“Recently, the understanding of our liberation and perfection has come forth as a theme in popular media. Although wisdom is often delivered into society through story telling, until quite recently such stories had neither voice nor audience. Best sellers, such as The Red Tent, The Da Vinci Code and wonderful films from New Zealand like Whale Rider and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy probe a critical dilemma:
how the nurturing feminine has been lost in the social equation.

So this is ancient yoga in contemporary film and fiction-inspiring modern stories, even practical examples we can follow to help continue to restore the feminine in each person individually and for the greater good of society. Each of these works exemplifies a surrendering of the orthodox male mind to the obvious nurturing force of life. In ancient tantric societies, when real yoga first flourished, the supreme relevance of male-female polarity and equality permeated society to great effect. This is the way it has been, and will be again. We are just finally getting around to again confronting the dominant male doctrine.”

Excerpt from Yoga of Heart:
The Healing Power of Intimate Connection
by Mark Whitwell
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Yoga of Heart:
The Healing Power
of Intimate Connection
Mark Whitwell
Lantern Books, 2004
216 pgs

Truth 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.


Yoga of Heart:
The Healing Power
of Intimate Connection
Mark Whitwell
DVD, 2004
Buy the DVD Now!

A beautiful and valuble companion to the book!

DVD Workshop with Mark Whitwell. Yoga insrtuction, dharma dialogue. Includes a beautiful concert from tantric musicians from Varanasi, Vikash Maharaj and Prabash Maharaj on sarod and tabla.

Yoga is your direct participation
absorption in the given wonder
the extreme intelligence of life
that is of course in every person
every creature
you can do this
it's not a search
it's not to use the mind
it's not to use the body to try to get somewhere
as if you are not "Somewhere"
as if you are not the full blown wonder of life
dependent on a vast process
for your own existence
so there is a right yoga for you
you learn to do that yoga
and then you too can enjoy this direct absorption
participation in the nurturing force that is life already given to you
you are completely loved
completely loved
you are completely cared for
everybody is completely loved
completely cared for
even if the social conditions are suggesting otherwise
even if your mind doesn't recognize it
by doing your yoga practice on a daily basis
actually and naturally
not obsessively
you too can enjoy this direct absorption
in the wonder that is this life
in all conditions of life including the unseen source
which is responsible for all this appearance here
please enjoy your yoga
YOU ARE HERE NOW


This is a simple argument.
It is easier than easy.
So simple, we seldom speak of it and do not grasp it.
But once seen, it is obvious
and we feel the stark reality of our life,
unmediated by the mind of doubt.

The idea of human imperfection
that is deeply ingrained in the social mind,
in old scientific and religious thinking
blinds us to the perfection that is already in us,
as us, as Life itself, as Nature "her"self.

We are not separate;
we cannot be separate from Nature,
which sustains us in a vast interdependence with everything.

The universe comes perfectly
and is awesome in its integration and infinite existence.
It is our natural state.

Our mission and passion
is to provide the spiritual
and healing powers of yoga
to all who recognize the ancient wisdom
and the wisdom of your own body and mind.

Mark's Hridaya Yoga Sutra
describes the spirit of
Yoga of Heart: the Healing Power of Intimate Connection