Yoga School Dropout by Lucy Edge*****

Reading dates: 4 March – 12 May 2017

For my yoga teacher training, which I will complete in July, I have been reading many yoga books. I was reading yoga books even before I started and wonderful as these classic, modern or manual texts are, they are of a particular kind. Lucy Edge’s book is like no other yoga book I have read. It is hilarious, personal, warm, enmeshed with life outside the mat, philosophical, down to earth, a travelogue, informative, loving … The other books I read were one or, at most three of these qualities, but not all. When I was traveling in India last December, I thought I would like to write a book titled ‘From ashram to ashram’ but this is it, this is what I wanted to write! I am glad it was Lucy Edge’s idea first, though, because she did a better job than I would have. I only have direct experience of one of the ashrams she visits, Amma’s in Amritapuri and I have to say that the account is very accurate so I can only assume she also has an observing eye for Osho, Ramana Maharshi, Rishikesh, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram and the other sites she visits. Her narrative shows the strange but gets-under-your-skin India I know. The one of colours, flavours, madness and kindness. It makes you fall in love with the place.