Letters From the Yoga Masters

Containing a treasure trove of previously unavailable material, this intimate and insightful account of the life of Dr. Harry Dickman, referred to by Swami Sivananda as "the yogi of the west," features more than fifty years of correspondence between Dickman and well-known yoga masters such as Swami Sivananda, Ramana Maharshi, Paramhansa Yogananda, and almost one hundred others. Marion (Mugs) McConnell, Dickman's student, has created a brilliant and loving tribute to her teacher, who founded the Latvian Yoga Society in the early 1930s and later spread his knowledge in the U.S. with the blessings of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of *Autobiography of a Yogi*. Offering a broad range of information on yoga history, theory, and techniques from a variety of different paths *Letters from the Yoga Masters* also presents detailed teachings about pranayama, mudras, diet, and much more, all interwoven with stories and personal anecdotes that support the techniques.

The book contains facsimiles of the personal, handwritten letters from the greatest yoga masters of our time to Dickman, who was teaching yoga in displaced persons camps after World War II. McConnell explores Dickman's relationship with his correspondents, who regarded him as a highly advanced teacher. The instruction they convey is rich, detailed, and warm, and includes meditation and breathing techniques not widely available until now. Images supplement the text, and McConnell provides additional absorbing stories about Jesus as a yogi, astral beings, and ashram life.

McConnell's account of her own experience as Dickman's student further illustrates how yoga was transmitted from student to teacher and brings to light the warmth of the personal bond between them. Taken together, the rare correspondence and personal chronicles that make up *Letters from the Yoga Masters* offer an unparalleled glimpse into the life of a yogi, the development of yoga in the West, and the ways that spiritual wealth is disseminated across generations.