Breathe - how yoga can save us
After leading an alcoholic, irresponsible life for several years, Stéphan Haskell decided to leave New York and return to Paris. He became a teetotaller, joined a therapy group and enjoyed renewed pleasure in life until a simple backache turned to nightmare. Victim of cauda equina ("horse tail") syndrome, in which the base of the spinal cord is compressed, he found himself paralysed, incontinent and in despair. He was saved by an encounter with yoga. Defying all the prognoses of traditional medicine, he gradually took back control of his body thanks to consistent practice of this ancient discipline. Today he can walk again and leads a normal life - and, in an ultimate sign of voctory over pain and handicap, can even ski !
Inspired by this new-found vitality, he set off on a world trip to gather testimonies from yaga practitioners: people suffering from AIDS or multiple sclerosis, prisoners, school children, doctors and great Indian master BKS Iyengar... All had succeeded in treting themselves or reconciling body and spirit and finding harmony within.
A touching testimony and self-help book, this book uses concrete human examples to give us the keys to mental and physical rejuvenation. It is also a spiritual guide that helps readers reconnect with nature and find thye path to wisdom.
Author:
Photographer and film-maker, Stephane Haskell worked as a correspondent in New York for the photographic agency Sipa Presse. He has just made a documentary, to be released later this year, about the benefits of yoga and his work with yoga, at home, in group lessons, in schools and prisons.
Publication date: April 2016
Pages: 280
Rights available: World
