The notes below are designed to give prospective readers an idea of what to expect from the book, and to aid in making a decision on whether to buy it.
Perfectly Imperfect, Barron Baptiste
Introduction
Hayhouse.com, Debra Goldstein is the ghost writer. Ned Levitte is his literary agent.
Taking pose is the proper form lets one receive energy from receiving the pose.
Mystery and holistic integration o the body, mind, breath, and life energy
Yoga is a unifier. It takes time to see results.
Not building but uncovering souls
Listen to truly notice self and others.
Nothing to fit into. You are complete and whole.
Discover life within yourself.
General Notes
Chapter 1:
Yes = energy of possibility, no = energy of resistance, stubbornness, and rigidity.
Try emotional wisdom and tune into vibrations.
Are you a yes or no? yes = space for acceptance. no = physical and emotional.
Illness comes from being angry, resentful, and in denial without help.
Chapter 2: What you say becomes so.
Follow your inner dialogue.
“I can’t…” Look, listen, develop a new tool.
Thoughts become vibrations. Things just are.
Assessment revels more about the observer than the observed.
Chapter 3: Breath of Victory
Breath is the most important part of yoga.
Breath is pure and raw energy cleansing
Most are poor observers of breath
Notice how the breath increases self-control.
Changing the breath changes the state of mind and changes one’s energy
Prana is a life force. Ayma is infinite expansion.
If you like a yogi notice how she or he breaths and copy it.
Between breaths is the life. Notice when the inhale ends. Notice when the exhale ends.
Chapter 4: Steady Gaze
Drishti is the gaze, the stability of the mind. Wondering eyes = wondering minds.
Dharma begins from dhristi.
Drop the idea of ‘the truth.’
Changing the gaze changes the mind.
Align with your breath.
Chapter 5: Drop, Stream, River:
Vinyasa is flow
One can be a drop, stream, or river.
Once obstacles are reveled you can see your own flow.
Asana balances: sukkah (surrender) and sthira (flow)
Flow emerges when one becomes an expression of themselves, not others.
Chapter 6: Be where you are.
Lower ambition: raise relaxation and be.
From a place of knowledge recognize your thoughts.
Own the thoughts and be with them. You know when you are being truthful with yourself.
Be creative, not reactive
Your body knows what it needs. Trust it.
Be present before you do anything new.
Chapter 7: Begin Again
Don’t invent facts
Shift awareness from within to outside.
Repetition is the mother of mastery.
Moment you notice you have gone astray is painful but golden.
“Be a yes” give up your resistance.
“Give up what you must” Feelings, habits, etc.
“Are you ready now?”
Breath in mantra. Begin again.
Chapter 8: Do the Work.
Lotus flowers are hidden in the mud.
8 limbs: yamas align with the truth.
Masters make things simple.
Novices jump ahead.
Chapter 9: Myth of the real yogi
Yoganess is not just about flowers, love, peace, and facades, but rather about being one’s best self.
Hiding gives security but life is about insecurity.
Risk falling from the peaks is a risk to climbing the mountain. Be courageous.
Chapter 10: The Cosmic Joke.
Beliefs are not real unless you make them so.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Wait 24 hours before responding to a thought.
Responses change from a reaction.
Learn to laugh at the great cosmic joke.
Chapter 11: Surrender Not to Arrive.
The goal is not a pose but to decern humanity and aliveness.
Unify the body, mind, and breath. Asana is a tool.
Mastery is not about arrival but about the journey.
People are addicted to control.
Poses do not satisfy the heart.
“The mind is it a friend or foe?”
If you are in a hurry you will never reach your goal
Yoga forces us to concentration on integration mastery via ease and depth.
“The minute you think you arrived you get squashed like a bug.”
Must be mailable to growth and expand.
A wheel turns around a fixed point
Chapter 12: Complete with Heart.
Pauses transcend the self
Savasna is being
Come home
Savasana is a new beginning, not an end.
Be imperfectly perfect.
Savanas changes to left go layer by layer.
Problems are only solved via the heart
Appreciation = grateful and happy via the heart
Step off the yoga mat and into real life.
Today’s breakthrough is tomorrow’s ego trip.
Keep asking what is now possible?