To begin practice, follow Swamiji’s asana suggestions for beginning, intermediate, or advanced students. In his late 60s then, he still looked (and was) remarkably fit. Most asanas seem more feasible, and remind those of us fortunate enough to have made his acquaintance in his yoga classes, where he sometimes removed his robes to reveal leopard-patterned bikini briefs, ever aware of American cultural whimsy. Some of the images of the 57-year old full-bearded yogi in his diamond-patterned skivvies in complicated asanas seem anatomically impossible, even with photographic evidence. Most other references provide just one or the other. The main difference between this and other yoga references is the clear photos of Swamiji illustrating each technique along with a complete description. More esoteric topics such as chanting and yogic cleansing practices are also covered, but more briefly. Eye exercises, meditative poses, mudras (hand placement for quieting the mind) and a wide variety of pranayama (cleansing breathing) practices are covered. In addition to the asanas, Sachiananda gives hints for aged, beginning, women, and children practitioners, as well as specifics about how to practice (dress, diet, breathing, relaxation, etc.). He also states that expecting his students to rid themselves of harmful habits before beginning Yoga is like "a doctor asking his patients to cure themselves of their ailments before receiving his treatment." So readers can begin practice regardless of their starting place. This last illustrates how well Sachidananda understood Westerners and their priorities. He describes each technique, its benefits, precautions to ensure comfort, special notes, and the amount of time needed to perform the asana. He describes it as a "combination of specific methods designed to develop every aspect of the individual: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual." He wrote this book at the insistence of his students, so that they could use it as a study manual for his classes.Įach of a wide variety of asanas (poses) is presented, each with photo/s of Swamiji demonstrating proper technique. Swami Satchidananda developed Integral Yoga himself, brought it to the US in the 1960s, and taught it extensively in New York, Virginia, and California, among other places. Although I might never work up to some of the more rigorous asanas again, this book is a useful guide regardless of what shape I find myself in. I had forgotten about it until recently when I wanted to do some yoga to reduce back and neck pain. Swami Satchidananda developed Integral Yoga himself, brought it to the US in the 1960s, and taught it extensively in New York, Virginia, and California, among othe This is the first yoga book that I used as a teenager way back when, and still my favorite. This is the first yoga book that I used as a teenager way back when, and still my favorite.
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