Roots of Yoga

De: James Mallinson, Mark Singleton

Narrado por: Julian Elfer

The first single, reliable collection of primary material from the source traditions of yoga.

Despite the immense popularity of yoga today, there is surprisingly little knowledge of its roots among practitioners. This book brings together, for the first time, the core teachings of yoga in the words of their authors, rather than in the secondary versions of modern interpreters. Including key passages from the Upanishads, the Buddhist and Jaina traditions, the yoga sections of the Indian Tantras, and many texts that are being critically translated for the first time, Roots of Yoga provides a comprehensive and immediate insight into the essential texts of the Indian traditions of yoga. This book is a first stop for anyone wishing to learn more than they are told at their yoga class and an indispensable resource for serious yoga practitioners and teachers.

©2017 James Mallinson and Mark Singleton (P)2021 Tantor

Too many quoted text number references.

Some good info and the reader is fantastic. However the publisher or audio producer or writer; whoever made the decision to leave the quoted text numbers in the audiobook made a mistake. It’s too much. After every other sentence, there is “one three chapter two section 3…” it’s absurd and ruins the flow of the book. Ironically, a book about flow! 🙂

Horrible

Every reference is read so that the sentences are constantly interrupted by a string of numbers. It’s impossible to comprehend because of the amount of references.

Unlistenable

So very disappointing!

The book is read like an academic research paper.
Just a list of referenced string of thoughts tied together.

What is worse is the narrator recites EVERY reference - so a sentence is constantly interrupted with recited numbers.

Horrible - save your money!

Superb

While decidedly an academic work, the author presents a medley of snippets harvested from among the oldest and most venerated texts on the subject, all with exacting reference locations. The references allow the reader the opportunity to further explore each salient point — should she choose to do so. This bibliographic referencing is done in-line, which may be disconcerting to some listeners. I love it. I also appreciate that the author presents multiple viewpoints, often contradictory. Again, this is the true value of this work. Mr. Malinson is not evangelical, he’s a scholar who is generous enough to digest and share his research. Well done James!

Best primary source book on premodern yoga

Small quibble but:

So this audiobook doesn't include the books actual "Introduction" found in the printed edition? (ie. they left material out) And they didn't format the audiobook correctly, so the editor's chapter introductions aren't separate chapters from the material for each chapter? (ie, the Audible file isn't as easy to navigate as it should be). And the narrator reads the verse numbers, not just the section numbers? (ie, the section numbers are needed for this audiobook, but not the numbering of the verses). The producers made those few oversights here, but otherwise grateful for this audiobook.

Why I love this:

Other than that. Hands down the best book on yoga you can get on Audible. This book will challenge any orthodox dogmas about authentic yoga; the ancient and medieval world is a strange and complicated place. The book’s chapter introductions reflect current scholarship. The quoted translations that follow each introduction are high quality translations—something rare for yoga books on Audible.

Other reviewers mentioned it’s hard to follow. First, it’s ok to only listen to the introductions to the chapter, that alone would be better than anything else about yoga on Audible. But you can really just let all the quotes wash over you and not get too tangled trying to grasp all the citations as they are read. I didn’t find the style frustrating, the paperback book itself poses the same challenges. (I recommend borrowing or purchasing a copy of the book for orientation. For me, after spending time struggling with the paperback, so much was unlocked when I heard it read.) I hope more books like this are made available on Audible.

Additional help:

Background on yoga: this pairs perfectly the audiobook "Truth of Yoga" by Daniel Simpson (6hrs) and James Mallinson's "The History and Practices of Hatha Yoga" lectures (3hrs) on Audible.

Background on the editors: podcast interviews with Mark Singleton and James Mallinson on The Yogic Studies podcast. Mark Singleton’s classic cultural history book on modern postural yoga, “Yoga Body”, is also on Audible.

If you want more: “Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction” and “Tibetan Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction” both on Audible give good grounding. For someone interested in literary, narrative, mythological and cultural history, definitely check out the magnum opus “The Hindus: An Alternative History” by Wendy Doniger on Audible. For the more advanced students of yoga interested in history and philosophy, I’d recommend the short but detailed book: “The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography” by David Gordon White (and his interview and Andrea Jain’s interview on the New Books Network podcast). Additionally, “The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography” by Richard H. Davis is wonderful. For Tibetan Buddhist yoga on Audible, listen to “The Life of Milarepa” (and “Words of My Perfect Teacher” for a practice manual). And of course “Mindfulness in Plain English” for instruction on seated posture and breathing technique from the most senior Sri Lankan monk in the US (to go one step deeper, “The Life of the Buddha” by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and “The Buddha” by John Strong). I highly recommend all the above audiobooks to anyone interested in yoga.