientific and physiological modes of explanation as opposed to meridians and other conceptual approaches from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The book is presented in two parts. I found the first part much more beneficial and productive. Said first part is a general guide to meditation. It discusses fundamentals, theory, physiology, and how to align one’s living with a meditative practice (i.e. how diet, breathwork, sleep, etc. influence one’s practice.)

The second part consists of long and fairly detailed descriptions of the author’s experiences with both Taoist and Mahamudra meditation. I didn’t find this part useful, and I believe it may be counterproductive. Discussion of the author’s subjective experience may lead readers to get hung up on chasing identical experiences to the detriment of just practicing. It may give false ideas about “correct” and “incorrect” experiences of the meditation.

Overall, it’s a fine guide to meditation, particularly the first (i.e. larger) part. I can’t say that it breaks a lot of ground. A reader well-versed in meditation may not gain much insight from this book, but it’s as good as any to get started.

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BOOKS: “Taoism: An Essential Guide” by Eva Wong

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Taoism: An Essential GuideTaoism: An Essential Guide by Eva Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

This book offers the reader clarity about the scope of Taoism, a daunting challenge given Taoism’s long history and how it overlaps with other schools of philosophy as well as with Traditional Chinese Religion, more broadly. The book is divided into three parts: history, specialties (magic, divination, ceremony, inward training, and karma yoga,) and practices (meditation, somatic practices [e.g. qi gong and taijiquan,] and rituals and ceremonies.) The history section covers a period from pre-Taoist shamanic practices of 5,000 years ago, practices that would inform early Taoism, to a period during which Taoism became entwined with Buddhism and Confucianism. The specialties and practices sections attempt to give the reader a broad overview while avoiding discussion of “how-to.”

I found this book to be informative and interesting. It did feel more effectively geared toward someone with an interest in Taoism as religion rather than Taoism as a philosophy. The discussion does sometimes get into the weeds on issues like ceremonies and talismans (again, not in a how-to fashion, but with some arcane detail nevertheless,) but — at the same time — besides some discussion of the teachings of the Tao Te Jing and some exploration of Taoist metaphysics in the Divinational Taoism chapter, there’s not a lot of insight into Taoism as philosophy. That said, it does end each chapter with a “Further Reading” section that can point readers interested in a specific topic elsewhere.

If you’ve ever been overwhelmed at one of those bright and complicated Chinese temples and would like some insight into what Taoists do and how it’s different (or not different) from what Confucianists, Traditional Chinese Religion practitioners, and Zen Buddhists do, this is a good book to check out. If you’re solely interested in Taoism as a school of philosophy or otherwise have a specific focus such as qi gong and breathwork practices, you can probably find books that are better tailored to your needs.

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