Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health

by B.K.S. Iyengar

Book Overview

Discover the benefits of yoga for the mind, body, and spirit with this definitive guide from world-renowned yoga authority B.K.S. Iyengar. Learn how you can use yoga to improve every aspect of your... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789471655
• ISBN13: 9780789471659
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 4.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.7" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Super Yoga Book

This is a great value and a wealth of information.

Beautiful and easier to follow

By far the most colorful book on Yoga. A nice and colorful introduction to Yoga. In contrast to his original book, Light on Yoga, Yogacharya BKS Iyengar has presented the contents in a more usable way. The discussion of asanas is easily understood with a number of photographs and visual hints. From his vast teaching and practice experience, he has pointed out an exhaustive list of contra-indications. Many of the postures has an 'all-round' view that helps the beginner in following the directions quite easily. As in his original book, a series of asanas are presented for different ailments. However, the postures are presented with photographs and in sequence which helps one practice much more easily than just referring to a list. An large number of ailments are covered. The hard cover helps the book spread and stay open while one can glance and practice. You can expect the book to refer to and use a great number of props. While it may appear that the use of so many props in virtually every asana to be detrimental to a smooth practice, the author points out that in course of time one will be able to practice without the props, which is very reassuring. A nice compendium of translation of Sanskrit to English names of the asanas adds to the book's usability. All in all, a very inspiring and essential addition to the list of yoga books for the beginner, adept and the teacher.

I improvised the props.

You can use this book without spending much on props. All i have is a yoga belt, about twenty bucks. The rest I improvised. The hardest thing was a little table you put over your lap with legs to do one type of forward bend. I use one of those low, reclining lawn chairs, of the aluminum summer furniture variety. It folds up--the front over the middle, then the back over the middle, then is sitting on four legs and...presto--It works just like the yoga bench in the book. and you probably already own one. Or can get one for maybe fifteen bucks (as opposed to a real table for seventy bucks). I just use this as an example. I found a bunch of things that are very much like bolsters at a local variety store. for a yoga chair you buy just a six dollar folding chair and then fold it up, lie it face down on the floor, and kick the back out (going forward), using your weight and a hammer. That leaves a chair with just an arched pipe for a back that you can use for the various things he has in the book.blankets and pillows you already own. so, the bolsters are the hardest to find but you can find cheap substitutes.It's worth it. This book is a life changer. Only one criticism--he has each series illustrated by little photos for people with particular problems, but at the end of the book where you find the daily schedules, there are no pictures--you have to look them up if you can't remember the sanskrit names. Well, this does encourage you to learn the sanskrit names, but it would be better if there were pictures to save time. I've had to turn the pages in mine so much it's already beginning to wear out.buy it, though. or maybe in a few years a newer addition will be improved by adding the pictures to the daily schedules.

The Best! And No Teacher Required.

Let's take a little journey. I'll do all the work and you can do all the listening. After we search our brains out on the web for the ultimate hatha yoga teacher, we will come to this man. It is inevitable. It seems that there are Iyengar Yoga Institutes all over the world. Start searching or just listen to me. And now he has written a book which requires no teacher. You will be introduced to a 20-week yoga program. I've done the five rites and some Power Yoga, but it really comes down to a firm commitment. And I know I will never be able to do better than this in health care.In order to help you decide whether to buy the book, I will need to give you some facts.Yes. The book does cost .... It also has 1,900 color photographs. And it is so heavy that I am using it as a bookend for my other books. True! It's worth the .... Believe me.Iyengar believes in the Yoga Sutras by Pantanjali. This is Hindu Yoga. The book goes into some detail about this.His Holiness the Dali Lama states in "The World of Tibetan Buddhism" that this is a "Brahma" Vehicle. This is a path that will lead you into the realm of form (astral rebirth) and the formless realm (causal rebirth). But that is it. There is no "wisdom-realizing" emptiness as in Tibetan Buddhism. Afterwards, you will return to one of the hells since you burned up all your good karma. Whether these hells are real or a projection of one's own mind is a mute point since one will experience them regardless. So be responsible for the philosophy if you decide to go further into yoga.You do not need to use props. They are highly desirable. But not essential. Addresses of where you can buy these cushions, blocks, and so forth are listed in the back of the book on page 416. I think that you had better plan on spending $100 or more if you really want to get set up this way. Yours truly is using a wall and a blanket. I can't afford the props right now.There are all kinds of health problems which these postures can help. The book lists quite a few. All the way from skin problems to helping your immune system work properly. Each problem has photographs of the postures to do!In the 20 week yoga program, we will be going from 12 exercises to 47! I'm just starting out from the top. A few now. And add on a couple more. I just want you to know that his is a long program unless you cheat. Like I am doing. I highly recommend it in this case.If you have heard of Krishnamurti, this is the program that he did. Two hours daily! He also did fast walking. Iyengar does not believe in any exercise that might case strain or puffing and huffing. You can deal with that as you will with the philosophy issue cited above.What else can I do to help? I have the book right here. Boy is it beautiful! Sorry. That just slipped out. I guess that is about all. And from my research, this is the best exercise program that you can do. Scientists are confused now about aerobic activity. They keep lowering the

