This book discusses the profound philosophy and practical psychology behind yoga, beyond its popular body-culture aspect. It pays particular attention to the psychological principles involved and their implications for the consummate understanding of human nature. It explores the psychological aspects of yoga theory and practice and discusses the aphorisms in Patanjali’s treatise on Yoga with necessary commentary in current psychological terminology to make them intelligible to students of psychology and other interested readers. Importantly, the author draws out the implications of these aphorisms for future psychological study and research. The book discusses the author’s concept of yoga of nonviolence which brings in Gandhian ideas into the framework of yoga. The author’s own vast experience in creating interfaces of yoga research with practice also informs the discussions in this book. This authoritative and topical book by an eminent academic like Professor Ramakrishna Rao is of interest to scholars and students of diverse disciplines, including but not limited to psychology, philosophy and wellbeing research.

"Psychoanalysis itself and the lines of thought to which it gives rise," said C. G. Jung, "are only a beginner’s attempt compared to what is an immemorial art in the East"—by which he was referring to the millennia-old study of the mind found in Yoga. That tradition was hardly known in the West when the discipline of psychology arose in the nineteenth century, but with the passing of time the common ground between Yoga and psychology has become ever more apparent. Georg Feuerstein here uses a modern psychological perspective to explore the ways Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina yogas have traditionally regarded the mind and how it works—and shows how that understanding can enhance modern psychology in both theory and practice.

The scientific study of the mind and behavior is called psychology. The study of conscious and unconscious events, such as emotions and thoughts, is included in psychology. It is a field of study that bridges the natural and social sciences and has a huge scope. Psychologists are interested in learning about the brain's emergent features, which connects psychology to neuroscience. Psychologists seek to comprehend both individual and community behavior in their roles as social scientists. Science is frequently associated with the first letter of the Greek word psyche, from whence the term psychology is derived (see below). A psychologist is a trained expert in the field or a researcher who works in it. Some psychologists can be categorized as cognitive or behavioral scientists. Some psychologists make an effort to comprehend how mental processes affect both individual and group behavior. Others investigate the physiological and neurological mechanisms behind the actions and behaviors of the brain. Research on perception, cognition, attention, emotion, intelligence, subjective experiences, motivation, brain function, and personality is conducted by psychologists. Interpersonal interactions, psychological resilience, family resilience, and other social psychology-related topics are all of interest to psychologists. They also take the unconscious mind into account. To infer causal and correlation links between psychosocial variables, research psychologists use empirical methodologies. Clinical and counseling psychologists use symbolic interpretation to some extent, but not always.

Sāṅkhya is one of the world's most valued and ancient spiritual philosophies. It is pure spirituality, free of religion, and remains as relevant today as it was 5,000 years ago when Kapila first taught it. Sāṅkhya is the spiritual foundation of Yoga. The original and ultimate purpose of Yoga is that it is a path that leads to a powerful realization of the highest Truth of who or what we essentially are, knowledge of which enables us to transcend suffering and, as a result, realize spiritual freedom. Suraj Sarode teaches Sāṅkhya philosophy in its original form in this book, covering each principle in exquisite detail while providing pointers to practical understanding and reflective meditation techniques. Learn Sāṅkhya’s enumerated model of 25 principles, followed by understanding the essential difference between Nature (Prakṛti) and Spirit (Puruṣa). Sāṅkhya provides the student or teacher of Yoga with an information package of transcendent wisdom, whereas Yoga forms the practice and potential for the experiential revelation of Sāṅkhya philosophy. The aim is Self-realization and spiritual Liberation.

