Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization by Deepak Chopra and Sarah Platt-Finger. is set up in two clear halves. The first is the conceptual discussion of what "living in the light” entails. The section half is a description of the yoga asanas that formulate this practice. As with books of this nature, the extent to which it works for an individual depends on where you are in your individual journey. My goal is to take the ideas that resonate and let of go what does not.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/living-in-light.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

I enjoyed the way that this book tied yoga to meditation and enabled me to enhance my calm. I always enjoy the Deepak Chopra books, and this is another excellent want to have in my collection.

I will always read everything this author releases I love the words of wisdom. I will definitely be rereading this one like I have others by them.

This book is so helpful as is all of his books. I live with severe anxiety and it sure helped to spend time with this book.
The book will be helpful to you wether you have issues or not.

Thank you so much, Deepak Chopra,MD, Sarah Platt-Finger, your Publisher, and
NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this wonderful book.

Deepak Chopra does it again. This is a great book about living a more fulfilling life. There are tips and strategies to implement in order to improve your mental health and resiliency. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Lots of work but great book. Do you want to connect with your mind and body? This book can help with that. Yoga poses and manifestations are the center of this book. A great journey in getting to know yourself.

I always get so much useful practices from this author and this book is no exception. Broken down in weeks and then days. It helps you make small, easy changes to become more peaceful. I have a lot of anxiety and there were a lot of simple things I was able to add to my life.

“Living in the Light” is meant for reading slowly and reflecting about yourself. I have done exactly that.

Such a lovely book - I was so grateful to see I was accepted to tread this one early! It was a really unique take on understanding yourself which was refreshing among the many self-help books out there.

Living the light is based on the principles of yoga, not so much the asana’s that Westerners are most familiar with, but the guiding principles of living a life of Yoga where the light is the way.

The book was written in an enjoyable, easily understood manner. I have learned much and deepened knowledge that I previously held. I feel I have a better understanding of the yogic foundations. I also appreciated the Asana’s in the book, the diagrams were easy to follow but I am even more grateful for the fabulous written descriptors of why the asanas are done and how to do them. This information filled a void I had often found in classes I had attended.

I fabulous book and highly recommended. I have read this twice but will be buying the hard copy to refer to regularly.

Thank you Rodale and NetGalley for this ARC.

Those who know and follow Deepak Chopra will want to take a look at this title. It came out in January, just in time for New Year’s resolutions but it is not too late to try this program.

This is a co-authored title. Chopra offers inspiration and shares his sense of what it means to be “living in the light,” while Platt-Finger shows readers many yoga poses.

These authors deeply believe in the value of Royal Yoga. See if this is for you. Many readers have given this title five stars and have found it to be inspirational.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rodale Inc for this title. All opinions are my own.

This is an awesome book full of helpful lists to understand the benefits of yoga and poses to do! I also enjoyed the history of yoga, which gave even more meaning to my practice.

I loved being able to read this book. It is not a book to sit and read cover to cover, but rather, it is a book to refer to periodically for personal growth and change. Deepak's written voice is calm, gentle and easy to read and learn from. I read the book electronically, so the second half was a bit harder to follow along with, although easy enough to understand. I will buy a print version of the book to have on hand to allow for following the poses in an easier-to-manage fashion.

This is a great book for readers interested in making transformative changes in one's life.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Rodale Inc., and Deepak Chopra for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Living in the light, that’s where we all want to dwell. No one does this better than Chopra. This is an amazing gem of a book that combines Deepak Chopra’s wisdom, teachings and roadmap on how to get there in thirty days. He explains the concept of Royal Yoga and the benefits of shifting your mind to living in the light. Actually, he explains we are all living in the light, just not all the time. There are six chapters, you work on each for five days and the weekend is spent reflecting. He breaks down each aspect of life and how your awareness can grow in each area. He then connects it to Yoga. This isn’t too out there and woo woo, but rather Chopra is practical and relates each idea clearly and logically.

The second section is written by Sarah Platt Finger who take you through essential Yoga poses. She writes briefly about Yoga basics and meaning behind the central ideas like chakras, breath work, etc. She then breaks down the poses into sections like standing poses, balancing poses, seated twists etc. and gives a few examples of each. For each pose she gives you the how-to, the benefits, therapeutic applications and some helpful tips.

I will keep this book as a reference so that I can come back to it time and again. I believe there are many valuable lessons that can be learned. The book was well thought out and easy to understand. The exercises can easily be done at home, although I’d be interested to know how it would be for people who have never done yoga before. The book is beginner friendly, but still translating things off the page into the practical can sometimes be tricky. I am no yoga expert and think that the poses will be very manageable along with the breathing. I am so happy to have come across this book and recommend it to everyone.

