The Psychophysical Lab: Yoga Practice and the Mind-Body Problem

I love Eyal Shifroni's other books because they are practical and clearly written. This book is different. Chapter 1 is great and exactly what I expected from Shifroni. Chapter 2 is also interesting, and the sequences in Chapter 4 are fine. But I found Chapter 3 to be extremely tedious to read and lacking in any particularly interesting or surprising points. Without that chapter, I would have given the book five stars.

For those familiar with Eyal Shifroni's yoga series, "Props for Yoga," and "Chair for Yoga," this book incorporates many aspects of his popular series. There is a full chapter dedicated to interesting variations of yoga poses, called here explorations, divided into those suitable for beginner through advanced practitioners. The aim, however, of these explorations is much more directed to developing the observation skills of the individual in the study of the interconnectedness of the mind and body. In some of the explorations the results are felt broadly and immediately, while others are less obvious and require a more refined observer to detect the subtle connections. Chapter two provides a survey of various qualities the practice of yoga engenders. I particularly enjoyed and identified with this section, the descriptions of the holistic nature of yoga, as a means to develop the whole person and not just the physical aspects. This chapter has sections written by both Eyal Shifroni and Ohad Nachtomy and gives a lot of food for thought. Chapter three, written by Ohad Nachtomy, is a brief history of Western philosophy, and a thorough presentation of the author’s take on the mind body problem. For me, this was a fascinating philosophical journey, especially the explanation of the author’s theory, but it is decidedly more academic in its writing style and pace. However, as yoga comes with it’s own philosophy, one may wonder why they are presenting such Western philosophy in the framework of yoga practice. The authors address this issue in the introduction, and in fact, it does make sense that since yoga is so commonly practiced nowadays in Western cultures and in environments that have instilled Western beliefs in their populations, that a more integrative, blended perspective of Western and Eastern, or at least yogic, beliefs is valuable. The final chapter switches back to yoga mode, and gives us yoga practice sequences for certain mental or emotional states; for example, reducing anxiety, achieving emotional stability and cultivating joy and optimism. Instead of photographs, the yoga poses are illustrated in black and white and are very clear in their representation. In general, this book feels like two books in one. I can picture one reader only reading the sections relating to yoga, and another reader being drawn to the philosophical section. The question is how large is the overlap of interest that will draw readers to read the entire book? Either way, I think that each reader can get his/her money’s worth, whether they identify with the yoga, philosophy or, hopefully, both!

The title of the book, The Psychophysical Lab, expresses the idea that one can think of yoga as a lab in which the relation between yoga postures and our mental states can be studied. According to this perspective, we can use our mental capacities in order to train the body and vice versa. Yoga exercises can deepen and develop certain traits (such as patience, concentration and happiness) and our mental abilities can help us to understand and expand the scope of our physical capabilities. The function of such a lab is not to achieve progress of the type that can be measured, such as the ability to carry out a certain difficult yoga posture or to maintain it for a longer time. Rather, the authors think about “progress” in a broader sense, as something that is manifested in day-to-day life and furthermore is connected to the ability to understand our limitations. The main question therefore is not one of technique or of measurable outcomes, but rather of focusing on the intention behind the postures and the breathing exercises.According to this perspective, the physical and the mental are interrelated. Consciousness is not just a tool used to improve physical ability. Similarly, the body is not just a vessel, the seat of consciousness. There is no preference given to one element over the other; rather this is an approach to the body and the mind as two elements intimately bound together. The discussion of the psychophysical problem, which is one of the oldest and most difficult in philosophy, goes beyond just the theory. Indeed, what immediately captures our attention is the dialogical nature of the book. From this point of view, the theoretical discussion of the mind-body problem is only one part of the story and it would be more correct to say that the book is a dialogue between the theoretical side and the practical side. This is also evident from the four sections that divide up the book. This structure illustrates the main goal of the book, which is on the one hand to contemplate the theoretical element of this approach and on the other to provide practical tools for investigating the relations between the physical and the mental.The book is also a dialog in other ways. For example, it is a dialog between East and West and in this context it is worth noting the decision to examine the ties between yoga exercises and Western philosophy (rather than Indian philosophy). And it is more specifically a dialogue between Ohad Nachtomy and Eyal Shifroni whose enjoyment of the discussion between them is visible throughout the book.

Happy customer

This is a book I had been waiting for, especially because of its philosophical part. But it is exactly this part of the book, i.e. chapter 3, that is really disappointing. Absolutely longwinded, no clear structure, too narrative, too little analysis. Above that, there are obvious deficiencies in style, too many sentences in brackets, some of the brackets get opened but not closed, long quotations instead of an analytical and abstract summary of the most important points. Despite all my interest it took me ages to read through that chapter - and after all this reading it still wasn't quite clear to me what I had learned.It is a shame because chapters 1, 2 and 4 are excellent. In particular chapter 1 is fantastic, the setups for the poses are clearly explained, the hints you get to experience and feel what you do are very helpful, and Eyal Shifroni's own observations that he sometimes adds, are always modest, he does not try to convince you of anything.Still, because chapter 3 is such an important part of the book, surely meant as ist core, the book remains a disappointment.