Jedna ze základních prací o józe zaměřená na techniku dechu. Prána je souhrn veškeré energie oživující člověka, energie, jejímž nejviditelnějším projevem - na nějž lze nejsnáze působit - je dech, "dýchání". Proto se hathajógin plně soustřeďuje na dýchání, aby ovládal všechny potenciálně v něm existující energie, a tak dosáhl dokonalé harmonie s tímto vesmírem, v němž žije.
I read this as part of my YTT programme and years later, it remains one of the top books to read and refer to (imo) for anyone interested in a proper yoga practice.
As a heads up the writing can be pretty academic, in particular for the first part of the book which discusses prana and Eastern / Western approaches to it (super interesting chapters btw). And by academic I don't mean that as a criticism - but basically if you're looking for a book that discusses new agey, woowoo 'commune with the universe' type of stuff, this one isn't it.
The rest of the book is devoted to highly detailed instructions for breathing exercises inc. breath retention, working with the bandhas, kundalini and awakening the chakras. It even includes suggestions of exercises routines and schedules. Basically it's excellent and mine is covered in post it notes. I do think it's useful to have some prior knowledge of chakras and bandhas, in particular, or else it's a heck of a lot to take in - or at least not something I'd recommend to beginners.
Un eccellente manuale teorico-pratico sul Pranayama; oltre a presentare molteplici tecniche organizzate in un percorso accessibile anche ai neofiti dello Yoga, si occupa inoltre del lato più "scientifico" analizzando il sistema Pranayama come "Scienza metafisica".