Sanskrit has been taught in two ways: the age-old Indian technique involves learning language through the central, sacred texts; the formal Western methodology teaches the alphabet, declensions, grammar, and vocabulary building. The burgeoning interest in Sanskrit among yoga practitioners and changes in the academic discipline indicate that a new approach is in order. Zoe Slatoff-Ponte's Yogavataranam integrates traditional and academic methods of learning and allows students to read texts as soon as possible. The first section of the book teaches reading and basic grammar. The second covers more extensive grammar, and by the third section the student begins to look at and understand more complex texts such as the Upanisads. Yogavataranam is appropriate to many levels of study, from those who are new to Sanskrit to students who already have some experience in reading devanagari script, pronunciation, meaning, and grammar.

Author Biography

Zoe Slatoff-Ponte has a master's degree in South Asian language and culture from Columbia University. Her thesis was a translation and exploration of a Sanskrit text on yoga and Ayurveda. She has practiced yoga since the age of fifteen; has traveled to Mysore almost annually to study at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, R. Sarath, and Saraswathi; and has been teaching for more than sixteen years. Her school, Ashtanga Yoga Upper West Side, is located in New York City.