Synopses & Reviews
The Roots of Heart Yoga
You cannot enter the door of yoga without kindness and compassion for others.
--Changkya, Who Swam in the Diamond Sea (1717-1786),
yoga teacher to the Emperor of China and
His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama
The ancient art of yoga came to Tibet from its birthplace in India over a thousand years ago. It quickly became very popular, and wonderful systems for its practice sprang up like mushrooms all over the country. The yoga practice you will learn here, which is called Heart Yoga, belongs to the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet.
Heart Yoga works on your heart in two ways: It makes your physical heart and body healthy and strong, and it opens your heart to love others. And of course really the first always comes from the second.
The instructions for the physical exercises and inner practice of Heart Yoga entered Tibet in two different lineages. The exercises--or what we in the modern world think of as yoga--were first taught to Tibetans by the Indian master Naropa (1016-1110). They form part of an ancient tradition known as the Six Practices, and the Tibetans nicknamed them the Machine of the Body.
The instructions for opening our hearts to others are called tong-len, which means Giving and Taking. This practice involves special ways of breathing and thinking of others, throughout the day, and especially as you do your yoga exercises. The lineage for Giving and Taking goes back over two thousand years to the Buddha himself. It was passed on quietly from teacher to student without being written down and was brought to Tibet by the great Indian sage Atisha (982-1052). The practice was first put into book form by a Tibetan, Geshe Chekawa, about a hundred years later, and our presentation here is from his work.
Both the physical exercises and the special breathing techniques merged together by the time of Jey Tsong Khapa (1357-1419), who describes the yoga poses you find here in a secret text called The Book of Three Beliefs. The three beliefs, by the way, are belief in the beauty of the way; belief in the one who teaches it to you; and belief in yourself, that you will succeed in your practice.
Jey Tsong Khapa was the teacher of His Holiness the First Dalai Lama (1391-1474), and from here Heart Yoga continues up to His Holiness the current Dalai Lama, whose cheerful wisdom and compassion certainly embody its goals. Those of us who have written this book received the instructions on Heart Yoga over many years from great Tibetan lamas, especially Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin and Sermey Jetsun Geshe Thupten Rinchen. They in turn received them chiefly from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, the teacher of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Thus it is an authentic yoga you will learn here, and we hope that the blessings of this long line of masters will touch you, even if we ourselves as teachers are but mere babes by comparison.
The daily half-hour program for Heart Yoga presented in this book is both similar to and very different from other kinds of yoga being taught today. On one hand we have selected exercises that you are probably already familiar with if you have ever tried yoga; you will feel at home here whether you are just starting out, or whether you are already attending classes in the Ashtanga, Iyengar, Shivananda, Jivamukti, Bikram, or other common yoga trad
Synopsis
Yoga came to Tibet from India more than a thousand years ago, and it was quickly absorbed into the culture's rich traditions. In this small book readers will discover Heart Yoga, which developed over the centuries in the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas. The program presented here combines popular yoga exercises wtih special Tibetan poses, and methods of working from the inside to give a healthy and a happy heart.
Roach discovered a number of previously unknown Tibetan works on yoga in the course of his ongoing efforts to find and preserve ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts. He discusses the ideas and insights presented in these texts and places them within the context of the Buddhist tradition. To help readers incorporate this ancient wisdom in their daily lives, he provides a specific regime of yoga postures and meditations. Combining instructive illustrations with the unique philosophical underpinnings of the Buddhist approach, Geshe Roach has created a unique program for yoga on a physical and spiritual level.
Synopsis
The Roots of Heart Yoga
You cannot enter the door of yoga without kindness and compassion for others.
--Changkya, Who Swam in the Diamond Sea (1717-1786),
yoga teacher to the Emperor of China and
His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama
The ancient art of yoga came to Tibet from its birthplace in India over a thousand years ago. It quickly became very popular, and wonderful systems for its practice sprang up like mushrooms all over the country. The yoga practice you will learn here, which is called Heart Yoga, belongs to the Gelukpa tradition of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet.
Heart Yoga works on your heart in two ways: It makes your physical heart and body healthy and strong, and it opens your heart to love others. And of course really the first always comes from the second.
The instructions for the physical exercises and inner practice of Heart Yoga entered Tibet in two different lineages. The exercises--or what we in the mo
Synopsis
MICHAEL ROACH is a fully ordained Buddhist monk and has been a teacher of Buddhism since 1981. He was the first American to receive the
Synopsis
Integrates Tibetan Buddhist teachings with popular Yoga exercises, special Tibetan poses, meditations, and insights to create a unique yoga program designed to promote a physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.