Calling All INDIA Practitioners!

[yogani]

Hi All:

As you may know, after few years of effort, we managed to get all of the AYP books into print in India Editions about a year ago.  

While the over all demand for the India editions was fair for the first year, it has waned during recent months and our distribution channels are losing interest in carrying the books. This has placed some hardship on our generous supporters in New Delhi who undertook this project out of their own pocket. We are looking for ways to keep the India editions in print and available over the long term.

If you are in India and are interested in seeing the AYP books continue to be available there, we need your help.

Things you can do to help are:

1. Buy the books online - they are listed on the AYP books page under each title, available though FirstandSecond.com (F&S), the largest online book store in India.

2. Ask your local book store to order the books for you. They can be obtained by stores from distributor Variety Book Depot at varietybookdepot@rediffmail.com , or direct from the publisher, Grasroutes at http://www.grasroutes.com/html/yoga.html . Both are in New Delhi. Or you can write me directly and I will make sure you are able to find the books.

3. Tell your yoga friends about the AYP India editions, and help them obtain them.

4. Order the AYP India editions via the Quantity Discount Program direct from the publisher at http://www.grasroutes.com/html/yoga.html , or from me at yogani99@yahoo.com . You can give the books away to anyone you feel would have interest, or resell them of you like.

5. Offer suggestions and/or direct help for securing long term and stable publishing and distribution for the AYP India editions. We have eight AYP titles in print in India (soon to be nine). This is a good start, far beyond the "idea" stage. We are open to any suggestions or solutions that can help carry the India editions forward. More needs to be done to assure the longevity of the books. It cannot be carried on the shoulders of one or two people. So please help.

There are many from India who visit the AYP website and support forums, which are free, as you know. It is hoped we can translate your interest into action to help make the AYP writings more available in India through the reasonably priced India editions.

The AYP books add new dimensions and clarity on integrated practices and experiences, reaching well beyond the free online writings. Plus, the AYP books can be kept near at hand for easy reference.

India is where the knowledge of yoga began. The desire is to send the efficient AYP approach back to Mother India as an offering of gratitude. It is the least we can do.

The demand for the AYP writings continues to grow steadily in the Americas and Europe. It is my hope that we can also inspire and support increasing interest in self-directed spiritual practice in India and throughout Asia.    

All the best!

The guru is in you.

[ajna]

Sorry for the delayed response. I just saw this post. To start with i have bought many of the AYP books thru AYPsite and diesel ebooks. I made my brother to buy one book atleast. I have put a word to some of my colleagues as well. According to me, the problem in India is general public are more comfortable doing yoga in the presence of a Guru (like Sri Sri Ravishankar, Esha yoga foundation etc. to name a few) and they may not be very comfortable with free-lance yoga practice. But having said that India has a strong two million plus information technology workforce (iam one among them) who will be very much tuned towards free-lance yoga, as they are used to free-lance software. I will think about how to address this market and let you know. Ideas from others are welcome as well.


Cheers

[yogani]

Hi Ajna:

Many thanks. Yes, it would be wonderful to reach the many in India who are forward-looking in applied science. Yoga is science too, and there is great potential for improved applications.

A new era of self-directed spiritual practice is emerging worldwide and there is no reason why India cannot be a leader in it. You would think India has an advantage in this, but long-time traditions can present inertia that resists change for sure.

I believe that eventually many in India will press ahead into a renaissance of spiritual practice based on results rather than by-rote repeating of the cycles of the past. An optimized blend of old and new is needed -- sound applications of cause and effect in practices on the basis of individual experience. Then there will be a clear path to enlightenment for everyone.

Feel free to point others to this topic for further discussion. We are looking for a "core group" of spiritual innovators to emerge in India. I have great hope for it.

All the best!

The guru is in you.

[venkym]

I have to say that Advanced Yoga as espoused by you may not go down well with indians in general. One of the reasons is the reluctance to practice and exert onself. But there should be many who would really love an oppurtunity for authentic spiritual yoga practice. I would also like to start a community of like minded people in India.

[Maximus]

Why do you think Indians are reluctant to practice and exert themselves? It has nothing to do with nationality.

[yogani]

Hi Venkym and welcome!

Wishing you all the best in your efforts to inspire independent practitioners in India. May many take personal responsibility for their spiritual unfoldment. There is no one else who can do it for us.

The guru is in you.

[venkym]

Maximus- Its true that most people will be reluctant to try an authentic spiritual practice in most cultures and not just in India.  Unfortunately over here our great spiritual history has become ossified into mindless traditions. Over the years I have not found any one advocating or practising authentic spirituality and had to guide my practice through books alone. That is why I wish there were such an authentic community here in India where true seekers can find guidance and friendship. Maybe they exist but are not visible and have not come together yet.

