Yoga at Home: Blast (Again) from the Past About the Power of Yoga

The above book was one of the first two yoga "primers" written in the 1960s that I devoured, underlined, and that I re-read periodically to refresh my motivation for doing my yoga practice.  The 344 oages of my two copies have yellowed with age over the past four decades.  One copy, whose pages are falling apart, is kept together by super duper clear masking tape.

Jess Stearn, a journalist who delved into topics like extra-sensory perception and various types of paranormal phenomenon, reportedly decided to investigate yoga to disprove it. To his surprise, he became a yoga devotee who gained innumerable benefits, not the least of which was a sense of being re-born physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Although many people reading this book today might chuckle at its quaint, nineteen sixties-era descriptions and lifestyle, the book remains a gem for yoga students of all ages and levels.  (I mean, I can just hear the Beatle's song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds or Iron Butterfly's In a-Gadda-da-vida playing quietly in the background as  I read this book!  I know, I know, I am REALLY dating myself...but at least yoga is keeping me youthful!)

Not only does Stearn present effective instructions for numerous classic yoga poses, he offers myriad tips and techniques that will keep any yogi motivated and inspired.  Below are a just a couple of the many quotations and ideas that he presents that should keep you rolling out your mat daily and thoroughly enjoying and benefiting from your practice.

1)  "In Yoga, the important thing is concentrating so that the mind will send a signal to the area that you are trying to influence.  In time, a regular pattern between mind and body develops. Since I have strengthened this link daily for three months, it was rather elementary to tell my mind to tell my body what to do; it obeyed automatically."

I have found this to be true in my experience.  Daily practice keeps your mind and body in a type of connection "zone" that enables you to more easily do the poses.  This, combined with visualizing your body moving the way you want helps you to do certain challenging poses more easily.  I have experienced this when  I do the "plough," an inversion pose.

2)  "I remember what Marcia (Stearn's yoga instructor) had told me about as being as young as one's connective tissue, and drew again on my own experience.  Glands, blood, and nerves are all recharged, calcium deposits are washed or worn away - all brought about by the mind's power over the body.  The aging process is retarded, for stiffening in the joints, poor ciruculation, poor elimination are all part of getting old."

What I have noticed from my yoga practice is the feeling of youth vitality and energy - that's been the biggest boon for me.  And thus what Stearn says above makes sense.

I beileve you can still find copies of Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation at Amazon.com.  This book is a yoga classic that many people have used to teach themselves this millenia-old practice.  Check it out!

Yours for gaining a strong mind-body connection and a youthful vitality with yoga as taught in Jess Stearn's book.

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners' Home Yoga Coach

Comments

[Laura Venecia Rodriguez]

I remember seeing info about Rainbeau Mars. Glad you were able to restart your path!

[Tina]

There are so many yoga flashes-in-the-pan with the trendy instructors these days... Rainbeau Mars flew very close to the sun in this red-hot commercial yoga world; and after a few years, is now leaving teaching yoga for a show-biz career.

I once tried to get a video of hers--all sold out. That was truly synchronicity, there'd instead been a copy of a pilates/yoga fusion video by a well-known instructor that helped restart me on my path ...

[ghd hair straightener]

Tao Porchon Lynch is one of my favorite instructors, a living legend. Waiting for your new post about the time you spent with this legend.

[Laura Rodriguez]

Please note that I HAVE written about this book before in a blog post. It's such a classic and has so many gems of wisdom, that I felt COMPELLED to recommend it AGAIN!