The physical exercises of yoga are believed to prevent diseases and maintain health through bodily regulation of prana or mystical life energy. Because the body is viewed as a crude layer of mind various manipulations of the physical body can affect the mind bringing “enlightenment”. Can yoga really bring you enlightenment? Can Yoga positions used as exercise be separated from the spiritual practice? What are some of the physical psychological and spiritual effects of Yoga? Are there potential dangers and occult potential? This book answers these questions.

'An indispensable companion for all interested in yoga, both scholars and practitioners' Professor Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson Despite yoga's huge global popularity, relatively little of its roots is known among practitioners. This compendium includes a wide range of texts from different schools of yoga, languages and eras: among others, key passages from the early Upanisads and the Mahabharata, and from the Tantric, Buddhist and Jaina traditions, with many pieces in scholarly translation for the first time. Covering yoga's varying definitions, its most important practices, such as posture, breath control, sensory withdrawal and meditation, as well as models of the esoteric and physical bodies, Roots of Yoga is a unique and essential source of knowledge. Translated and Edited with an Introduction by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton

A succinct, approachable guide to the origins, development, key texts, concepts, and practices of yoga. Yoga is practiced by many millions of people worldwide and is celebrated for its mental, physical, and spiritual benefits. And yet, as Daniel Simpson reveals in The Truth of Yoga, much of what is said about yoga is misleading. For example, the word “yoga” does not always mean union. In fact, in perhaps the discipline’s most famous text—the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali—its aim is described as separation: isolating consciousness from everything else. And yoga is not five thousand years old, as is commonly claimed; the earliest evidence of practice dates back about twenty-five hundred years. (Yoga may well be older, but no one can prove it.) The Truth of Yoga is a clear, concise, and accessible handbook for the lay reader that draws upon abundant recent scholarship. It outlines these new findings with practitioners in mind, highlighting ways to keep traditions alive in the twenty-first century.

The Science of Yoga draws on a hidden wealth of science, history, and surprising facts to cut through the fog that surrounds contemporary yoga and to show - for the first time - what is uplifting and beneficial and what is delusional, flaky, and dangerous. At heart, it illuminates the risks and rewards. The book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of undiscovered yoga that goes from old libraries in Calcutta to the world capitals of medical research, from little-known archives to spotless laboratories, from sweaty yoga classes with master teachers to the cosy offices of yoga healers. In the process, it shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how to improve the discipline.

Explore the physiology of 30 key yoga poses, in-depth and from every angle, and master each asana with confidence and control. Did you know that yoga practice can help lower your blood pressure, decrease inflammation and prevent age-related brain changes? Recent scientific research now backs up what were once anecdotal claims about the benefits of yoga to every system in the body. Science of Yoga reveals the facts, with annotated artworks that show the mechanics, the angles, how your blood flow and respiration are affected, the key muscle and joint actions working below the surface of each pose, safe alignment and much more. With insight into variations on the poses and a Q&A section that explores the science behind every aspect of yoga, this easy-to-understand, comprehensive book is an invaluable resource to achieve technical excellence in your practice and optimize the benefits of yoga for your body and mind.

In this uniquely integrated program, certified personal trainer and aerobic instructor Laurette Willis shares her BASIC (Body And Soul In Christ), step-by-step plan to improve wholeness in body, soul, and spirit. Convinced that diets alone don't work, Laurette shows how lasting change starts on the inside, and she leads readers through a process that will help them turn mundane daily activities and exercises into acts of worship develop a healthy self-image through forgiveness and freedom from addiction experience God's transforming power through praise, prayer, and fasting Laurette provides readers with plenty of practical opportunities for growth, including "PraiseMoves," her own unique Christian system of worship and exercise that she calls "a Christ-centered alternative to yoga."

Meditation is one of the most popular of all modern religious practices. It claims to work by profoundly "stilling" or otherwise dramatically influencing the mind. Through this process the meditator is allegedly able to perceive "true" reality his own "true" divine nature and finally achieve spiritual enlightenment. Meditation promoters also claim the practice has numerous health benefits. Are these statements true? The authors examine the validity of these claims and explain potential problems and dangers.