About the Book Patañjali’s Yogasūtra: A Psychological Study is an attempt at an English translation of Patañjali’s Yogasūtra with commentary rendered in current psychological idiom. It features an extensive Introduction to the context and attempts to draw out conclusions on the implications of yoga theory and practices to current psychological knowledge. Yoga paradigm goes well beyond what is currently in vogue and provides a more fruitful model for studying and understanding human nature, both hidden and manifest. This volume thus provides the psychological context and the relevance of studies of yoga for advancing the existing psychological knowledge. Yoga psychology provides the foundation for Indian psychology, an emerging discipline, rooted in classical Indian tradition. According to Indian psychology, the person is a unique composite of body, mind and consciousness, making a qualitative distinction between mind and consciousness. Self-actualization, the ultimate aim of a person, is realized by cultivating consciousness as-such, resulting in a kind of psycho-spiritual symbiosis, enabling a person to experience an all-around transformation. About the Author Professor Koneru Ramakrishna Rao is currently Chancellor of GITAM (deemed to be) University. He has the rare distinction of being National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research and the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, and Distinguished Honorary Professor at Andhra University. His earlier academic appointments include Professor of Psychology and Vice-Chancellor at Andhra University; Executive Director, Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, USA; Chairman, A.P. State Council of Higher Education, and Advisor on Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He published 25 plus books and nearly 300 research papers. Prof. Rao received numerous honours that include the national award Padma Shri from the President of India and Honorary Doctoral degrees from Andhra, Acharya Nagarjuna and Kakatiya universities. He was elected as the President of the US-based Parapsychological Association three times, the only Asian to be so honoured.

Providing essential support to schools and universities that offer yoga therapy training programs, this comprehensive, edited textbook develops robust curricula, enabling them to prepare yoga therapists to integrate into healthcare settings safely and effectively. The book includes a large and international list of contributors from diverse lineages and backgrounds such as Matthew Taylor, Gail Parker and Steffany Moonaz, and is the first resource on yoga therapy that aligns with the educationl competencies of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). It covers yoga foundations (philosophical background, ayurveda, tantra), biomedical and psychological foundations, yoga therapy tools and therapeutic skills, yogic and biopsychosocial-spiritual assessments, and professional practices. As the field of yoga therapy continues to root and grow, this book is essential for both new yoga therapy practitioners, and for schools developing training programs.

Integral Yoga Psychology is a new attempt to position the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother within the frame of yoga psychology, as an inquiry related to transpersonal and whole-person psychologies. This book contains 11 essays by leading scholar-practitioners of integral yoga, sketching its possibility-space as a psychology. It attemps this through a hermeneutics of the texts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, as well as their own and their disciples' practices and experiences. It also makes a beginning at locating the field in its larger contexts, through comparative, qualitative and empirical studies, as well as probing the clinical possibilities of its models.

The first volume had laid the groundwork for a new study in psychology based on the fascinating theoretical and conceptual insights that Indian thought offers. Carrying forward the endeavour to broaden the view of its readers,

About the Author Prof. Koneru Ramakrishna Rao, PhD, DLitt, is currently Chancellor of GITAM (deemed to be) University. He has the rare distinction of being National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research and the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, and Distinguished Honorary Professor at Andhra University. His earlier academic appointments include Professor of Psychology and Vice-Chancellor at Andhra University; Executive Director, Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, USA; Chairman, A.P. State Council of Higher Education, and Advisor on Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He published 26 plus books and nearly 300 research papers. Prof. Rao received numerous honours that include the national award Padma Shri from the President of India and Honorary Doctoral degrees from Andhra, Acharya Nagarjuna and Kakatiya universities. He was elected as the President of the US-based Parapsychological Association, an international association of scientists involved in psi research, three times, the only Asian to be so honoured. About the Book This book is an autobiographical essay of a man who rose from a humble beginning in a remote village with one room elementary school to attend the University of Chicago, with its impressive Gothic structures ranked among the best in the world; and to become the Chancellor of a prestigious university in the country. Dr Rao attributes all this to destiny. Destiny in this view constitutes the circumstances in which one is situated; but it is the deftness with which one manoeuvres himself through the maze of circumstances that really matters in the final analysis. The book is offered as a possible source to inspire the aspiring individual not only to set noble goals but also find possible ways of reaching them. Blessed is the one who moves his way upward without hurting himself or others in the process. This has been the guiding principle of Dr Rao.