This book offers a scientific approach to understanding the practice of hatha yoga. Through four-color, three-dimensional illustrations of major muscles, tendons, and ligaments, Ray Long describes the practice and benefits of hatha yoga.
This book starts with the basics: skeleton, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons. It then reviews each region of the body, detailing each muscle, in particular their origin and their insertion, and which muscles are agonists, antagonists and synergists. Muscles in movement are also described in detail, with the six different possibilities according to the three planes: adduction and abduction in the coronal plane, flexion and extension in the sagittal plane, and internal and external rotations in the transverse plane. It’s not always easy to apprehend all the details, but it’s really interesting to understand what’s going on in each asana. A fascinating book for all yogis and yoginis.
Generally useful guide to the muscles and yoga. I've referred back to it a few times already. Some of the poses aren't accurate and the science combined with yogic philosophy wasn't intertwined the way it wanted to be. More information, more connective tissue (hehe) between the two would have helped tremendously.