Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization

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Be aware of your impulse to judge, criticize, and get offended. Don’t indulge in the impulse whenever possible.

Chopra’s medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Dr. Chopra serves as Co-Founder and Chairman of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Founder of The Chopra Well on YouTube, Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Assistant Clinical Professor, in the Family and Preventive Medicine Department at the University of California, San Diego, Health Sciences, Faculty at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization. In place of trying to control other people and the events of the day, give them space to unfold the way they want to. Royal Yoga is the highest and most important of the yoga traditions—an all-embrracing path to personal transformation that reaches beyond any approach to wellness and healing that exists today. Whatever you are doing to enhance your life, Royal Yoga can bring you more of everything you want; it brings every experience, no matter how small, into the light. By learning to live in the light, you deliberately and consciously accept your true self as a being of infinite possibilities, unfettered by worry or self-doubt. I experience my body as a flow of awareness. I experience my body as a flow of awareness. Your body isn’t a machine, even a miraculous machine, but a storehouse of infinite knowledge. If we look at any process in the body, from a cell dividing to reproduce itself to the immune system repelling an invader or the digestive tract extracting energy from food, a vast amount of knowledge is on display. No process is mechanical. The body’s knowledge is alive, flowing, and conscious.In this revelatory book, international bestselling author Deepak Chopra offers a simple eight-week programme covering the eight stages of transformation in yoga including transcendence, wholeness and breath. Featuring 50 poses in delicate line illustrations, created by Chopra and his long-time instructor Sarah Platt-Finger, Living in the Light will guide beginners and enthusiasts alike in nurturing a state of total awareness and a deeper understanding of self. Read more Look Inside Details In the hope of making the whole question clearer and showing its profound relevance to everyone’s life, I wrote a new book, “ Living in the Light ,” based on the teachings of Yoga. Stripped of its religious connotations, “the light” refers to consciousness. The more conscious you are, the more you are living in the light. This clear and simple definition takes us to the heart of Yoga, which is an entire philosophy aimed at raising the consciousness of everyone. I have experienced bliss. (Examples: a peak experience of a joyful, energetic body, a loving, compassionate heart, an alert vibrant mind, lightness of being.) You recognize that the point of arrival is always now. You can’t move to where you are already standing—this is the experience of timelessness. You control your mental activity. You can generate thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are evolutionary. You are the one who gives them meaning, and therefore the whole world as you perceive it has meaning.

Although Sanskrit terms are introduced, most of the text was accessible and the lessons were practical. I love the gentle, encouraging way that Deepak teaches. I particularly appreciated his discussion of karma. A few sections were more esoteric and lost me a bit, but I am comfortable using what works for me now and leaving the rest. In the second half of the book, yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger focuses on the asanas. She lost me a bit with some of her discussion of subtle energy (e.g., nadis, chakras, gunas, vayus, bandhas), but her presentation of 54 poses was mostly understandable. The poses are grouped into categories such as simple standing poses and forward bends with the intention that you can create a well-rounded practice by choosing one or two poses from each category. Each pose includes a drawing or two, an overview, how-to, benefits, therapeutic applications, and helpful tips, including cautions and modifications. My main frustration with this section is that the drawings didn’t always match up with the text. As an example, the how-to section might describe a twist to the left, while the drawing shows a twist to the right. Part 1, all about the Royal yoga philosophy, is written by Deepak Chopra. It covers the 8 limbs of yoga (levels of transformation). The goal of all this is discovering your true self and living an ideal life. Each day starts with a theme and a mantra. Then it explains the principles for each theme and includes an exercise to deepen your practice. (A lot of visualization and breathing.)A ground-breaking guide to the philosophy and practice of yoga from master of modern meditation Deepak Chopra. Viele hilfreiche Tipps und Gedeankenanstöße. Alles basierend auf antiker Yoga-Lehre, die hier für die Moderne aufbereitet wird. THE PRACTICES OF PEACE Don’t create stress for yourself and others. Look for areas of agreement instead of areas of discord. Take responsibility for your own anger and resentment. Don’t unleash them on other people. Get out of the habit of blaming others. Be aware of your impulse to judge, criticize, and get offended. Don’t indulge in the impulse whenever possible. Distance yourself from hostile people and hostile situations.

Royal Yoga is unique in that it seeks to make everyday life ideal. There is infinite bliss available to your true self. Whenever you experience less bliss, no bliss, or actual pain and suffering, only one thing has changed, how close you are to the light. This concept defines the entire Yoga system, no matter how complex its traditions are in India. We can cut through the complexity by focusing on just one goal: living in the light. It is vital to understand what the ideal life is, according to Royal Yoga. What makes its approach so natural is that nothing achieved through Royal Yoga is mystical or otherworldly. The self you experience today owes its most valued experiences to your true self, which is already whole and perfect. Sit quietly with your eyes closed and take a few deep breaths. When you feel calm and centered, visualize an outline of your body. Keeping the outline in mind, start filling it in with light. An easy way to do this is to see light expanding from the center of the image, the heart, and radiating outward as a soft white glow. Another aid is to feel yourself breathing the light into the outline.

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I didn’t approach Royal Yoga as a true believer, because the Yoga tradition isn’t a set of beliefs. It is based on experiences that everyone is already having. You already live in the light by fits and starts, you just don’t live there all the time. Many people have experienced happiness, joy, and sometimes even pure bliss, which are qualities of the light. But on the flip side, there are dark experiences that bring confusion, pain, and suffering. Nonetheless, the light of life is always with you because consciousness is your very nature, your true self. Reach your highest potential and a deeper understanding of self with Deepak Chopra's groundbreaking guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Many thanks to NetGalley, Rodale Inc., and Deepak Chopra for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy. Living in the Light is part philosophy, part physical yoga book focusing on Royal yoga. To “live in the light” means to live a conscious life. You recognize that you have no fixed identity. Your identity is unique but always evolving. It is your karmic story, but you don’t need to be bound by it. You recognize gratitude as the sanest response to existence. It is insanity to believe that existence is a problem. You recognize that existence is lavish and abundant. Grace becomes an everyday experience. It reveals itself by the perfect way that every experience fits together. Instead of brief glimpses of synchronicity, you live in total synchronicity.