MINDFULNESS YOGA: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind

This book by yoga teacher and mindfulness meditator Boccio offers a welcome and ambitious synthesis that is unevenly executed. Relating the Indian sage Patanjali's teachings on yoga to Buddhist teachings, the author invites practitioners of yoga and meditation to experience yoga's asanas, or poses, as occasions for mindfulness meditation. This relationship is both novel and logical. Buddhism grew from Hindu-yoga roots, and yoga, certainly as understood in America, could use a greater appreciation of its spiritual significance. Following a discussion of Buddhist teachings grounded on some central discourses (sutras) and heavily indebted to Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who supplies a foreword, Boccio provides four sequences of poses. The sequences generally repeat poses but are intended to lead the student to new understandings of those poses, thus encouraging growth in the discipline of yoga. As can be the case with yoga texts, this one has problems with its pictures. When poses are given in sequence, the accompanying sequence of pictures can be hard to follow, because not all steps are illustrated. Also, the instructions are not always obvious ("lift your sitting bones up as you drape your torso over your legs"). Because this book tries to do so much, it's not for beginning yoga students or meditators, but those with established practices may benefit from seeing the postures in a surprising and more spiritual light. (Feb.)