Description
From the outside, yoga practice may seem like a body culture, much like gym practice or some other kind of workout. But every yoga practitioner knows that yoga practice is much deeper than that, since it develops both physical (bodily) and mental capabilities. Take for example the capability to balance: Can balancing in a pose, like Vrksasana (Tree Pose) be achieved without developing mental capabilities such as focus, concentration and observation? What do we learn when we practice balancing? Is balance merely the ability to find physical equilibrium in a pose, or does it apply more generally to our life beyond the practice mat?
In this book we discuss such issues and argue that yoga practice fosters many capabilities (such as balance), some are mainly physical, others more mental in nature. We illustrate this (in Chapter 1) by presenting ‘Explorations’ – asanas variation done with and without props, in which the reader/practitioner is asked to reflect upon his/her mind-body connections and their mutual affects. We term this ‘Psychophysical Lab‘, since, as in an ordinary lab, reflective practice calls for experimentation and study. In chapter 2 we discuss psychophysical capabilities such as: stability, flexibility, managing effort, persistence, discipline, sensitivity, tolerance, equanimity and relaxation.
In contrary to these experiences, Western philosophy sees a dichotomy between minds (or, as Descartes calls them, thinking things) and bodies (extended things), and views them as separate entities. This difficulty is termed ‘The Mind-Body Problem’. Chapter 3 builds on the observations made in Chapters 1 and 2 and offers a philosophical and historical analysis of this problem —its origin, development, and possible solution.
Finally, chapter 4 contains practice-sequences that have strong mental bearings. We offer five such sequences (some have two variants, according to the level of the practitioner):
- Confidence building (and reducing worry and anxiety)
- Emotional balance (and coping with irritation) – encouraging Sattvic tendencies
- Optimism and joy (and clearing light depression) – tackle Tamasic tendencies
- Calming and pacifying (and countering hyper-activity)- tackle Rajasic tendencies
- Restoration (and recovering from fatigue)
- No experience in yoga or knowledge of philosophy is required to benefit from this book
- The book can deeply enrich those who already study yoga and\or philosophy.
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Michael Sela (verified owner) –
An important and pioneering book.
The philosophical review is well written and provides a worthwile context for the practical parts.
The pratice instructions flow very nicely. I liked also the Author’s observation tips and the connections he makes to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and B.K.S Iyengar’s writings. All in all – a worthwhile experience to serious yoga practitioners.
Cissy Harrison –
The Psychophysical Lab offers practitioners of Iyengar yoga excellent sequences for practice with extremely thoughtful commentary; all the Shifroni books have proved invaluable to developing my own and my students experience of Iyengar yoga.
The Psychophysical Lab also offers an exciting/challenging exploration of mind-body connection through yoga practice, giving language to help us to explore and reflect on what our practice means, to better understand our capacities. It sensitises us to the practice, linking this to the way we live our life…..
Sivan Goldhirsh –
The Psychophysical Lab is the fascinating product of a collaborative effort by authors Ohad Nachtomy and Eyal Shifroni. Though each author was responsible for his individual portion, the cooperative and open-minded natures of both Eyal and Ohad allowed for the conception, gestation and birth of a book that is greater than the sum of its parts.
In the process of reading and editing Eyal’s writings on the yoga related sections, I had the good fortune to be exposed to the creative process and maturation of the book. I personally felt many moments of insight, connection and inspiration in reading what Eyal, a brilliant teacher of great depth, had chosen to share from his personal experience of daily practice and years of teaching. The practical section of the book has explorations suitable for beginner and advanced students, as well as teachers, which encourage a level of awareness and connectivity to the physical and mental states. For those of us who are yoga practitioners and teachers, we most likely have already cultivated this association, however the format of the explorations in this book introduces concepts that are uniquely Eyal’s and clearly conveys ways of articulating what many people experience but don’t truly observe. More so, beyond the yoga community, the book offers valuable lessons and practical exercises to those without any yoga experience.
