Fb2 Yoga Self Taught. (English and French Edition) ePub

One of the very best surveys of yoga. Brief and concentrated. To appreciate this book it helps to have a more than passing familiarity with yoga. The author treats the reader as an adult with a genuine base of knowledge. Gets into some of the more obscure practices, especially with pranayama. The yogic principles presented here are not watered down by modern revisionist thinking (which is soooo common in the west - to the point that modern western yoga is sort of laughable, sincere, perhaps, but laughable).

My uncle introduced me to this book when I was 15. 21 years later, after going through many books, I don't find a book parallel to this. - The book is aimed for the westerner who has little time to practice. - No knowledge of yoga previously is required - A series of asanas are outlined in a scientific way to cover most parts of the body, each asanas complementing the previous one - For a book published first in the 70s, this book had the most photographs with ALL steps needing one; Every asana was described with possible mis-steps (with photographs); the side effects one feels if done incorrectly; the benefits; Such descriptions are still not routine in books of Yoga now
All in all, a must for a practitioner and one of the best books; For 21 years I have practiced Yoga thanks to this book. Hailing from India, I found no other book as instructional. A couple of years earlier, I was trying to find this book but it was out of print. I would bring extra copies of it from India and distribute it here. I am glad, the publisher have awoken, they have done a great service.
The sequence in this book consists of just about 10 asanas and a few breathing techniques. This makes it ideal for the practitioner to fold the practise into 30 minutes when there is not much time. A piece of advice - if you are new to yoga it may be a bit challenging to follow the routine. Also I started with this when I was 15 years young!
Its main focus is the physical aspect of Yoga. It covers little on Pranayama though correct breathing is emphasised and outlined for every asana. There is an exclusive chapter on correct Yogic breathing. I remember and quote often an interesting narration in the book where a stressed out man during a visit feels better after breathing correctly for a few minutes.
It won't be the complete or an exhaustive source for a Yoga practitioner. But it serves its purpose to introduce Yoga to the Westerner who is short on time and looks to Yoga as an alternative means for keeping fit and more later.

So far so good. I practice yoga twice maybe three times a week. Have been wanting a book like this. Hope to run my own studio someday. I really do appreciate the "old school" of yoga. There's nothing like learning from the best. Can't wait to learn more. Namaste....

If you're looking for a book on yoga that will plant you firmly at the feet of a guru and introduce you to all the Hindu theosophical accretions that have built up around the asanas over the last two or three millennia, start with Iyengar's _Light on Yoga_. This book isn't it.

But if you're interested in yoga as a form of physical exercise that will help you to inhabit your body (and this planet) comfortably and perhaps occasionally even with a modicum of grace, and you want a no-nonsense book that will show you how to do it without requiring you to do obeisance to a guru full of Profound Insights, look no further. This book _is_ it.

The latter paragraph describes me. In traditional Hindu terms, I'm most definitely a jnana kind of guy (and a pretty iconoclastic one at that). Intellectually, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's _An Idealist View of Life_ comes close to capturing my philosophical outlook (which in my case owes as much to Royce and Bradley as to Shankara). I can muster up some reverence when it's absolutely necessary, but in general I'm about as inclined toward bhakti as your cat.

And I certainly don't have much patience for the sort of stuff Frank Zappa memorably described as "Cosmik Debris"; the little reverence I _do_ have, I reserve exclusively for the Absolute, not for His/Her/Its self-appointed earthly representatives.

Nevertheless, for the reasons to which I briefly alluded above, I've been practicing yoga, at least on and off, for something over twenty years. And I like this book.

Now, I'm not knocking gurus; if you want one, go get one. (Just please, for your own sake, check them out carefully and stick to the real ones, like Sri Ramana Maharshi. And Iyengar's books are very good if you want that sort of thing.) I'm just saying that if you're like me, this is the yoga book you want. It sets out the asanas in anatomical detail, with photos of not only the right way but also several common _wrong_ ways of doing them. The descriptions are very good and very clear. And if you don't think you can do the "hard" ones right away, don't worry; simpler variants are included.

This is not, in short, a yoga book that will make you feel like a spiritual quitter or a fraud or something if you're just doing it for exercise. You can do as much or as little as you want, and this book will be right there to help you. (There's helpful information on diet and such too, but here again, you can take the parts you can use and leave the rest.)

Andre van Lysebeth wasn't looking for devoted chelas when he wrote this helpful guide. It was first published in the 1970s and it's stood the test of the intervening decades. I'm delighted to find that it's back in print so that I can get a replacement copy.

Yoga instruction books and booklet are dime a dozen and like many practioners, I own quite a few of these; with and without illustrations.
But when it comes to a thorough exposition and instruction with detailed warnings about who SHOULD AVOID CERTAIN POSTURES AND WHY this book has no match. I own the original english edition and refer to it often. I am glad it is being reissued

Having attended yoga classes more than 15 years ago, as I restart my yoga practice, I run into this wonderful book. There are over 15 books that I accumulated throughout the years. There are two that stand out, and this is one of them ! I highly recommend study this book thoroughly, and follow each of the asana as described. The author anticipated all my questions and provided excellent insight in answering them. A must have !

This is a well written book with many insights and much information. Pictures are nice, though some might consider them sparse. Also, (from what I've read) this book is no longer being printed so try to get a nice condition copy, as it is a great addition to any collection. Highly recommended.