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Table of contents
- Beyond belief
- A Place Beyond Belief - Felicity Cobb - Ramblers Walking Holidays
- Brazil Beyond Belief
- Editors Choice
We spent a leisurely morning walking from the end of Copacabana, across Arpoador and down Ipanema, only leaving the sand for one short hop between the first two beaches. While it feels like just one colossal stretch of sand, the beach inhabitants change the further down you go, from tourists and serious surfers, to the body beautiful and gay community, to families and aspiring football and volleyball legends. Leaving the eclectic funk of Rio behind, we journeyed west to experience another example of how Brazil doesn't do things by halves — the majestic Iguazu Falls.
Wider than Victoria and higher than Niagara, this thundering rupture which demarcates the border between Brazil and Argentina comprises waterfalls spanning three kilometres. Arriving amid torrential rain and a vicious storm, the roaring spectacle was even more furious than usual as the Iguazu River swelled, hurling an incomprehensible 2.
Soaked through but exhilarated, we were pleased to be staying just a minute's walk from the Falls at the only hotel within the national park, Belmond's Hotel das Cataratas. This is a sumptuous base with a delicious open fire and plenty of comfy corners to cosy up in if the weather takes a turn for the worse. Most importantly, guests can access the falls before and after the tour buses deposit and collect their hoards of day trippers.
We took advantage with a magical sunrise stroll along the Waterfall Trail as the rain cleared on our first morning. From Brazil you can take in the quintessential views of Iguazu, but a trip to the Argentine side is paramount if you want to get up close.
Beyond belief
My final view of Iguazu was from above, on a heart-stopping helicopter ride which offered an unmitigated view of the whole awe-inspiring thing in one go. It's hard to comprehend the calmness of the river as it meanders slowly towards a cataclysmal crevice and, once again, the sheer size of it overwhelms. After four hours holding onto the edge of my seat as our driver overtook, undertook and careered along the motorway, we finally went off road, where the main thoroughfare was along the sand of one of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen.
Bumping and bouncing over the sand — the Route of Emotions had definitely begun. We arrived in our first destination, the tiny, unfussy and addictively laid back beach town of Jericoacoara Jeri , just before sunset.
It turned out that this nightly pilgrimage is to enjoy one of the country's most spectacular sunsets, and one of the only times you'll catch it setting over water anywhere in Brazil. Atop the dune a couple of caipirinha carts were doing a good trade and collective anticipation filled the air as we watched the last rays of sun disappear into the Atlantic. The sunset in Jeri also appeared to signal the start of the night's partying, as people of all ages hurled themselves down the side of the dune onto the beach, where the capoeira rodas began, and bars, restaurants and cocktail carts came alive with music and merriment.
Outside Jeri, the landscape got more and more desert-like, leaving us with nothing but sand and sea ahead. After hurtling along in our 4x4, we pulled up in the tiny town of Barra Grande which made Jeri look fast-paced with a perfect beach, peppered with colourful kite surfers. We swapped vast expanses of sand for an enormous watery maze the next morning, as we toured the Delta do Parnaiba, one of the largest river deltas in the world naturally. Civilisation seemed to be getting sparser, with the occasional fishing boat the only passing traffic in the sparkling water for hours. As our guide eagerly gestured at colourful crabs and passing birdlife, desperately keen to show off the incredible natural beauty of his home, I couldn't understand why this little pocket of Brazil is so often overlooked by tourists.
Unlike in Rio, where human determination amidst the unlikely cityscape continually surprises, here the human footprint barely registers among the powerful remoteness of the surroundings. Sep 17, Shelley Schanfield rated it it was amazing. A useful book that demystifies yoga and establishes it in a perspective that resonates with me, one that strips away "religiosity" and yet does not ignore the importance of spirituality for the true yogi.
The epigraph by White sets the tone: An essential read for anyone interested in modern yoga is Yoga Body: But the book's goal is not to be a complete account of yoga's history, but to provide a guide on developing a practice that unites mind, body, and spirit while fully engaged in the world. White's background is in Hatha Yoga, but as a long-time Iyengar method practitioner, I found a lot of advice worth following.
There are many tips on deepening asana practice, emphasizing its importance as a tool to deepen awareness of the mind-body-spirit connection, rather than as asana as a goal—that is, as an exercise in twisting the body into a pretzel. Every practitioner can benefit from the chapter "Injury, Pain, and Healing," which encourages attention to the body's own signals when practicing. There is a fine line that marks the edge of our ability, and going beyond that line can lead to serious injury.
Learning how to stay at that edge is a profound lesson. In the chapter "Meditation is Life," White emphasizes that asking how to meditate misses the point. Although he gives a few useful techniques, he stays away from a dogmatic approach that prescribes exact methods. As he says, "Meditation cannot be taught, but meditation can be learned. I highly recommend this book. I know I will return to it often. Oct 25, Angela Boland rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is right up the current spiritual alley in which I find myself.
Ganga White pulls a lot from his own personal testimony of life as a yogi. It's a goo Synopsis: It's a good blend of practicality and spirituality; the two don't always blend well. For instance, he provides breakdowns of the many different types of meditation available and how to try them. Also, he likes to remind us how important it is to keep an open mind—in all things. A lot of territory is covered in this book. Nothing is delved into very deeply. I would highly recommend this book to any yogi or aspiring yogi. The Western world has kind of performed some cultural appropriation on yoga, and this book helps you get back to the roots.
