Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement Review

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(More customer reviews)This is IMHO the best book on physical-yoga available in English

Let me start by saying that I own hundreds of books on yoga. About half of these are on Tibetan yoga and about half are on the yoga of the Natha-Sampradaya or its modern derivatives (like Hatha-yoga and Kundalini practices). This book is simply the most interesting treatment of asanas (or "yantras" which are movements often containing asanas) and related pranayamas available, whether we are talking about Indian or Tibetan yoga.
This book covers a system of yoga originally recorded in writing in the 8th CE in a cycle of teachings by the Tibetan translator Vairochana. This cycle contains three works, one of which is fully translated (and commented upon at length) and another on the "elimination of obstacles" is quoted from extensively. The third work on tummo practice is not dealt with at all in this text.

I have only rarely seen such a comprehensive treatment of physical yoga. The text starts with a treatment of the preliminaries (sngon `gro) including two forms of pranayama and eighteen yantras for basic "body training" (lus sbyong). The yantras are yogic movements, many of which include the asanas familiar in Hatha-yoga.

This is followed by the main practices (dngos gzhi), which include five main series of techniques. Each of these five cycles has a method of pranayama, five basic yantras (dngos gzhi) and two variations of these yantras for training (rtsal `don) and progressing (bogs `don).

Thus there are five main pranayamas and seventy-five main yantras. These are followed by seven movements utilizing the lotus posture and a concluding section (rje kyi rim pa) with a method for clearing obstacles called the "vajra-wave".

So the text covers a total of 108 methods. The illustrations and descriptions of the yantras are very detailed, as are the explanations of the methods and rhythms of breathing while doing each yantra. Another important aspect is a detailed traditional description of the benefits of these yantras/asanas.

The pranayama is very advanced and I was astonished to find such methods described so plainly and in such detail. The methods for causing the prana to enter the central-channel (which have long been carefully guarded secrets) are explained in an unexpectedly thorough manner and the texts has a wealth of practical information, such as the progressive timetable for lengthening the practice of kumbhaka. The book has also answered a host of obscure questions that I have wondered about, such as if there is a relationship between madhyama, vama, and dakshina "nauli" and the three main nadis of the body.

From a historical perspective, the root-text (which is older than any of the extant texts on Hatha-yoga) is probably the most interesting document on physical yoga ever published. Many of the yantras are extremely similar to the asanas of Hatha-yoga in both name and appearance.
This illustrates that the yoga methods preserved in Tibet and the methods of the Hatha-yoga tradition (of the Nathas) were once deeply connected. This is particularly true of the abhyantaravarga of ati-yoga (especially the rdo rje zam pa) and the sampannakrama of anuttara-yoga-tantra (especially of Heruka Bhagavan Shri mngon rdzogs rgyal po). The lists of "great adepts" or mahasiddhas preserved in both the Tibetan and Indian traditions reinforce this connection. Many of the same adepts appear in the lineages of both traditions

This is now the most valued text in my collection, and I am deeply grateful to Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and the translators for making it available to students in the West.

RC Parker

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