| HOME |
Anatomy
of Hatha Yoga
A Manual
for Students, Teachers and Practitioners
by H. David Coulter
Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by
H. David Coulter is a unique and outstanding volume that brings
together the Western training and knowledge of a University teacher
of nueroscience, microscopic anatomy and elementary anatomy
with his love for and deep knowledge of yoga. While this book
is a fantastic resource it is not for everybody. It is highly
detailed, fairly technical and deals with the complex systems
of the human body. My own experience
may be instructive.
I tried to read Anatomy of
Hatha
Yoga numerous
times
and found it was so much work that I put it aside each time, until the
ruptured discs in my spine created so much pain for me that I
could barely move. When the pain first became acute I went to
the
doctor for a diagnosis and he thought I had a pinched nerve in my lumbar
spine but that was all I knew. I was told with rest the
symptoms would become less severe and I was determined to let that happen. Plus,
since I could stand and sit up only with enormous effort and determination I
did not want to be going
to other doctors or doing research on the internet. Still,
I did want to do something to help myself and since most of my yoga was just
making things worse, I decided to read whatever books I had available that could
shed
light on what was happening with me. With the time and the incentive in place
I began to plod through Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. By so doing,
I was able to learn the basics of how a problem in my spine was making it impossible
for me to sit up and walk, largely through sending pain into my legs. I also
learned how different types of breathing would affect my spine in different ways
and how certain postures encouraged different types of breathing. Although it
was slow going it was fascinating stuff. Once I was back on my feet and back
to teaching yoga, albeit without doing a lot of demonstrating, I found that what
I learned in this book was helping me to see what was happening in my students
and myself and even gave me new ideas for breathing exercises and posture sequences.
I'm sorry it took a crisis in my life to get me to do the hard work of accessing
this great book, but I was glad to have it handy when I was ready for it.
There are many, many positive reviews of
this book. I've chosen excerpts from 4 that will give you a fuller sense of what
is
in
it.
"(Coulter) leads the reader through the
intricacies of anatomy systematically, with a watchful eye on the goal: to understand
yoga practice better...For example, three ways to accomplish the sometimes awkward
feat of isolating the rectus abdominis muscles in nauli kriya are explained
in a section on abdominopelvic exercizes." Rolf Sovik, Yoga
International
"Coulter uses anatomy to illuminate
the structure and execution of the poses, and, at the same time, brings the
anatomy alive through the poses and selected exercises... if you are aYoga therapist
or teacher, or a astudent who enjoys breaking down the poses and putting them
back together again, then you will most definitely want a copy of this book
to refer to over and over again." Richard Rosen, International
Journal of Yoga
Thearapy
"The book is certainly exhaustive
and comprehensive in its scope and breadth, offering insights into such topics
as the mechanics of breathing, the various kriyas, and more subtle aspects of
Yoga practice such as mudras and bandhas from a Yogic as well as from a Western
scientific
point of view." Jane Sill, Yoga & Health
"The result of an obvious
labor of love, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga explains hatha yoga in demystified, scientific
terms while at the same time honoring its traditions. It should go a long way
to helping yoga achieve the scientific recognition it deserves. Useful as both
a textbook and reference, this work is a book that all serious yoga teachers
and practitioners will want on their shelves. It will also be welcomed by sympathetic
physicians -and there are more of us all the time- as well as physical therapists
and other health professionals." Timothy McCall, M.D.
| This
Hardcover book is $40.00 |
|
ORDERING:
Order on Line: Click on a "buy" button
above to add that item to your Secure
Shopping Cart (powered by Mal's eCommerce). Master
Card and Visa accepted.
By Mail: Simply
send a check for the correct amount to Yoga Life Style,
116 Costa Road, Highland, NY 12528. Be sure to specify
each item you want, and include your name, address and
phone number. Note: the easiest way to collect this information
is to use the shopping cart, proceed to calculate tax and
shipping, then print and mail that page.
By Phone: If
you prefer to call in your order please call The Greenberg
Publishing Group at 845.883.4220 between
9AM and 5PM Eastern Time Monday thru Friday. Master Card
and Visa are accepted.
Link for Details
on Domestic US Shipping and Handling.
Link for Details
on Canadian Shipping and Handling.
Link for Details on Other International
Shipping and Handling.
Any questions call the number above
or email poster@YogaLifeStyle.com
|
|