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[Q.] Anton, in one of our previous interviews you had a few things to say about Reverend Ed Hird’s article “Yoga, More Than Meets the Eyes.” I have since been in touch with Reverend Hird, and he has sent me a response to what you said, which he felt was unfair and mistaken in various ways.

The new book Atheist Yoga by Anton Drake, which was released late last month by Puragreen Productions, has been generating a lot of interest and intrigue among yoga practitioners in the United States. Although yoga as generally practiced in America is a secular activity that is largely concerned with physical fitness and mental relaxation, some the traditional principles that underlie its mind-body methodology are a bit murky from a Western perspective, and Atheist Yoga delves deeply into the essence of the art in-practice to explore some of its key components. The book also explicitly makes the case that atheism itself is strongly beneficial to the practice of yoga, and that by stripping away any vague or ambiguous mystical ideas about it and approaching meditation and the hatha yoga mind-body connection from a thoroughly materialistic perspective, modern practitioners can greatly increase their mental clarity, focus and body-awareness. I asked Mr. Drake to share a few thoughts about the book, and if he thought any of these ideas should be considered controversial.