UNDER COVERS

“The Journey Into Power”
by Baron Baptiste
review by Christian Sander

Baron Baptiste is the founder of the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute in Boston. His life-changing book had me in tears before I had even gotten through the preface. It’s here where he admits that even after years of meditation and yoga he still felt empty, like there was something missing from his life. It took listening to a random radio show to open the floodgates to his personal revelation. It said “being in stillness leads you to truth, but you may not always like to see and hear the truth, because very often it isn’t the rosy picture you might have hoped for.”
Baptiste’s book is represented well by a passage in Chapter 1, “Rewiring Your Mind.” To make a short story shorter: There was a spiritual leader named Osho in India. One day an important Indian politician came to Osho because he was having a problem falling asleep. He was desperate once he finally made it to Osho.
“I’m sorry,” Osho told him. “I can’t help you. But there is another spiritual teacher down the road who can. Go to him and tell him I sent you, and that you need to learn ways to fall asleep.” The politician was ecstatic and went to the other teacher’s home. Several weeks later, he returned to thank Osho.
“Osho, thank you so much! The teacher taught me how to meditate so I could fall asleep. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Wonderful,” Osho replied. “I am glad you learned how to fall asleep. Now, when you want to learn how to wake up, come back and see me.”
Baptiste shares his experience of how to truly “wake up” and find, through yoga and other tools, how to remove blockages. Floodgates to our personal abundance and best self will open once we’ve removed these personal mental and spiritual walls. Often, when we think of challenging ourselves, we think of going further, going beyond. Baptiste says this is true many times but, especially in this country, sometimes our edge is learning to do less. Release competition; honor, instead of punishing, your body; have the courage to flow into the stillness.

Baptiste goes on to define “The Eight Principles for Stepping Up to the Edge”:
Principle 1: We are either now here or nowhere. Principle 2:
Be in the now and you’ll know how.
Principle 3: Growth is the most important thing there is.
Principle 4: Exceed yourself to find your exceeding self.
Principle 5: In order to heal, you need to feel.
Principle 6: Think less, be more.
Principle 7: We are the sum total of our reactions.
Principle 8: Don’t try hard, try easy.

Baptiste’s are simple, profound, wise and world-changing suggestions. In “The Journey Into Power,” Baptiste also walks us through yoga poses, his proposed healing diet and so many more gentle, but firm, opportunities to change our lives for the better. This book is available at Prana Yoga, located at 1115 South Congress Ave., where owner and prodigy, Maricarmen LeGassick, practices Baptiste’s powerful style.