The Octogenarian Yogi: Finding Wisdom, by Donald R. English
. . . is the story of overcoming loss, of dealing with life's obstacles and disappointments, and of finding a path forward by integrating yoga's four-fold approach to dealing with life's stresses: breathing, physical relaxation, mindfulness meditation, and the postures.
This story chronicles how the loss of one of the author's siblings left him unprepared for his life crises. We follow him as he deals with the repercussions of that loss, through his dysfunctional marriage strained by separation during long deployments while he served in the Navy. Then, after a protracted divorce and several attempts to start a new career, he became unemployed and close to financial disaster.
At this low point in his life, he set out on a mid-winter hitchhiking trip to California from snow-bound Buffalo, NY. En route, he met various teachers whose guidance helped him to begin to move toward a more positive mental state. On his return, he began to retake control of his life, began his own business, remarried, bought a home, and helped raise five children.
Then, serendipity created an opportunity to visit India, an experience that altered his life forever, paving the way for his eventual discovery of yoga. In his mid-sixties, he began studying to become a yoga teacher so he could pass the gift he received on to others.
As he immersed himself in his yoga journey and became more mindful, he realized the truth that life's difficulties held lessons for him, and he came to understand some of the reasons for his earlier self-sabotaging behaviors. We follow his journey, learning some of the insights yoga philosophy taught him about how to live more stress-free.
When things seemed to be going smoothly, life placed another obstacle in his path, sending him back to India for a three-month odyssey, where he hoped to regain balance. During that trip, he spent three weeks studying the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras, one of yoga's defining documents and acquired new tools to monitor his behavior and navigate life.
Now as he is about to move into his late eighties, he strives to live his life based on the lessons he learned from yoga. He continues to teach several yoga classes a week and ride his bicycle up to 100 miles per week.
What Others Say About the Book:
A meditation teacher says: I've read an early draft and it is worth the read. There's something for everyone whether you practice yoga or not. Please check it out!
A Professor of Religious Studies says: If you think it is too late for you or that Indian teachings are too far from your own experience, then you will find here a highly accessible and practical collection of Buddhist and Hindu teachings that you can put to work in your own life.
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Reviews of The Octogenarian Yogi: Finding Wisdom:
Donald English, our "octogenarian yogin," offers us an account here of a spiritual life that resounds with authenticity. There's no New Age romanticism here, no starry-eyed idealization of a guru, and no pretense at offering a cheap path to happiness. Instead, you find a healthy dose of American skepticism on a path to genuine spiritual achievement. Don tests everything he has ever been told and openly shares his struggles and moments of heartbreak. If you think it is too late for you or that Indian teachings are too far from your own experience, then you will find here a highly accessible and practical collection of Buddhist and Hindu teachings that you can put to work in your own life. If you think that authentic humanity is the sign of a genuine spiritual teacher, then read this book and you will have gained a friend and a role model.
Stephen Jenkins
Professor of Religious Studies
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