Ashtanga Yoga

by John Scott

John Scott is the yoga teacher who helped Madonna sculpt her body to its high level of fitness and toned physique. He is also personal yoga teacher to Sting and Trudi Styler. With this book, Scott introduces the principles of ashtanga yoga to a wider audience. Ashtanga is one of the more dynamic forms of yoga, as powerful an exercise as doing an aerobic class. However, the benefits go far deeper than a fitter body. Ashtanga yoga is a movement meditation, where the breath is the key to focusing the mind, balancing the emotions and strengthening the spirit, while toning the muscles and building stamina. Yoga is also a philosophy and discipline for developing patience, inner strength and heightened concentration. Ashtanga literally means "eight stages" - abstinence, observance, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation and contemplation. The book's sequence of practice sessions provides the foundations which should allow the practitioner to achieve his or her physical and psychological peak. It starts with a simple sequence for beginners, moving on to breath-synchronized "asanas" that massage inner organs to purify the body. The structured course develops the strength, stamina and flexibility, which should provide progressively deeper therapeutic benefits.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Spirituality, Reference

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

John Scott first became a student of Ashtanga yoga in 1989 when he took classes with world-renowned yogi Shri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. An internationally known teacher, he conducts classes and workshops at his school in London.
--from randomhouse.com

Reviews

[Amy Boogie King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. The pictures are great and the information on beginning practice is really good. The only thing I find it lacking in is more of the spirituality. I think the book "Ashtanga Yoga" By Maehle has more of that in. Together the 2 books are excellent companions. But then....I'm still a novice in Ashtanga.

[Cris Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

No se puede aprender yoga con un libro. Es necesaria la corrección y guía presencial.

p.s.:conforme leía imaginaba cómo sería yoga en el mundo bizarro de Superman. Fijo sería como "Practice and all is destruction", o "Inhale war, exhale hate", jaja.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading, again.

[Cuggiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non è per beginners: trascura completamente le posizioni intermedie più semplici che portano alla posizione definitiva.
Non è per esperti: non così dettagliato nei particolari delle singole posizioni, poco approfondito negli aspetti che vanno al di là delle forme. Non tratta le sequenze oltre alla prima.

E' comunque un buon libro, piacevole da leggere, per approfondire e per avere qualche dettaglio in più sulla pratica di questa disciplina.

[Konrad Plechowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb guide to ashtanga asanas in the context of yoga philosophy

[Elizaveta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guide, but I was surprised by some parts where the described flow is different from traditional ashtanga vinyasa yoga.

[Monica]

The only bad thing about this book is the binding - it's hard to keep it open as a reference while doing you're sun salutations, down dogs, etc.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was a good starter book on ashtanga

[Machel · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent yoga book for newbies to Ashtanga Yoga.

[Cj Sime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid info but I find this info easy to understand from youtube videos.