Where does it come from?

big book of hindu deities.jpg

The Big Poster Book

 

of Hindu Deities

Written & Illustrated by Sanjay Patel

When I was in elementary school, I remember learning about Ancient Greek Mythology, and absolutely loving it. I can still remember the coloring book style handouts we would receive from our teacher; I would doodle along as he read the story, totally transfixed by the parables. As I studied yoga, I discovered a whole new set of Gods and Goddesses - the Hindu Deities, whose stories provide the backbone for not only Yoga Philosophy, but also many of the physical poses and postures.

 

*** side note! The poses/postures are called "Asana" - and it's in the name. If you go to a class where the yoga teacher uses any Sanskrit for the yoga postures, you'll hear it - triangle pose = trikonASANA, mountain pose = tadASANA, final resting pose = SavASANA ***  

There's a book that I have wanted for a while - I first saw it at my friend Keri's apartment in NYC. She has all of these really cool, graphically pleasing posters hanging up, and when I asked her about it, she told me they were from The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities by Sanjay Patel (image above). I received the book as a gift over the holidays, and I've been picking a new Hindu Deity to talk and teach about each month in an effort to connect my students with some of the deeper aspects of yoga philosophy that I find to be really influential. I began in February with Ganesha, March was Krishna, and April has been Hanuman. Everyone in class seems to really be enjoying the link, and some people have even sent me their favorite story or a video tat they've found about the deity I've featured. I love this way of connecting with my class, and wanted to expand that into my digital community - so many of you have taken class with me in the past, whether you used to live in Ithaca, or you've been to a workshop with me, or we've spent a week together in the jungle of Costa Rica!  

I want to stay connected to you, and I hope you will enjoy these blog posts as I delve deeper into the aspects of each deity over the coming months. I'll also be playing catch up on the past deities, Ganesha, Krishna, and we are in Hanuman. Each month is a different Deity, each week a different aspect of them that I find cool or interesting.

Take care, xoxo - 

R

  

* Sailboat photo by Robert Stokoe from Pexels - https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-boat-on-sea-during-golden-time-717501/