Sharath Jois wrote a book. Of course I’m curious what’s his message. Sharath is a practitioner of Ashtanga yoga for decades. In addition he is a teacher with students around the globe. His focus in life is Ashtanga yoga. What does he want to tell the world?

The subtitle of the book is ‘A yogi’s secrets to a long and healthy life’. I think both adjectives are important: long and healthy. Life needn’t to aggravate only because we become older. There are surely methods that make it more likely to stay healthy, but there is no guarantee.

I like the book very much, even though I don’t agree with every aspect. It’s an inspiring book. I got surprised, too.

Sharath writes a lot about food and eating. This is indeed issue # 1 for many of us. In our Western societies more than half of the population is overweight. This comes with illnesses. We don’t know anymore what and how to eat.

How do yogis eat?

• Do not eat breakfast like a king.

• Eat one big meal a day, and make that lunch.

• Keep it simple.

Yes, yes, yes, I agree 100%.

Yogis prepare their own meals. In order to eat healthy we have to. Restaurants don’t offer healthy food. Sharath goes so far, that he and his family also prepare their own food, when they travel. It’s perhaps possible when the chef accompanies you on your trips. For me this sounds not doable. Getting out, eating out is an opportunity to meet people when traveling. Nevertheless I love the idea. There are always alternatives. There are always improvements.

I’ll surely not start eating with my hands.

I’ll also not start drinking milk as it was the habit of P. Jois. It seems that also Sharath likes milk.

His book gives a lot of opportunity to reflect on one’s own habits and to question them. Last but not least what we do on a daily basis must fit to the own life style.

Sharath surprised me with his thoughts on walking barefoot and his thoughts on praying and social connectedness.

There is also a relative short chapter on asanas.

I don’t want to uncover too much.

The book can be inspiring when reflecting on one’s own life off the mat.

Being a yogi is a life style. Yogis sleep in a certain way, they get up early, they exercise being content. Living the life of a yogi might indeed help to get old and to get old healthy. It’s not an empty promise.

I’ll keep this book in my library. I’ll surely get back to it.