Please let me know if you have had a different experience.

[sushman]

I have been delaying the purchase of the books for whatever reason. For last few weeks, i have been trying to purchase them all at First&Second.com website. but they were renevating their website so i had to wait a while. Finally, i have managed to place the order last week. The order is still being processed. I am eagerly awaiting the books

[sushman]

One thing we could do is send the site URL to all our friends in India. that may help ppl to visit the site and if they are interested they can buy the books. Let me start with mine

[markern]

Maybe a magazine or newspaper might be interested in writing an article on how the west is reinventing yoga and sending it back to India. Previously, I think, there has been anyonce that westerners have only taken hatha yoga out of all the yogas compromising the true yoga tradition. AYP however includes all the yogas and all limbs. That could potentialy be an angle. Also the fact that Yogani has aproached the topic so analyticly and that it is such an open aproach might be something they would find interesting to write about.

The Bihar school of yoga is very open minded and interested in developing yoga further. They are also a lot more positive to some of the developments brought on by westerners than many other yogis (altough they are also very traditional in some ways). I think they could be contacted and invited to check out the site and sent their own free copies of the books to see if they find anything interesting in it. THey might also have some constructive feedback.

The same thing I think could be possible with Desikachar.

Otherwise I would suppose dropping the name in web forums were yoga is discussed in India might be helpfull

[yogani]

Hi Markern, and All:

These two articles appeared in the Hindustan Times (one of the largest newspapers in India) in 2004 and 2005: http://www.aypsite.org/hindustan.html

They are further discussed here: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=1891

The guru is in you.

[krcqimpro1]

Hi Yogani,

 I have bought and am using nearly all your books for the last one year, including the "fat one", but except the "Wilder" book which I have asked my local bookshop to get. I have also recommended your books and teachings to at least a dozen people who have taken them up seriously.Most of the "gurus" in India teach yoga only for health and not for spirituality. The spirituality gurus mainly focus on the Gita or the Ramayana,and urge people to become saintly if they seek liberation, and don't really instruct people on "Spiritual Practices".
Yours are the only teachings that describe Spirituality as "scientific", and directly related to our Neurobiology and within reach of the average person who does not have to become "sinless", as a pre-requisite to becoming spiritual! I think India will have a huge number of people interested in AYP.

Krish

[yogani]

Hi Krish:

Many thanks. Very happy to hear this. We owe much to the rich spiritual heritage of India, and are fortunate to have an opportunity to return a practical distillation of knowledge that can be used by anyone in India to enrich everyday life.

The guru is in you.

[anillsinha]

Yesterday I received the shipment for 6 books of AYP Enlightenment Series from First and Seconds. I wanted to get the 'Eight Limbs of Yoga' book also. But I find that the Indian Edition is not listed in the site of either First and Seconds or Grassroutes. Is it out of print?

[yogani]

quote:Originally posted by anillsinha

Yesterday I received the shipment for 6 books of AYP Enlightenment Series from First and Seconds. I wanted to get the 'Eight Limbs of Yoga' book also. But I find that the Indian Edition is not listed in the site of either First and Seconds or Grassroutes. Is it out of print?

Hi anillsinha:

Sorry, the Eight Limbs of Yoga book is not out in paperback in India yet. Unlike in the Americas and Europe, economical "print-on-demand" publishing has not been available in India so far, so books have to be printed in quantity, stored and distributed, which is expensive and time-consuming. The sale of AYP books in India has not been enough to support the additional up-front costs for publishing Eight Limbs (or additional upcoming books) the old-fashioned way, so we are waiting for sales to catch up, or for economical print-on-demand to become available there. It is expected that print-on-demand will be available in India sooner or later. Technology marches on!

In the meantime, all of the AYP books are available in non-DRM PDF ebook format worldwide. You can find the Eight Limbs of Yoga ebook available for direct download from AYP here: http://www.aypsite.com/plus/books-xdirdownload.html

Note: The AYP books will become available in additional ebook formats (non-DRM ePub and Mobi) over the next 6-12 months to support all e-readers and tablet computers, including the Apple iPad. The AYP books are on the Amazon Kindle now, though needing a bit of format clean-up. Kindle books can also be obtained and read on the iPad.  

If anyone here is familiar with the status of paperback print-on-demand publishing in India, feedback and suggestions are welcome. What we are looking for is something similar to the set-up we are using in the Americas and Europe, here: www.lightningsource.com
It works very well for on-demand printing and distribution through the major channels, with very little up-front cost or ongoing administration required.  

All the best!

The guru is in you.