Book Review - Insight Yoga

Yin and ashtanga teacher Norman Blair reviews Insight Yoga, a new book by Sarah Powers, one of the world's foremost teachers in the yin yoga approach.

Sarah Powers has become one of the profound voices in the yoga world with her skilful weaving of different threads.

After many classes, retreats, trainings and DVDs, Insight Yoga is her first book - and it is a thorough presentation of the ideas with which she has made her reputation.

After coming to yoga at a young age, Sarah dived deeply into the dynamic practices such as astanga and iyengar.

Yet her curiousity led towards a seeking of other techniques that could enable a stillness of mind.

She writes: 'I came across a sign that changed my life. 'Meditation, the only way in and the only way out'.

This move towards more meditative practices was perhaps partly inspired by her earlier introduction to yin yoga.

In yin yoga - unlike in a dynamic practice - the postures are held for sustained periods of time (often five minutes) and the physical emphasis is on connective tissue with a stretching that is both slow and steady. Each posture has the potential for a meditative experience (the slowing, the staying, the stilling).

Sarah became fascinated by this form of yoga and how it influenced not only physical flexibility but also state of mind and energetic patterns.

She began weaving together these threads: the dynamic movements of her earlier practices, the stillness of yin postures, the exploring inwards encouraged by meditation and how these practices can enhance energetic experiences.

Sarah terms these 'maps'. She says:'I now see how each lineage is a transparent map, which when placed on others, widens my ability to chart a course through my inner labyrinth'.

Insight Yoga covers the various elements of Sarah's teaching. Within the just under 200 pages of A4 format, there are chapters on meditation, meridians, what she terms as yang yoga, pranayama practices, buddha-dharma and a comprehensive study of yin yoga itself - the postures and the reasons behind each posture.

This is illustrated by both photographs and drawings that show the meridian pathways in the body. There are also several suggested sequences - both yin-based and dynamic. The structure is clear and accessible and you are able to dip in and out of it as well as reading from start to finish.

As the many people who have studied with her know well, Sarah has an astonishing ability to describe through language - her languaging beautifully outlines pitfalls, potentials and possibilities of practising.

As she writes at the beginning of this book: 'yoga can be understood as a set of behaviours that develops a holistic experience of body, heart and mind. It is a process of fully inhabitating ourselves and our life in a radically engaging and inquisitive way.

'Through this training we develop a healthy capacity to literally take up residence in our bodies and minds which can then lead us into simple presence. Presence is a quality of being that is open and aware. This body-mind presence serves as the ground for compassion and wisdom to emerge within us'.

Her calmness, honesty and commitment shine through this book: if you have an interest in exploring and deepening your practice of yoga, I would wholeheartedly recommend Insight Yoga - it is a guide to understanding the interior landscape and finding a way to be established in integrity.

More on Sarah Powers and Insight Yoga can be read here. 

For details of international retreats, teacher training intensives and workshops led by Sarah Powers, see www.sarahpowers.com For details of classes, workshops and retreats led by Norman Blair,  writer of this review, see: www.yogawithnorman.co.uk