TORTOISE POSEI was about nine years old and saw a movie—a
version of The Jungle Book. There was a young
boy in it who rode on the neck of an elephant
and did something that resembled yoga. I said,
“This is for me!”
Years later, my real introduction to yoga
came when, as a graduate student in philosophy,
I decided to go India and learn Sanskrit as part
of my study of the origins of mathematics and
grammar. I was there a few weeks when I realized
I would never learn to use this ancient language
the way a native Indian would. Instead, I wan-
dered around India for about three years, had
oodles of fun, and met many people who were
seeking liberation and enlightenment far outside
the bounds of academia.
During that time, I happened to meet an
English drug addict in Bombay who handed me
the book Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar, one of
the world’s most influential teachers. I thought it
was fascinating and resolved to do every pose in
it (at least, that I was able to do) every morning
and every night. After some time I sought out
Mr. Iyengar and studied with him in Pune for
a year.
Mr. Iyengar and I struck up a warm friendship—
he was very generous and kind and intelligent—
and at the end of the year, he said, “Don’t stay
here.” He thought I should return home and
share what I had learned, which was that yoga
could be used to heal physical ailments.
So I did. Today, I am a doctor. I use yoga
along with Western medical techniques to
help patients in my physical medicine and
rehabilitation practice, and I practice yoga
myself every day.
I think the more yoga people do, the bet-
ter. People often try yoga to help with physi-
cal problems, but I would like to see them get
more enthusiastic about its mental benefits. It
addresses so much of what matters. Not just the
physical, but your relationship to other people,
your relationship to the universe. That’s what
yoga is about.