The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal PracticeThe first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to viniyoga--yoga adapted to the needs of the individual. • A contemporary classic by a world-renowned teacher. • This new edition adds thirty-two poems by Krishnamacharya that capture the essence of his teachings. Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value. In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle. This is a revised edition of The Heart of Yoga. |
Contents
Concept and Meaning | |
Chapter 7The Bandhas | |
THE YOGA SŪTRA OF PATAÑJALI | |
Chapter 1Yogañjalisāram | |
The Texts Mentioned in This Book | |
Glossary | |
Endnotes | |
Chapter 8The Things That Darken the Heart | |
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Common terms and phrases
abdomen ability achieved actions apāna āsana practice attention attitudes avidyā bandha become begin Bhagavad Gītā bhakti yoga bhūtas body breathing exercises chapter characteristics clarity comprehension concept counterposes darśana described Desikachar develop dhāraṇā dhyāna distraction duḥkha effects everything example exhalation experience external father feel forward bend goal gradually happens haṭha headstand holding the breath important individual influence inhalation Īśvara īśvarapraṇidhānā kleśas Krishnamacharya kriyāyoga kuṇḍalinī mantra means meditation mental activities misapprehension movement mudrā nāḍī niyama nostril object observe obstacles one’s ourselves pain paścimatānāsana Patañjali Perceiver perception person physical pose position possible postures practice āsanas practice of yoga prajñā prakṛti prāṇa prāṇāyāma practice pratyāhāra problems puruṣa rāga samādhi saṃskāra saṃyama sannyāsin senses sequence SLOKA someone spine Śrī student suṣumṇā svādhyāya T. K. V. Desikachar teacher teaching technique texts things three qualities ujjāyī understanding uttānāsana variations word yama yoga practice Yoga Sūtra