The section on the qualities and attributes of the practice of yoga shares the richness and profundity of a life of yoga beyond the mat. For me, this was the most exciting aspect to work on, as the greatest potential of a yoga practice is not the physical, not the philosophical, not the mental or even emotional benefits that it offers, but of the truly synergistic and transformative effect that it can have on your life, both on the small scale day to day events, as well as a greater, holistic outlook for the scope of your life.
Dror Yinon –
In the current philosophical scene, Ohad Nachtomy and Eyal Shifroni’s, The Psychophysical Lab, stands out as an extraordinary book that integrates a discussion of the metaphysical mind-body problem with practical instructions for yoga exercises. The practice of yoga is used to shed light on the author’s approach to the mind-body relations – and this is so rare among professional philosophy books that I doubt we would find even one book that takes a similar approach.
The “The Psychophysical Lab”, is an extraordinary book for another reason: while the prose does not betray any drama and pathos, the book presents a rather dramatic argument in which the mind-body problem dissolves by using a Wittgensteinian approach to the way we talk about the mind and that enables the authors to recover an Aristotelian approach in which mind and body are inseparable and a human being is seen as a single unity with a variety of capacities. Alongside this argument, the authors substantiate their approach through the practice of yoga in a chapter consisting of instructions and suggestions for particular yoga postures (which they call explorations) and another chapter that explores these capacities in more detail. These chapters (first and second in the book) aim to assimilate in practice the author’s approach to the mind-body relations.
Ohad Nachtomy and Eyal Shifroni argue that adopting this approach would not only help us to go beyond a conceptual fallacy that inflicts all those who think within the Cartesian framework, that is, everyone, but would also enable a real transformation in our lives – one that would impact our self perception, our view of the environment, and of our fellow human beings. The point of yoga practice, they argue, is not only to make us feel better or provide a balancing impact on our intense and busy life but also to change ourselves from the very foundation, so that yoga is not limited to the practice on the mat but becomes a way to take care of ourselves and improve our daily life.
Rahel Wasserfall (verified owner) –
I am really enjoying the psycho physical lab; it is very helpful for connecting body sensations with the wider qualities of the mind. I particularly love that the authors provide exercices so that it is not only the theoretical content that explains the approach but through the methodology their approach, is showcased. A very important book for all interested in how yoga actually work the magic of quieting the mind and develop qualities of the mind.
Tamar Levanon –
The title of the book, The Psychophysical Lab, expresses the idea that one can think of yoga as a lab in which the relation between yoga postures and our mental states can be studied. According to this perspective, we can use our mental capacities in order to train the body and vice versa. Yoga exercises can deepen and develop certain traits (such as patience, concentration and happiness) and our mental abilities can help us to understand and expand the scope of our physical capabilities. The function of such a lab is not to achieve progress of the type that can be measured, such as the ability to carry out a certain difficult yoga posture or to maintain it for a longer time. Rather, the authors think about “progress” in a broader sense, as something that is manifested in day-to-day life and furthermore is connected to the ability to understand our limitations. The main question therefore is not one of technique or of measurable outcomes, but rather of focusing on the intention behind the postures and the breathing exercises.
According to this perspective, the physical and the mental are interrelated. Consciousness is not just a tool used to improve physical ability. Similarly, the body is not just a vessel, the seat of consciousness. There is no preference given to one element over the other; rather this is an approach to the body and the mind as two elements intimately bound together. The discussion of the psychophysical problem, which is one of the oldest and most difficult in philosophy, goes beyond just the theory. Indeed, what immediately captures our attention is the dialogical nature of the book. From this point of view, the theoretical discussion of the mind-body problem is only one part of the story and it would be more correct to say that the book is a dialogue between the theoretical side and the practical side. This is also evident from the four sections that divide up the book. This structure illustrates the main goal of the book, which is on the one hand to contemplate the theoretical element of this approach and on the other to provide practical tools for investigating the relations between the physical and the mental.
The book is also a dialog in other ways. For example, it is a dialog between East and West and in this context it is worth noting the decision to examine the ties between yoga exercises and Western philosophy (rather than Indian philosophy). And it is more specifically a dialogue between Ohad Nachtomy and Eyal Shifroni whose enjoyment of the discussion between them is visible throughout the book.