In the first half of this book, Deepak Chopra explains the eight limbs of Raja Yoga and presents a six-week program for conscious living and self-realization. Each week focuses on a different stage of transformation, presented as themes such as Social Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence. There are five lessons within each week, one for each weekday with weekends off for integration. Each lesson begins with an affirmation and discussion, followed by an exercise. Many lists are provided, making the material easy to understand and implement.

Although Sanskrit terms are introduced, most of the text was accessible and the lessons were practical. I love the gentle, encouraging way that Deepak teaches. I particularly appreciated his discussion of karma. A few sections were more esoteric and lost me a bit, but I am comfortable using what works for me now and leaving the rest.

In the second half of the book, yoga teacher Sarah Platt-Finger focuses on the asanas. She lost me a bit with some of her discussion of subtle energy (e.g., nadis, chakras, gunas, vayus, bandhas), but her presentation of 54 poses was mostly understandable. The poses are grouped into categories such as simple standing poses and forward bends with the intention that you can create a well-rounded practice by choosing one or two poses from each category. Each pose includes a drawing or two, an overview, how-to, benefits, therapeutic applications, and helpful tips, including cautions and modifications. My main frustration with this section is that the drawings didn’t always match up with the text. As an example, the how-to section might describe a twist to the left, while the drawing shows a twist to the right.

I wish the book had a more detailed table of contents, but otherwise, I liked the presentation. I recommend this book for anyone interested in yoga and personal growth.

I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Living in the Light Yoga for Self-Realization by Deepak Chopra, MD; Sarah Platt-Finger from NetGalley and Rodale Inc. in order to read and give an honest review.

“….a wonderful life-changing and insightful book that brings light to your spiritual, emotional, and physical health, I highly recommend….“

Living in the Light is a yoga book that offers a unique and comprehensive program based on Dr. Deepak Chopra and Sarah Platt-Finger’s teachings of Royal Yoga. Divided into two parts, the first part is an overview on living consciously or “living in the light” spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Featuring a six week program (M-F) focusing on the eight limbs (ashtanga) of yoga, each day focuses on explaining the lessons of each limb in detail. There are daily lessons, mantras, and exercises designed to help one embody the principle or theme of the day into their daily yoga practice. Dr. Chopra uses his wisdom and wonderful teaching skills to make even the most challenging concept easy to understand and incorporate into a daily practice.

The second part from Dr. Chopra’s Co-Author, Sarah Platt-Finger begins with overview of yoga fundamentals. The book then dives into detailed instruction of about fifty yoga poses each including photos depicting the proper form of each pose, the benefits and therapeutic applications associated with each pose as well as extremely helpful tips that are suitable for both beginners and experienced yoga practitioners alike.

Having had some experience with yoga I still was able to learn so much from this book. I honestly believe it will help me take my practice to the next level and launch a lifetime “in the light.” I have read the book from cover to cover, and this week began my weekly practice, following along with the book again. I look forward to following this practice and I am enjoying the journey so far. A wonderful life-changing and insightful book that brings light to your spiritual, emotional, and physical health, I highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher, to Net Galley and the author for the availability of this wonderful book as a ARC. My review opinions are my own.

I so enjoyed this enlightening self help book that is a focus on yoga as both a tool for our mental health tool and excercise . The author has created a simplified format for both beginners and experienced yogi's. There is much to learn here about leading your life with peace . You will gain much insight from this body of work . The plan and format is easy to follow for anyone that wishes to improve their life and well being. I look forward to adding a hard copy of this book to my library to refer to time and time again. This program I recommend continuing as part of your health practices. Well done to the author.

I really loved this book, with its mixture of yoga philosophy of Royal yoga and being more conscious of your world, the physical postures of yoga. This would be a great January read for anyone looking to start the year fresh.

Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization
By Deepak Chopra, MD & Sarah Platt-Finger
Harmony Books
Publication date: January 3, 2023

Living in the Light is part philosophy, part physical yoga book focusing on Royal yoga. To “live in the light” means to live a conscious life.

This book is a 30 day journey., divided into 6 weeks, with 5 days a week to practice.

Part 1, all about the Royal yoga philosophy, is written by Deepak Chopra. It covers the 8 limbs of yoga (levels of transformation). The goal of all this is discovering your true self and living an ideal life. Each day starts with a theme and a mantra. Then it explains the principles for each theme and includes an exercise to deepen your practice. (A lot of visualization and breathing.)

Part 2, the yoga postures, is written by Sarah Platt-Finger. It doesn’t just show an illustration of each yoga pose covered, it explains how to do it, the benefits, the therapeutic applications and tips, which I love. I found part 2 to be more interesting.

Here is a line from the book that describes what “living in the light” means.

“Yoga merges the disparate parts of the self into one united state of awareness, allowing us to live fully in the light.” Pg. 91

Thanks to NetGalley and Harmony Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An elegant book of yoga, taking you through the 8 limbs and offering a unique look at how to easily incorporate yoga into your life with quick daily routines. Refreshing, unique, and informative for those looking to add the light of yoga into their daily living practice.