Practical Yoga Psychology is a guide to applying the principles of yoga to understanding the human mind and character. The book relates the practice of yoga to the principles and practice of psychology.
Psychology is a science that tries to understand how the human mind functions. It tries to explain individual human traits, the behaviour of a person, the way they relate to other people, their surroundings and the world in general.
The character and behaviour of a person is studied not just for an abstract understanding but also to find ways in which each person can improve relationships, improve the way they interact with the world and thus enhance their life experience.
The science of yoga studies the human soul. In the view of yoga, it is not the body and mind that experience life. It is the soul that undergoes all these experiences through the body. Yoga classifies the character of a person based on the three Gunas, Tamas, Rajas and Sattva.
Tamas is inertia, Rajas is passion and action and Sattwa is purity and balance. Yoga also studies the influences of the various chakras on the body and mind of a person. The chakras are centers of concentrated energy. The book explains the core qualities inherent in each chakra.
Thus, by studying the attributes of each chakra and by analysing the person's dominant traits, it is possible to determine which chakra has a dominant influence on that person’s psychology. The book discusses yoga practices that can affect changes in the chakras and thus change the dominant Guna in a person. The aim of the reader should be to enhance Sattwa and Guna, which instil purity and balance.
The book is divided into five sections. It begins by defining the basic principles of Yoga, the Chakras and Gunas. It then shows how the practice of a yoga lifestyle can help effect improvements in a person’s character and behavior.
Practical Yoga Psychology is a paperback book that was published by the Yoga Publication Trust in 2006.
Key Features:
- This book draws parallels between the yoga sciences and the principles of psychology and psychiatry.
- It shows how yoga can be of immense practical use in dealing with psychological problems.
