Sharon Gannon’s “The Magic Ten and Beyond”

I’ve sat on writing a book review for Sharon Gannon’s The Magic Ten and Beyond for quite a while. This book was a bit of a mixed bag when I got it, but it is the first yoga book I really spent time with. I love parts of it, but other parts were rougher. It works out to a great system to get rolling with as long as you can handle the more new age spiritualism parts.

This book covers Jivamukti Yoga which is a vegan friendly, very new age feeling yoga from the description and the book. This isn’t a condemnation so much as a disclaimer of what to expect. Most new age type content and also vegan I’ve run into tends to be a little too new age for me. I got a lot out of the book, but I also figured out what to skip.

I like what this book gave me, but whether the juice is worth the squeeze to most readers will depend on purpose. This book is great if you’re interested in yoga, don’t know where to get started, and want something simple. Should you be interested in more than just the physical benefits of “yoga” as known to zeitgeist in the West, this is a great work to get an idea of how deep it can go without heavy commitment. You get enough to get some conditioning, but you also get a sampling of what traditional yoga systems can include.

Why I Bought This Book

I wanted a cheap introduction to some form of physically oriented yoga (typically known as hatha yoga). I lucked out in the clearance section with this book. There’s no way I’d personally have bought it at full price, or even a sizable fraction, but it was worth every penny I spent. It felt a little too new age on the surface until I actually got to reading it.

That being said, I’m a sucker for new age materials as well (Tarot and even Astrology are interesting). I may not blindly believe them, but they’re a great palette cleanser sometimes too. The journey is worth as much as the destination more often than not.

The general premise was also interesting to the point I found it a worthwhile gamble. We’ll get into that soon enough though. It beat my expectations by a good bit all things considered.

The asanas it teaches are simple, but extremely effective if you’re a bit of a couch potato. I found myself able to get going quickly enough without really being overwhelmed. I got this to have something to focus on more physically. It’s light impact too, which has helped me get a workout without straining any old injuries.

This book was exactly what I needed to get started, but gave me a glimpse into the greater practices surrounding yoga practice. Too many yoga books lose sight of what traditional yoga practices are for better and for worse. This book was a bit new age, but it managed to show what lay below the surface too.

What I Got From This Book

I figured this book would make up a series for another project pointing out how bad some new age materials can get, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Egyptian connection (we’ll hit that sooner than later), and some of the other practices were a little out of left field, but the core practices were worth it. Even if they’re a little off, it gives a more general direction rather than a specific route.

This book helped me get to where I could do a more structured yoga program without getting lost in the minutia and details. Nothing in here is a huge jump with minor work, but all of it contributes to more physical programs. You’re not getting ripped, but you’re getting a foundation to build on if you read it right.

The more new age sections can bring the rest down if you let it, but the physical exercises were all great. The kriyas and similar are outside my level of expertise, but were well explained (internally consistent at least). Some of the content felt like it might try to sell me essential oils at any minute, but the parts which worked, worked well (like this work).

This may be the most new age book I’ve written a review on to date, but I feel the good stands apart from the bad. It led me to pulling the trigger more on clearance and discount books and even general new age tripe looking for that diamond in the rough. The diamond may not be worth much, but at least it’s not just gangue. I’m in this for the journey rather than the destination.

What It Does Well

This book combines multiple elements of a spiritual practice independently. The asanas, kriyas, etc. are all standalone sections. Minus some minor references, the general Egyptology premise is standalone as well. Each practice is its own section without virtually any necessary context. If you skip a chapter because you don’t care, you won’t miss out on instructions for another practice.

The description of each asana is extremely concise but efficient. I had no issues following the images or the descriptions to get going. The kriyas and other more “new age” practices to most yoga practitioners are well explained. Some of the stuff gets a little out there for me, but the stuff which hits my vibe is excellent (including the section on meditation).

You don’t need to find somewhere else to go if you don’t like a dish they have. There’s a little of something for everyone if you’re looking into new age spirituality or yoga (as a beginner). It doesn’t hurt that these two categories tend to have some substantial crossover. Everything is virtually standalone.

The language is accessible without being vapid, and spiritual without valley girl screeching “namaste” with heavy vocal fry. It was a lot denser than I expected from the description and lazy page flipping before buying my copy. You are probably past needing it if you have taken a 1 hour yoga course with a printout anywhere, but it was a great introduction for me without any real experience at all.

Where It Lacks

The system itself covers a lot so, naturally, the book does as well. It’s not a long book, and a good bit is dedicated to a story making a historical linkage without directly laying a claim. We aren’t quite dancing with wolves in the white savior trope, but there is a heavy impression of new age orientalism running rampant.

I didn’t read the whole story, but in fairness, I didn’t need to. The Egyptian story was at best heavily edited and fortified for spiritual purposes from the bits I did read. If this were an alibi, you had best hope you had proof on video or something somewhere.

The book is relatively shallow. Each topic gets a little coverage, but with a low page count, there isn’t much coverage for each thing. For instance, with kriyas, what do they do and why do they matter? The book covers some, but leaves out a lot as well.

You get a little about a lot about a little with this work. I like this format to get an idea of what I’m doing, but it’s a deal-breaker to people who need to understand everything. While I don’t care to hear more new age interpretations about chakras, such explanations are essential to people unfamiliar with the topic. There’s a fair bit to riff on in this book, but it would miss the forest for the trees in the greater context of what this book offers.

Verdict

If you’re unsure about yoga and see it on sale or the regular price hits your budget, grab a copy. If you like new age works and similar, do the same. For the price I paid, this book is a steal, but I don’t know if I could muster MSRP personally. If you want yoga, how it works spiritually, and don’t mind wading a bit, this book is excellent.

If you don’t want new age-isms littering every page, you may want to shop elsewhere. I mentioned the vegan friendly practice in the first section to run most people who care off. You don’t get force-fed anything, but it reads with the same tone as a generic spiritual work which ties into veganism. There’s nothing wrong with the combination itself, it’s just a pattern that shows itself more often than not.

With a little tenacity and a blank slate, this book can be a great introduction to a more holistic yoga practice. I jumped from it to other materials quickly enough, but it was a solid starting point in my journey. The instructions for what it teaches are great, but it hits a lot of points, some with more stereotypical valley girl vocal fry than others.

Consider picking up a copy if you want to get going with yoga and don’t want to read 50 pages about breathing first like some works (while important, it’s immaterial if the reader never makes it far enough to apply). This book is one I had to think twice about reviewing, but decided it was worth it. It’s way out in left field even for me, but I liked it. If you want to really shake things up or get going now, it’s a great book for you.

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