An intelligently prepared presentation for beginners as well as readers with some yoga experience who want to enhance their practice. With a good balance of clear black & white photos and useful, informative text, the two authors (both affiliated with the Himalayan Institute) provide a beginning seq.

World renowned yoga instructor Doug Swenson introduces Sadhana Yoga, which connects traditional yoga postures with flowing movements to enhance the experience-an experience that will help yoga students relax and build their strength. Utilizing movements similar to tai chi, Sadhana Yoga techniques connect the standard yoga postures-keeping the flow of positive energy circulating in an improved workout for fitness and relaxation. Now yoga students can achieve peace of mind and spirit while toning their bodies, with a revolutionary new approach that can be used with any type of practice.

On the surface it may appear that yoga is yoga is yoga, but take a closer look and you’ll discover myriad different yoga systems and lineages. There are dozens of yoga styles to choose from, and while yoga is for everyone, not every style is the perfect fit for every person. But how do you choose between mysterious-sounding names such as Ashtanga, Kundalini, Bikram, and Kripalu? As Meagan McCrary discovered when she began exploring different classes, finding the right style is essential for establishing a steady yoga practice. Pick Your Yoga Practice is the first book to describe the most prominent yoga styles in depth, including teaching methodology, elements of practice, philosophical and spiritual underpinnings, class structure, physical exertion, and personal attention. Those new to yoga will discover they have options and can confidently attend a class of their choosing, while experienced practitioners will expand their understanding of the vast world of modern yoga, and perhaps find themselves venturing into new territory. Ashtanga * Iyengar * Kundalini * Integral * Kripalu Bikram * Jivamukti * Sivananda * Ananda Viniyoga * Svaroopa * Power * Forrest * ISHTA Anusara * Moksha * AcroYoga

Meditation exercises for listening to the four levels of sound, to still the body, quiet the mind, open the heart, and connect with the Divine • Details the teachings on nada yoga from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with clear, step-by-step instructions to find and hear the inner sacred sound of nada • Explains the 4 levels of sound through a series of practical meditation exercises • Includes instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice as well as ways to strengthen your advanced practice The ancient practice of nada yoga is not complex. It is the yoga of listening. It is a journey from the noise of the external world inward to a place of peace and bliss, to the source of the transformational power of sound--the nada. By meditating on the inner sacred sound of the nada, we can release ourselves from mind chatter and obsessive thinking. We can still the body, quiet the mind, and open the heart to create a state of mind where joy naturally arises. Sharing his experiential understanding of the classic Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Baird Hersey offers precise, step-by-step instructions on how to find the inner sound of the nada. He explains the first three levels of sound--first, how to truly hear the ordinary sounds of the world around us (vaikhari); second, how to quiet the sounds of the mind (madhyama), such as sound memories and internal dialogue; and third, how to access visual sounds (pashyanti), tapping in to our ability to see sounds and hear colors. Mastering the first three levels prepares one for the fourth level of sound (para), the heart of the practice that connects one to the inner sound of the nada. The author provides detailed exercises to guide you through each level of sound and instructions for a daily nada yoga meditation practice. Hersey explains that by focusing our minds on this internal sound we reunite our essential self with the eternal and infinite. In this re-union we find bliss in both body and mind, an uplifted spirit, and heightened states of consciousness.

Yoga is so prevalent in the modern world--practiced by pop stars, taught in schools, and offered in yoga centers, health clubs, and even shopping malls--that we take its presence, and its meaning, for granted. But how did the current yoga boom happen? And is it really rooted in ancient Indian practices, as many of its adherents claim? In this groundbreaking book, Mark Singleton calls into question many commonly held beliefs about the nature and origins of postural yoga (asana) and suggests a radically new way of understanding the meaning of yoga as it is practiced by millions of people across the world today. Singleton shows that, contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence in the Indian tradition for the kind of health and fitness-oriented asana practice that dominates the global yoga scene of the twenty-first century. Singleton's surprising--and surely controversial--thesis is that yoga as it is popularly practiced today owes a greater debt to modern Indian nationalism and, even more surprisingly, to the spiritual aspirations of European bodybuilding and early 20th-century women's gymnastic movements of Europe and America, than it does to any ancient Indian yoga tradition. This discovery enables Singleton to explain, as no one has done before, how the most prevalent forms of postural yoga, like Ashtanga, Bikram and "Hatha" yoga, came to be the hugely popular phenomena they are today. Drawing on a wealth of rare documents from archives in India, the UK and the USA, as well as interviews with the few remaining, now very elderly figures in the 1930s Mysore asana revival, Yoga Body turns the conventional wisdom about yoga on its head.

"Yoga to Master the Mind" is a quintessential preliminary guide to the Philosophy of Yoga, an ideal handbook for Yoga teacher trainees and instructors, Yoga enthusiasts and practitioners. Delve into the basics of Yoga philosophy, a sophisticated psychological analysis of the human mind - through the lens of Vedānta. Explore Patañjali's Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gitā, basics of Sanskrit, Mantra, Vedānta terms - Māyā, Kosha, Guṇa, Symbolism, and Pronunciations."Yoga is not about bending the body; Yoga is about straightening the mind."In this book learn about:*Real purpose of Yoga beyond physical health and wellness*"Mind" according to the wisdom of Yoga*How to deal with the incessant flow of involuntary thoughts*How to systematically analyze and transform the mind to competently manage stresses of everyday life by acquiring a resilient and mature mind*Techniques to apply spiritual teachings to discipline and master the mind for realizing the truth of one's own self as the source of limitless peace.This book explains the key concepts of Yoga on mastering the mind, and guides in understanding the wisdom of Yoga and its application in modern day life.

A thorough presentation of the dynamics of Vinyasa Yoga, imparting insights you won't find anywhere else! Raji's integrative perspective show's how inner and outer form need to be balanced so Yoga becomes meditation in motion.