William Walker Atkinson

The Hindu-Yogi Science Of Breath William Walker Atkinson

This excellent book represents one of the first and best presentations of Eastern wisdom in the English language. It concerns ancient Hindu traditions and the Yogic practice of observing and regulating the breath.

We begin with an admission that Western students are often confused by what exactly Yoga is, and what it is meant to accomplish. Stereotypes of the yogi as spindly, dirty and disheveled men commonly seen sitting in fixed posture at a roadside or marketplace abound. Yet these dismissive images serve only to neglect the spiritual substance and ancient wisdom of yogi science.

Seeking to dispel the negative stereotypes and present the vivid truth, Atkinson discusses the multiple schools of yoga and their general purpose. Some emphasize control over the body's motions, while others favor inner development of the spirit. Several however emphasize the control of the breath; and it a practical explanation of this that Atkinson relays in the remaining fifteen chapters of this book.

While many other manuals concerning yoga and the breath have been published since Atkinson published this book in 1904, few have ever surpassed the adept way in which spiritual profundity is married to practical application. Atkinson wanted his readers to embark on yoga and experience results from developing the breath.

William Walker Atkinson was a prolific author who awakened himself to the spiritual importance of yoga whilst in his thirties. After meeting representatives of the Hindu faith in the United States, he embarked on much study of the traditions and yoga practices of India. This book was originally published under Atkinson's pseudonym: Yogi Ramacharaka.