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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
The book is a good guide if you are going deeply into the Yoga practice, especially if you are attending a Yoga teacher training with anatomy. Many poses explained in detail.
Required for yoga teacher training, I was really excited for this. I find myself more interested in anatomy the older I get. I think lots of years of running has also encouraged the interest. I found this book really informative, but feel the first few chapters could use another edit. Some of the passages are so poorly arranged, they barely make sense. The chapters on the poses are excellent, which makes up for the first chapters.
informative
slow-paced
(Worth noting: this review is based on the reading from the 1st edition of this book. Kaminoff recently released a 2nd updated version with expanded introductory chapters that I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet.)
This is a spectacular book – if you already know a hefty amount of anatomy. If your knowledge on anatomy is slim, this is still an exceptionally useful book, but it can also be overwhelming.
Anatomy pro or no, the introductory chapters set a wonderful foundation for understanding two very important elements of the body & their vital impact in Yoga poses: the breath & the spine. Those 2 elements are revisited in nearly every pose covered in the book. If nothing else, all Yoga practitioners should read this book to get an intelligent foundation on what’s really happening in Yoga postures.
Another useful element of this book: each pose is presented with its original Sanskrit name & English translation. Take your practice to the next level by learning the how to pronounce the Sanskrit names, thanks to the phonetic pronunciations also given. This may sound a big hippy-dippy, but you really do feel a pose differently when you refer to & think of it by its Sanskrit name.
Whether a Yoga teacher, teacher-in-training, or a humble Yoga practitioner, this is a worthwhile book to have on your bookshelf. Even though the anatomical terminology can be overwhelming, the introductory chapters, Sanskrit pronunciations, and alignment & breathing notes for each posture make this book very valuable … even if you don’t know what adduction & abduction are.
P.S. Adduction means to move and/or rotate something toward the center of your body/midline (adding something to the center – easy way to remember it) & abduction means to move and/or rotate something away from the center of your body/midline.
This is a spectacular book – if you already know a hefty amount of anatomy. If your knowledge on anatomy is slim, this is still an exceptionally useful book, but it can also be overwhelming.
Anatomy pro or no, the introductory chapters set a wonderful foundation for understanding two very important elements of the body & their vital impact in Yoga poses: the breath & the spine. Those 2 elements are revisited in nearly every pose covered in the book. If nothing else, all Yoga practitioners should read this book to get an intelligent foundation on what’s really happening in Yoga postures.
Another useful element of this book: each pose is presented with its original Sanskrit name & English translation. Take your practice to the next level by learning the how to pronounce the Sanskrit names, thanks to the phonetic pronunciations also given. This may sound a big hippy-dippy, but you really do feel a pose differently when you refer to & think of it by its Sanskrit name.
Whether a Yoga teacher, teacher-in-training, or a humble Yoga practitioner, this is a worthwhile book to have on your bookshelf. Even though the anatomical terminology can be overwhelming, the introductory chapters, Sanskrit pronunciations, and alignment & breathing notes for each posture make this book very valuable … even if you don’t know what adduction & abduction are.
P.S. Adduction means to move and/or rotate something toward the center of your body/midline (adding something to the center – easy way to remember it) & abduction means to move and/or rotate something away from the center of your body/midline.
This was really helpful during my yoga teacher training! I still return to it often.
As I'm currently studying to become a yoga teacher, I bought this book to better understand the poses and to hopefully prevent injury in myself and anyone I might someday be teaching. I found it informative for the most part but was disappointed that sometimes, some of the information was a bit ambiguous, in that I couldn't tell in the Notes section if certain things people do to make the pose more comfortable or accessible is something I want to avoid, or if it is okay. Overall though, this is great to be able to see what muscles are supposed to be engaged versus the ones that are trying to help out the weak ones in ways detrimental to your anatomical comfort. As I'm also in the middle of my Pilates instructor training, I'm moving on to Pilates Anatomy in the same series by Human Kinetics. Thanks guys!
This is the best book ever! So glad I bought this book after reading a copyat the library. It provides ons of great information. Strongly advise you to get this book if you are into yoga. Love having it available on my kindle to quickly look up what post for what muscles.
informative
slow-paced
Wonderfully illustrated guide of many basic and advanced asanas. The illustrations portray the skeletal and muscular detail of the poses, and provide a great tool for personal practice.