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Books : Yoga Anatomy .
Rating: 
- Yoga Anatomy
I guess I'm one of those people that likes to understand the how and why of everything I do. Therefore, whenever I workout, I find myself wondering about the purpose of each particular exercise. Am I actually working, strengthen, or stretching my muscles in a way that is beneficial to my body or am I just wasting my time? Am I doing the exercises correctly or am I setting myself up for an injury? Perhaps that's why I love the Anatomy series from Human Kinetics. They have a number of different books that take a deeper look at Stretch Training, Stretching, and Yoga exercises.
Yoga Anatomy has full coloured pictures of the body for a wide variety of movements: breathing, standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, supine poses, prone poses, and arm support poses. These pictures show which muscles are in use during a particular motion. Extra information is then included about which joints are involved and which muscles are lengthening and working during the process. Each entry also notes proper breathing as well as information on any challenges associated with the pose.
In this way, there is no guess work involved. I know exactly what each posture is meant to do, which muscles I'll be working, and how to prevent injuries. I can then take full responsibility for my health and fitness.
Rating: - See "Inside" Your Yoga Poses
Yoga Anatomy is a book that gives the reader a look inside the human body as it is put in various yoga positions.
Chapter 1 covers the dynamics of breathing and actually covers some breathing physiology as well. Chapter 2 talks about the spine and gives some pretty detailed spinal information. Chapter 3 is short and covers the asanas.
The rest of the book, Chapters 4 through 9, make up the "meat" of the book and contains most of the anatomy information most readers probably bought the book for- what muscles are used in what poses. The way the book gives you the information is quite handy- it has a section on standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, on-your-stomach poses, on-your-back poses, and arm supported poses. Sooo, all you have to do is pick a position/pose, and there you'll find pictures of what muscles are involved (and let me say, they show you some great angles of the poses to make sure the reader can see ALL the muscles that are involved). In addition to learing what muscles are involved, the book also tells you what joint actions are involved, as well as what body parts are working AND which ones are lengthening- neat!
A great reference book, its simply perfect for the yoga enthusiast that has become acquainted over time with muscles they never knew they had- but will now after reading this book! Also recommend The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution if plantar fasciitis pain keeps you from doing your yoga.
Rating: - Incredible resource
Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff is a precious gift to the postural Yoga community. Leslies wealth of knowledge of anatomy, breathing and bodywork shines on every page.
This book is easy to understand and beautifully illustrated and comes complete with Sanskrit and English terms and a chapter on breathing. Yoga Anatomy is an invaluable book and one I would highly recommend for teacher training programs.
Brenda Feuerstein
co-author of Green Yoga and Green Dharma
Rating: - Yoga Anatomy by L. Kaminoff
For a long time it was difficult to get anatomy books that were specifically designed for Yoga teachers. Anatomical textbooks were useful but did not help with questions directly related to Yoga. After 2003, however, a row of books were published that addressed Yoga anatomy. To name but a few, there were Coulter's Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, Hately-Aldous' Anatomy and Asana and Long's Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga. Then, in the spring of this year, L. Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy was published. Like the other three books it is very helpful because it shows the use of specific muscles in certain poses. Unlike the other books it also addresses questions of joint action, muscles working and lengthening, obstacles, breathing and variations. For a slim (and not very expensive) book the author has been able to compress a lot of information into a concise, clear and instructive format.
The book is prefaced by two chapters, one on the dynamics of breathing and one on yoga and the spine. Both the breath and the spine are seen as being central to each pose and thus receive some special attention. The chapter on breathing is one of the clearest I have ever come across. It addresses aspects of the diaphragm and the shape change of both chest and the abdominal cavities during the breathing process. The chapter on the spine contains some very useful and precise information on spinal disks and ligaments and relates flexion and extension of the spine to the breath. In addition it introduces the useful distinction between primary and secondary curves. The use of illustrations in this and the other chapters is superb.
