Yoga Anatomy

Rest assured, you can relax and breathe easy as you meander through the pleasant pages of this book! Other great books connect yoga and anatomy, including the highly regarded titles, Anatomy of Yoga, by H. David Coulter, and The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga, by Ray Long. However, Yoga Anatomy is so user-friendly even those of us who drift off during yoga anatomy workshops can enjoy absorbing the wisdom in this book. There were no anatomy books specifically designed for yoga teachers when I studied anatomy at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in San Francisco in the `70s. I was already overwhelmed just learning how to place my feet in Triangle Pose and could not get my head into the daunting standard anatomical textbooks used at the time. If this book had been available, I might not have gotten a D in anatomy! The beautiful illustrations by award-winning medical illustrator Sharon Ellis are based on photographs of various models. As others have mentioned, some perspectives illustrated are quite unusual because they were shot from underneath. The book shows a photograph of a photo shoot where the model is balanced in Crow Pose, on a long piece of plexiglass secured between two ladders. The photographer is lying on his back on the floor, shooting the pose from below. The sight of this photo prompted me to do something I have not done in 30 years of practicing Downward-Facing Dog. I placed a sturdy mirror, one foot wide and four feet long, in the center of my yoga mat. I went into downward-facing dog in such a way that my hands and feet were pressing on the mat, and I could see the pose reflected in the mirror. I turned to the book, and there was a picture of the view I had just seen in the mirror. I am fond of telling my students to turn the pages of yoga books sideways and upside down so that they can better see the connection between the various poses. The views shown in Yoga Anatomy make this concept crystal clear and help you see yourself and your students with X-ray eyes. Yoga Anatomy is definitely an essential resource that will illuminate your practice for years to come! Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for Healthy Aging, The New Yoga for People Over 50, and other books. [...]

one of the best books of Yoga This book is a godsend for anyone who studies or teaches yoga. It reflects so much care and work and attentiveness to detail. It really is anatomy for yogis. I've been studying yoga for close to 40 years and have been exposed to a variety of corrective allignment forms of body work. So when I'm having trouble in a posture I often refer to standard anatomy books but they can be overwhelming and aren't geared towards helping me understand what is going on in a given posture. Despite taking several anatomy classes including a wondrous anatomy dissection class, I still don't have enough knowledge to translate what I read or see in an antomy text into what I'm doing and not doing in a given yoga posture. There are books that aim to be more inclusive, like Mel Robin's book on the physiology of yoga--but I just get overwhelmed by that much information. This book helps me see the main muscles working in a given posture and the main reasons I might be having difficulty with that posture. Of course I would like even more--how can I strengthen or lengthen the muscles that I'm needing to employ in a given posture. But that is asking for too much and I think really requires work with a well trained teacher. This book is just the right size, user friendly and chocked full of information. The illustrations are remarkable, showing postures from different angles and reflecting the author's extensive study of both anatomy and yoga. I highly recommend it.

(Worth noting: this review is based on the reading from the 1st edition of this book. Kaminoff recently released a 2nd updated version with expanded introductory chapters that I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet.) This is a spectacular book - if you already know a hefty amount of anatomy. If your knowledge on anatomy is slim, this is still an exceptionally useful book, but it can also be overwhelming. Anatomy pro or no, the introductory chapters set a wonderful foundation for understanding two very important elements of the body & their vital impact in Yoga poses: the breath & the spine. Those 2 elements are revisited in nearly every pose covered in the book. If nothing else, all Yoga practitioners should read this book to get an intelligent foundation on what's really happening in Yoga postures. Another useful element of this book: each pose is presented with its original Sanskrit name & English translation. Take your practice to the next level by learning the how to pronounce the Sanskrit names, thanks to the phonetic pronunciations also given. This may sound a big hippy-dippy, but you really do feel a pose differently when you refer to & think of it by its Sanskrit name. Whether a Yoga teacher, teacher-in-training, or a humble Yoga practitioner, this is a worthwhile book to have on your bookshelf. Even though the anatomical terminology can be overwhelming, the introductory chapters, Sanskrit pronunciations, and alignment & breathing notes for each posture make this book very valuable ... even if you don't know what adduction & abduction are. P.S. Adduction means to move and/or rotate something toward the center of your body/midline (adding something to the center - easy way to remember it) & abduction means to move and/or rotate something away from the center of your body/midline.

un bellissimo libro illustrato sull'anatomia umana indispensabile per gli addetti

Cannot recommend this book enough - clear, easy to use, well-organized, it analyzes key actions of muscles and body structures of major yoga poses. Very good, illustrative pictures - a great textbook for yoga students, teachers-in-training as well as tutors.

Do books it's excellent for beginners and those who want to know more.

This is a brilliant book for those studying yoga. It has plenty of detail which would come in handy during study.If you need help on joint movements and muscles being used during postures the this is the book you need to buy- very clear, interesting and brilliantly illustrated.

This new book is one of very few available on the specific subject of yoga and anatomy. The nice thing about this book is its accessibility - it has pictures of a range of poses in the style shown on the book cover, illustrating the muscular-skeletal system in the asana and highlighting the muscles being utilised (some postures shown from several angles). In some illustrations, the internal organs are also shown. This helps you to relate anatomical and physiological knowledge to the actual asanas of yoga. The book also includes notes on breathing and the action of the joints in each posture. Not as in-depth as the Coulter book, but at a good 400 pages shorter, that is to be expected. What this book offers instead is a more visual, illustrated approach and a great reference tool for serious students and teachers.