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Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection Paperback – September 1, 2004by Mark WhitwellTruth is not something we have to seek out. It is not something that is absent and far away, requiring great effort to find. Truth is present within you as the Life that is you. In Yoga of Heart, Los Angeles-based yoga instructor Mark Whitwell takes us back to the time when yoga was first developed―to the shamanic past of the Upanishads, when yoga was practiced as a means of acknowledging, enjoying, and participating in the very source of Life.Whitwell explores the deeper tantric dimensions of hatha yoga―how yoga’s purpose is to link the mind to the wonder of our own condition. He shows how hatha yoga is participation in life’s polarities already in union―through the male surrender to the female principle. Yoga of Heart shows how we can forge that union of polarities within our body: above and below, front and back, left and right, male and female.Yoga of Heart focuses especially on clearing the energy centers and meridians, fostering dynamic health and allowing practitioners to create a deeper intimacy with both their partners and the energetic life forces in the universe.ReviewBefore Mark Whitwell’s mother died, she told him, “Men can learn how to love women properly. When they receive us, our strength comes out. That’s best for men too.” Inspired by her words, Whitwell has delivered a treatise on how yoga relates to intimate relationships, sexuality, gender, and love. He suggests that the practice of yoga, which he describes as “the merging of all polarities,” will foster “mutuality between men and women.” Much of the book’s text is taken from talks given by Whitwell, who lives in and teaches in both the United States and New Zealand. His freewheeling discourses are thought-provoking, and his ideas and passion for putting them across are compelling, but the book would have benefitted from more skillful editing.About the AuthorMark Whitwell has enjoyed a life long relationship with the yoga teachings of T. Krishnamacharya, and with his son and primary disciple T.K.V. Desikachar, whose students have had a major impact on yoga in the West. Whitwell was editor and contributor to Desikachar’s classic book, The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice. This tradition teaches that yoga must be adapted to the individual to be successful. Yoga postures, or asanas, exist to support the breath and thereby enhance the human being’s direct absorption of the vital and nurturing essence of Life. The goal of yoga is not to achieve gymnastic extremes. For Whitwell authentic yoga is simply moving and breathing and is the birthright of all humanity. Mark Whitwell is the founder of the non-profit organization Heart of Yoga which provides yoga education worldwide. He may be contacted at www.heartofyoga.com.Product DetailsPaperback: 192 pagesPublisher: Lantern Books (September 1, 2004)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 159056068XISBN-13: 978-1590560686http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/159056068X