The remainder of the book depicts more than sixty poses which are organized into chapters on standing, sitting, kneeling, supine, prone and arm support poses. Within each chapter each individual pose is first introduced by its Sanskrit and then by its English name. Next, a transliteration is given of how the Sanskrit is pronounced, and a translation of each individual Sanskrit element is added (e.g. Janu Sirsasana janu=knee shiras=to touch with head). Each pose is then shown in a meticulously executed drawing done by Sharon Ellis, who has worked as a medical illustrator for more than twenty-five years in New York. In each drawing she shows the relevant muscles in red and the contact areas between the body and the ground in blue.
The description of each pose is divided into a number of paragraphs. First, the pose is classified and is assigned a degree of difficulty. Next, the joint action is indicated (e.g. mild spinal flexion, knee extension). Then the contracting and lengthening of the muscles are described (e.g. piriformis is working eccentrically, hamstrings are lengthening). After this a section called "Obstacles and Notes" is added in which common obstacles are mentioned and suggestions are given on how to overcome them. Then a very helpful paragraph on breathing indicates how the pose affects the breath and how the breath should be adjusted in the pose. Finally, where needed, a section is added that indicates certain cautions, variations and/or special notes.
The tight, concise format of each section allows for a great deal of
information to be compressed into one or two pages for each pose. This makes it easy for the reader to have all the relevant information at her fingertips. Perhaps the only drawback of the book is the fact that the reader has to have some basic anatomical knowledge. The chapters are easy to read, but the muscles are named in Latin, and one needs to be familiar with terms such as abduction and medial rotation. On the other hand, the book offers the reader an opportunity to develop a greater knowledge of Yoga anatomy and the author, Leslie Kaminoff, who is a student of TKV Desikachar and who is an internationally recognized specialist in yoga and breath anatomy, is a competent guide in this endeavor.
In short, I have found Yoga Anatomy to be a very helpful resource book, and I rarely prepare a class without consulting it.
- Yoga AnatomyI guess I'm one of those people that likes to understand the how and why of everything I do. Therefore, whenever I workout, I find myself wondering about the purpose of each particular exercise. Am I actually working, strengthen, or stretching my muscles in a way that is beneficial to my body or am I just wasting my time? Am I doing the exercises correctly or am I setting myself up for an injury? Perhaps that's why I love the Anatomy series from Human Kinetics. They have a number of different books that take a deeper look at Stretch Training, Stretching, and Yoga exercises.
Yoga Anatomy has full coloured pictures of the body for a wide variety of movements: breathing, standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, supine poses, prone poses, and arm support poses. These pictures show which muscles are in use during a particular motion. Extra information is then included about which joints are involved and which muscles are lengthening and working during the process. Each entry also notes proper breathing as well as information on any challenges associated with the pose.
In this way, there is no guess work involved. I know exactly what each posture is meant to do, which muscles I'll be working, and how to prevent injuries. I can then take full responsibility for my health and fitness.
Rating:
- See "Inside" Your Yoga PosesYoga Anatomy is a book that gives the reader a look inside the human body as it is put in various yoga positions.
Chapter 1 covers the dynamics of breathing and actually covers some breathing physiology as well. Chapter 2 talks about the spine and gives some pretty detailed spinal information. Chapter 3 is short and covers the asanas.
The rest of the book, Chapters 4 through 9, make up the "meat" of the book and contains most of the anatomy information most readers probably bought the book for- what muscles are used in what poses. The way the book gives you the information is quite handy- it has a section on standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, on-your-stomach poses, on-your-back poses, and arm supported poses. Sooo, all you have to do is pick a position/pose, and there you'll find pictures of what muscles are involved (and let me say, they show you some great angles of the poses to make sure the reader can see ALL the muscles that are involved). In addition to learing what muscles are involved, the book also tells you what joint actions are involved, as well as what body parts are working AND which ones are lengthening- neat!
