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monetp's review
5.0
My favorite books to read are those when the research is done right and is incorporated into the story. This is true when it comes to "The Goddess Pose," a book unlike any I have ever read before. The plentiful accounts of the life of this singular yogini is something I'd recommend to every woman practicing yoga. Her story made me appreciate, understand and value the privilege of practicing yoga more than I did before reading this book.
weeta's review
4.0
A fascinating discussion of the ongoing evolution of the speed and style of what we call yoga today, traced from its roots in Indian spirituality to influences by Dutch gymnastics instruction, to what Indra Devi brought to the Arden spa in the 1950s, to the contemporary fast-paced power yoga we see so much of today. What Devi brought to the spa (and what caused yoga to really catch on in the U.S.) was apparently yoga without the religious underpinnings; an empowering alternative to the housewives-on-tranquilizers age. Devi "turned a very male discipline into an uplifting ritual for the cosmopolitan, spiritual-not-religious woman."
More fascinating was Devi's life itself and the numerous lives and subcultures she influenced across continents and countries, from Russia to Weimar Berlin to Shanghai to Mexico. Devi lived a life she based on love and nonattachment - fiercely independent and at times possibly a little bit too non-attached. She refused to be tethered by past memories or experiences and would not let nostalgia interrupt her focus on living in her present. Far from a quiet zen master, as she grew older refused to 'get old' and couldn't retire because "there are always more things to do."
"If yoga isn't just exercise, if it isn't religion, and if it isn't, in its current form, even all that old, then what the hell is it?" In short, a fusion and ongoing evolution of an already-evolving yoga of 100 years, influenced by the previous traditional understanding of yoga. Its contemporary links to "the same cultural matrix of organic food, holistic spas, and biodynamic beauty products - things that seem to go together so naturally" are linked so strongly in large part due to Devi pushing her brand of yoga in the 1950s at spas, and gained traction only when the spirituality element was thickly veiled or taken out entirely.
But as Goldberg points out, there is no such thing as unchanging authenticity - yoga is a creative dialogue and so far from its beginnings that it shouldn't need to be thought of in terms of purity or corruption.
More fascinating was Devi's life itself and the numerous lives and subcultures she influenced across continents and countries, from Russia to Weimar Berlin to Shanghai to Mexico. Devi lived a life she based on love and nonattachment - fiercely independent and at times possibly a little bit too non-attached. She refused to be tethered by past memories or experiences and would not let nostalgia interrupt her focus on living in her present. Far from a quiet zen master, as she grew older refused to 'get old' and couldn't retire because "there are always more things to do."
"If yoga isn't just exercise, if it isn't religion, and if it isn't, in its current form, even all that old, then what the hell is it?" In short, a fusion and ongoing evolution of an already-evolving yoga of 100 years, influenced by the previous traditional understanding of yoga. Its contemporary links to "the same cultural matrix of organic food, holistic spas, and biodynamic beauty products - things that seem to go together so naturally" are linked so strongly in large part due to Devi pushing her brand of yoga in the 1950s at spas, and gained traction only when the spirituality element was thickly veiled or taken out entirely.
But as Goldberg points out, there is no such thing as unchanging authenticity - yoga is a creative dialogue and so far from its beginnings that it shouldn't need to be thought of in terms of purity or corruption.
cozycult's review
3.0
I almost really liked this book. It was beautifully written (Michelle Goldberg's vocabulary is cray.) and there were many points where I was completely engrossed in tales of Indra Devi's travels and the spread of yoga to the west. I learned that asana yoga is more modern and evolving than I had previously thought. It also felt a lot like an airing out of yoga's dirty laundry; there is some juicy yoga gossip to be found in The Goddess Pose. This book made me realize that I don't know all that much about yoga.
I would have loved to see more pictures. There are lots of moments in Devi's life that are described very visually, and it would have been cool to actually see what some of these things looked like... Glamorous photo shoots, her background in theatre, stuff like that.
I would have loved to see more pictures. There are lots of moments in Devi's life that are described very visually, and it would have been cool to actually see what some of these things looked like... Glamorous photo shoots, her background in theatre, stuff like that.
valeriebrett's review
4.0
3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 because the author deserves credit for all the work—and for deciding what contextual information to include or omit. It’s maybe not the best-written book, but the generosity and skepticism regarding unsubstantiated spiritual claims (miracles, etc.) is fair and the story is so interesting! It should’ve been called “the history of modern yoga through the life of Indira Devi.”
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