Overall, it was just really, really good.
- Nine Days To Extinction!
- Boring and bland beyond belief?
- Mid-week breaks beat long weekends;
This book contains tremendous insight regarding yoga practice in the 21st century. Although Yoga Beyond Belief is a look at the practice from a contemporary perspective, White includes history and explains origins. The scientific link to this spiritual practice was well written and profound. The writing is conversation and concise. For some, there is a tendency to devalue new literature and interpretation on classical practices, but White makes an excellent point: Music is not the same as it was when it was first developed.
Early forms of music were very limited in range, pitch, and complexity, with simple rhythms and fewer possibilities of instrumentation.
A Place Beyond Belief - Felicity Cobb - Ramblers Walking Holidays
Over the centuries music has evolved into many genres and highly complex symphonies that communicate broad ranges of feeling, emotion, and meaning. Similarly, our understanding of spirituality needs to grow and evolve beyond the limits of tradition and ancient mappings. Sep 28, Katie Maguire rated it it was amazing. Ganga White is brilliant. He has studied yoga in every corner of the world with the most prominent teachers of this century, and then distilled the important elements of it well-being, safety, inquiry, discernment into his own teaching.
Despite the depth and intensity of his experience, he is an incredibly accessible teacher, and I feel so utterly privileged to have experienced it firsthand. I'm barely holding you. Ganga and his wife Tracey Rich are incredibly gifted teachers and they are both friggin' hilarious.
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- Nil: A Land Beyond Belief - Wikipedia!
- Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice by Ganga White.
Such a perfect combination of totally dreamy and completely down-to-earth. Dec 16, Jo rated it liked it Shelves: Part of the reason I liked this book is because a lot of what White had to say matched up with a lot of things I've thought myself; maybe if he weren't saying things I already believed, I'd like the book less, but maybe it would have just make me think harder which I think I've done enough of this semester, thankyouverymuch.
Some of what White's saying sounds totally nuts, like, "Pain is our friend," but he's got a point about it. He does sound a little annoying-new-age-y sometimes, but other Part of the reason I liked this book is because a lot of what White had to say matched up with a lot of things I've thought myself; maybe if he weren't saying things I already believed, I'd like the book less, but maybe it would have just make me think harder which I think I've done enough of this semester, thankyouverymuch.
He does sound a little annoying-new-age-y sometimes, but other times he makes a lot of sense to me.
Brazil Beyond Belief
This is one of those things I'd never have read on my own and may never read again, but, even though I was forced to read it for class, I won't call it a waste of my time or stupid busy work. Jul 09, Beth rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Great book, and surprisingly easy to read and digest not always true for spiritual or yoga books.
Ganga approaches the subjects of yoga asana, meditation and spirituality with a down-to-earth yet inspiring voice, telling readers to sift through tradition, teachings and experience and find what rings true for yourself. The very last paragraphs of the book are the most meaningful, to me: Be quiet, sit, and breathe in a place of beauty Be attentive to all things in life. Ganga White has been a huge yogi since the 70s and founder of the White Lotus Foundation. This book focuses of principles of Bikram the yoga I practice , and gives a wonderful insight on how yoga can be used for mind, body and soul.
Its practical and inspiring and gives you greater insight on how to practice with awarness. I really loved this book. As its not a book on technique rather understanding the greater processes of flow. Mar 23, Jen Madsen rated it it was amazing. What I appreciate about this book is that while it acknowledges the "jewels" of the past in the art and philosophy of yoga, it also allows for yoga to be relevant to modern, and perhaps rational, people and times.
To use a yoga metaphor, it allows yoga to breathe. Rigidity is so antithetical to the practice of yoga that it should be an obvious error to insist on practicing yoga a particular way simply because that's the way it's been done for thousands of years. Feb 28, Terry rated it it was amazing. Excellent, i have had this on my shelf since it was published in Have started and stopped reading several times.
Picked it up again as my personal yoga practice has developed into more than just exercise and absorbed it like a sponge I started yoga with Total Flow dvds from Ganga White and Tracey Rich of the White Lotus Foundation years ago, and continue these practices and philosophies in my life today. Oct 12, Jenny rated it it was amazing.
Editors Choice
Awesome book about making Yoga your own. The book is clear, easy to understand and encourages you to make yoga your own by listening to your body and using every day life as a way to practice integrating mind, body and spirit. Ganga White is an incredible teacher, and this book is a wonderful distillation of his wisdom. His non- dogmatic, non-prescriptive approach is a must read for all yoga lovers. I learned so much about both asana practice and spirituality of yoga and meditation. Also loved reading about the author's own journey.
Oct 31, Carrie Ridgeway rated it it was amazing Shelves: I would love to own a copy of this book so I could refer back to it, and re-read it every year of so. There was so much insight and good sense in this book. Highly recommend it to anyone seeking to learn more about yoga to enrich their practice. Very practical approach to yoga with chapters on different kinds of yoga practices, healing injuries, meditation and spirituality.