Publisher's Synopsis
*Gives step by step instructions on how to perform over 60 different traditional yoga poses.
*Includes dozens of pictures showing how to properly perform each yoga pose discussed.
For nearly a thousand years, people in the East have been practicing what was known as hatha yoga, "a kind of forced Yoga or abstract meditation", but in the West during the 20th century, it came to be known simply as yoga.
In the last 50 years, yoga has become incredibly popular as a way to exercise both the mind and body. Yoga means "unity" or "oneness," and the word is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means "to join." In spiritual terms, this joining refers to the unity of the individual consciousnesses with the universal consciousness. In practical terms, it refers to balancing and harmonizing the mind, body, and spirit.
Yoga can be both a physical exercise and a way of life that bestows several health benefits upon those who practice it. Whether you have hours to spend on a yoga session that includes traditional postures, chanting, and meditation, or if you have only a limited time to do yoga poses for exercise, the versatility of yoga makes it an ideal way to improve fitness and flexibility.
The Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide to Yoga will help any yoga newcomer or veteran learn and practice traditional yoga, replete with photographs and in-depth explanations by instructors trained at Yoga Vidya Gurukul in Trimbakeshwar, India. Over 60 different postures and yogic practices are each accompanied with photographs of instructors and explanations to make sure you're practicing yoga correctly.
This guide is essential for yoga students who seek to increase their physical and mental balance and wish to delve further into the higher practices of traditional yoga.
Contents:
Chapter 1: What is Hatha Yoga?
Chapter 2: Beginning the Practice of Yoga
Chapter 3: Preparatory Movements
Chapter 4: Sun Salutations
Chapter 5: Supine Position Postures
Chapter 6: Prone Position Postures
Chapter 7: Seated Postures
Chapter 8: Standing and Balancing Postures
Chapter 9: Concluding the Practice of Yoga