A great reference book, its simply perfect for the yoga enthusiast that has become acquainted over time with muscles they never knew they had- but will now after reading this book! Also recommend The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution if plantar fasciitis pain keeps you from doing your yoga.
Rating:
- Incredible resourceYoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff is a precious gift to the postural Yoga community. Leslies wealth of knowledge of anatomy, breathing and bodywork shines on every page.
This book is easy to understand and beautifully illustrated and comes complete with Sanskrit and English terms and a chapter on breathing. Yoga Anatomy is an invaluable book and one I would highly recommend for teacher training programs.
Brenda Feuerstein
co-author of Green Yoga and Green Dharma
Rating:
- Yoga Anatomy by L. KaminoffFor a long time it was difficult to get anatomy books that were specifically designed for Yoga teachers. Anatomical textbooks were useful but did not help with questions directly related to Yoga. After 2003, however, a row of books were published that addressed Yoga anatomy. To name but a few, there were Coulter's Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, Hately-Aldous' Anatomy and Asana and Long's Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga. Then, in the spring of this year, L. Kaminoff's Yoga Anatomy was published. Like the other three books it is very helpful because it shows the use of specific muscles in certain poses. Unlike the other books it also addresses questions of joint action, muscles working and lengthening, obstacles, breathing and variations. For a slim (and not very expensive) book the author has been able to compress a lot of information into a concise, clear and instructive format.
The book is prefaced by two chapters, one on the dynamics of breathing and one on yoga and the spine. Both the breath and the spine are seen as being central to each pose and thus receive some special attention. The chapter on breathing is one of the clearest I have ever come across. It addresses aspects of the diaphragm and the shape change of both chest and the abdominal cavities during the breathing process. The chapter on the spine contains some very useful and precise information on spinal disks and ligaments and relates flexion and extension of the spine to the breath. In addition it introduces the useful distinction between primary and secondary curves. The use of illustrations in this and the other chapters is superb.
The remainder of the book depicts more than sixty poses which are organized into chapters on standing, sitting, kneeling, supine, prone and arm support poses. Within each chapter each individual pose is first introduced by its Sanskrit and then by its English name. Next, a transliteration is given of how the Sanskrit is pronounced, and a translation of each individual Sanskrit element is added (e.g. Janu Sirsasana janu=knee shiras=to touch with head). Each pose is then shown in a meticulously executed drawing done by Sharon Ellis, who has worked as a medical illustrator for more than twenty-five years in New York. In each drawing she shows the relevant muscles in red and the contact areas between the body and the ground in blue.
The description of each pose is divided into a number of paragraphs. First, the pose is classified and is assigned a degree of difficulty. Next, the joint action is indicated (e.g. mild spinal flexion, knee extension). Then the contracting and lengthening of the muscles are described (e.g. piriformis is working eccentrically, hamstrings are lengthening). After this a section called "Obstacles and Notes" is added in which common obstacles are mentioned and suggestions are given on how to overcome them. Then a very helpful paragraph on breathing indicates how the pose affects the breath and how the breath should be adjusted in the pose. Finally, where needed, a section is added that indicates certain cautions, variations and/or special notes.
The tight, concise format of each section allows for a great deal of
information to be compressed into one or two pages for each pose. This makes it easy for the reader to have all the relevant information at her fingertips. Perhaps the only drawback of the book is the fact that the reader has to have some basic anatomical knowledge. The chapters are easy to read, but the muscles are named in Latin, and one needs to be familiar with terms such as abduction and medial rotation. On the other hand, the book offers the reader an opportunity to develop a greater knowledge of Yoga anatomy and the author, Leslie Kaminoff, who is a student of TKV Desikachar and who is an internationally recognized specialist in yoga and breath anatomy, is a competent guide in this endeavor.
In short, I have found Yoga Anatomy to be a very helpful resource book, and I rarely prepare a class without consulting it.
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