Well-Illustrated Asanas (Poses) for Relieving Ailments

Many people come to yoga from the perspective of health improvement. I am one of them. The path to yoga is often difficult in this case. You don't feel well, and those who instruct you are usually not yoga teachers. You get just a little dab to help you relax before meditating or as a supplement to an improved diet. Without knowing more, you do not know if you want to take on a lot of yoga. Yoga, The Path to Holistic Health is perfect for such health seekers. You will learn what asanas (poses or postures) can be used for what ailments, and the illustrations will help you use these asanas without an instructor. I wish I had seen this book before having surgery recently. I did not know that there were asanas for improving my condition, and I might have avoided a procedure that has caused me much discomfort and inconvenience. This book is a beginner's work, aimed at those who know almost nothing about yoga. As such, it is perfect for those who want to try some yoga to see what the health benefits might be. In my case, my brief exposure to yoga during meditation training led me to be interested in doing more. I found, though, that some asanas seemed to be hurting me. I was doing something wrong, but had no way to correct myself. Now, with this volume, I can see how to self-correct my practice. I also found asanas for what I want to accomplish that are easier on my middle-aged physique. The illustrations give you the asana from 360 degrees, which is very helpful. He uses a range of models, so you will see both women and men performing the asanas. You are also told how to do them as a beginner. Each asana contains a caution section about who and when you should avoid this position. Mr. Iyengar also provides dynamic advice for how to move your body that gives you the essence of the asana in a way that mere illustrations could not. That advice focuses your attention on the way that the posture is being conducted in ways that I would have otherwise missed. The book starts with a brief introduction to yoga and its benefits. The philosophy is then briefly outlined. Basic asanas are then described in sections based on whether you do them by standing, sitting, forward bends, twists, inversions, back bends or while reclining. For people who live in Western countries, there is an extensive chapter on using yoga to relieve stress with lots of asanas. Many of these include props. I had not been introduced to props before, and liked what I saw. To me, the core of the book was the section on which asanas to do for ailments. Your symptoms are the organizational structure. So if you have had asthma, for example, you go to the respiratory system section and look up the asanas that help. You then go to the front of the book (using the page references) to see how to do these asanas. From this, you can build your own program of self-healing. I recommend meditation as a supplement.Finally, Mr. Iyengar provides a 20 week yoga course for thos

Best Yoga Book Ever!

This book is of immeasurable value to both novices and masters of yoga. B.K.S. Iyengar is a master with great heart and caring for his students, which shows in his text and also the photos of him helping students with their postures.This book is extremely accessible and is full of good, clear color photos of the postures, many of which are shown in a series of photos representing views from all angles.In addition, the book is broken into clearly tabbed sections for easy reference. Sections include recommended series of postures for specific ailments and conditions, and conclude with a thoroughly illustrated 20-week yoga course.Iyengar yoga often uses props to help students get deeper into postures, and there is a very good illustrated section here on how to use these simple props - something that's been missing from any other yoga book I've ever seen.The book also contains a list of the postures by their Sanskrit names and their English names in translation and some basic anatomical information as well.By far this is the best and most useful book on yoga I have ever seen, and I've seen more than a few.This is Mr. Iyengar's first book in many years and well worth the wait.