Yoga Anatomy Paperback – 28 Oct. 2011

I bought this book about two months after going to my first Ashtanga yoga class. At the time, despite that I enjoyed going to the classes and get a good workout I felt I didn't really know what I was doing. I remember the teacher talking about the importance of the breath and the "bandas", but I couldn't understand how those really worked and why there were so important to the practice.Yoga Anatomy provided me the answers to all those questions and even more answers that came after on body positioning, muscle groups etc. With a huge number of asanas being covered I found it the perfect tool for improving my practice and discover new asanas at my own pace (I love flicking through the book and read up about a few asanas and then try to apply what I learn in the next class or even at home). The drawings are immensely useful, and the technical contents are a mine of information that I go back to every time I want to deepen my understanding of certain asanas or learn to do a new one (like the one on the cover page!).Another great things is that the asanas covered are the same as those found in Ashtanga, vinyasa flow or other type of hot yoga so there is something for every types of practitioners :)

Haven't quite gotten through even half of it, but the amount of useful and well put together information is really well worth the price! If one can manage past all the explanations of sometimes tedious terminologies and some rather simple and common knowledge basics - (some dry information really), there is a vast array of very useful, less commonly known explanations to the processes of some really peculiar and complicated nature of our bodies and their functions, I sure had my exciteful moments of newfound revelations in-so-far. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to develop a better self understanding, or studying human body functions in general.

Beautiful work and really good material.

This is not an introduction to anatomy. This is anatomy applied to yoga. It does cover the basic anatomical theory and terms used to describe the postures, including skeletal and muscular actions. However a prior understanding of the muscles; their names and perhaps how they are linked, would make sure you got the most out of this book book.The revised edition is clearer and better structured than the first edition.INSIDE THE BOOKThe first 4 chapters cover:-Beautiful introduction discussing how intrinsic the basic yogic concepts are in the body, before we even start asana.-How breathing effects the shape of the body/spine and how this relates to yoga (why we inhale and exhale with certain movements).-The spine including it's development and range of motion.-The skeletal system including how to describe actions of the of the joints and bones.-The muscular system including how to describe muscle contractions, briefly what are agonist-antagonist pairs, and a little about how flexibility and strength relate to the muscles.The author relates everything to the basic concepts of yoga discussed at the beginning.None of this is in depth, but enough to basically understand what is happening in each posture anatomically.From chapter 5 it begins to apply this anatomy clearly and thoroughly to asana. The book does NOT cover the names of muscles but obviously, DOES use them. Previous knowledge or another book will be needed to understand the names of muscles and where the muscles are exactly.For example: (view "look inside" to get a better idea)"Concentric contraction. To stabilize and abduct shoulder joint: Rotator cuff, biceps brachii (long head), deltoid."From the book you will understand what concentric contraction is and what abduct the shoulder means, i.e. you will understand how to describe the muscular and skeletal actions. However without prior knowledge, you won't find out what or where the rotator cuff, biceps brachii (long head) or deltoid are, or get an idea of how they are linked and work together. Some of the muscles are labeled in the images, but not all muscles involved are labelled, and not in all of the postures, and there's no specific section teaching muscle names or position.

Although I found some of the text hard going, it does explain the workings of the anatomy relating to Yoga Asanas in terms of muscle, bones and tendons. The analysis is purely from the physical aspect and does not concern itself with spiritual or other intangible elements. The Illustrations are amazing and beautifully presented I have found that the book increases my understanding of yoga practice and has helped me to understand what is happening when I attempt the postures and makes me approach the practice with more mindfullness.

I'm a yoga teacher and was looking for something to delve deeply into the anatomy of the postures. This book describes the anatomy beautifully and goes into detail. It's detailed but clear enough for a layperson like me to understand. I also found little Youtube links by the same author which give snippets about yoga anatomy. I'd highly recommend this book to yoga teacher and practitioners who want to look beneath the surface to see what is happening while moveing into and out of the yoga postures.

This book seems to be very useful and whilst I haven't had it long...am still browsing and dipping into it, I would think that it's a great book for yoga teachers/student teachers/serious students. Lots of useful information in the notes which accompany each posture.The anatomical descriptions are thorough and you'd need to have some knowledge of anatomy to get the best from these, however they are not absolutely necessary as the 'notes' are very practical.

Really interesting