Hatha Yoga Pradipika is among the most influential surviving texts on hatha yoga. The text describes asanas, purifying practices, shatkarma, mudras, finger and hand positions, bandhas, locks, and pranayama, breath exercises. The book explains the purpose of Hatha Yoga, the awakening of subtle energy kundalini, advancement to Raja Yoga, and the experience of deep meditative absorption known as samadhi.

A radical presentation of the most rigorous form of contemporary yoga as meditation in motion In The Art of Vinyasa, two of the most well-respected teachers of the Ashtanga style of yoga, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, explore this rigorous practice not as a gymnastic feat, but as a meditative form. They reveal that doing the practice—and particularly the vinyasa, or the breath-synchronized movements—in such a deep and focused way allows practitioners to experience a profound awakening of the body and mind. It also develops an adaptable, flexible practice that can last a lifetime. Freeman and Taylor give an in-depth explanation of form, alignment, and anatomy, and how they work together in the practice. They also present a holistic approach to asana practice that includes an awareness of the subtle breath and seamlessly merges yoga philosophy with practical technique. Unlike other books on Ashtanga, The Art of Vinyasa does not follow the linear pattern of the sequences of postures that are the hallmark of Ashtanga yoga. Instead, it interlinks the eight limbs: yama and niyama (ethical practices), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (nongrasping of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), samadhi (harmony, insight)—and shows how to establish an internally rooted yoga practice.

This groundbreaking commentary sheds light on the ancient scripture, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, dispelling the confusion and misinformation that permeated the world of Hatha Yoga today. Shri Yogi Hari, a world-renowned Yogi from the Sivananda lineage, a venerable Rishi, beloved Guru and perfected Master of Hatha, Nada and Raja Yoga, has selflessly dedicated his life to bringing the ancient mystical knowledge of Yoga to humanity until now. Also included are inspiring pictures of Shri Yogi Hari performing various Asanas and Mudras with detailed descriptions and easy-to-follow instructions on how to get into such poses.

These are the details of Hatha Yoga as practiced by Matsyendra and Goraksha Mahayogins. This is not asana postures yoga but it includes that as the preliminary process. It describes a process which Shiva taught as kundalini manipulation for subtle body transformation with practical application of the raja yoga process of how to remaining introverted while being externally occupied.I did my best based on kundalini yoga and inSelf Yoga(tm) practice in this life, to expound the details given by Swatmarama Guruji, the author of the original Sanskrit text which we know as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Fortunately, I practiced kapalabhati/bhastrika pranayama breath infusion for forty years and then discovered that Swatmarama listed that breath technique as the very best for yogis who were interested in kundalini manipulation for subtle body transformation. I practice naad sound resonance meditation which he listed as being the very best contemplation procedure. In this book I reveal secrets which Swatmarama shared as well as my realizations about the same.

This is a guide to help readers understand the true process and purpose of Hatha Yoga. There are sections on fundamental principles, and on active and passive yoga, along with an index of yoga practices and terms, and suggested further reading.

"More than four decades have passed since I met the Aghori Vimalananda, and it has been thirty-three years since I last heard him speak. Happily for me he permitted me to write down many of his musings so that I would have them to remind me of the wisdom that he embodied. And, thanks to his compassion for others, he instructed me to publish some of this material after he was gone, which I did in the three Aghora books, books that I continue to regularly read and that continue to offer me thought-provoking guidance at any step along my own path.An aghori is someone who plunges so deep into dark­ness that he emerges into light. Aghora is a spiritual path that because of its extreme heterodoxy has been¿ough I cannot myself claim to be an aghori, the example that he thus set has inspired my own sophomoric attempts to transmute into equanimity all that is both gratifying and grotesque in life, focusing on the subtle world while living in mundane reality, for Vimalananda always emphasized the importance of living with reality." Dr. Robert E. Svoboda Illustrated by Satya Moses