A Book Review

I have been reading spiritual books for the last 20 years in depth. One of the books, “The Promise of Love, Sex and Intimacy: How a simple breathing practice will enrich your life forever ” by Mark Whitwell is a highly recommended book for yoga lovers. The book is available on amazon and book depository.

“Into me I see” – Intimacy. When you are intimate with yourself, you can see clearly into yourself and others. Your – self is the mirror, which reflects how you see yourself and the world. Breathing is the first thing we did when we entered this world. It is also the last thing we do before we leave this world. Breathing is intimacy with life itself. Mark Whitwell’s book discusses breathing and movement. His book I am reviewing here is part of my recommendations for those who do breath centred yoga, a yoga that I teach currently in Suva City, Fiji.

In the first half of his book, Mark discusses the 7 minute wonder. A short yoga practice using breath with movement, that he invented one day with a friend, outside the Sydney Opera House, whilst discussing the number of minutes appropriate for a yoga practice.

“Seeking anything implies that you don’t have it. The very action denies your intrinsic reality. The world has been seduced by the idea of enlightenment. Your search negates the truth that is you, as you already are, the present embodiment of life’s wonder – a living, breathing expression of reality itself” –

Mark Whitwell.

The various breathing practices including Ujjayi which translates to “Ocean breath” are covered in the book. I teach this breath in my classes and it is quite refreshing to new yoga practitioners because it allows them to inhale and exhale enabling a deeper connection. I ask students to use their palms like sunglasses and fog them using their breath, inhaling and exhaling with their mouths open. The Ujjayi breath is emphasised sometimes throughout my class.

Mark also touches on the subject of celibacy in particular, the way that world religions have suppressed sex. Sex is a natural process of life and suppression of it, has lead to abusive behaviour and affairs. As well, celibacy in between intimate relationships is natural too. It is a time when you can connect with your own life, developing your hobbies, looking after you health and heal.

Since I came to become a yoga teacher through Mark’s teaching in 2017, a morning breath and movement practise (around 10 minutes) has become my morning routine. Part of this involves e.g. raising my arms above the head after i’ve inhaled, then as I begin to exhale, I lower the arms. I highly recommend Mark’s book “The Promise of Love, Sex and Intimacy” for anyone who has the desire to learn a simple yoga practice, that is not spiritual gymnastics but authentic and real; Real Yoga for Real People.