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.
“Regions of the brain, such as the brain-stem, are highly evolved for survival; they control such complex functions as respiration with speed and precision that is far beyond comprehension by the conscious mind. Great instinctive power is stored in these regions of the brain. Hatha Yogic breathing techniques “yoke” or connect the conscious mind to the primal instinctive regions of the brainstem.
Athletes and martial arts practitioners access the breath’s primal force by timing moments of exertion with forced exhalation. Yogis refine this by coordinating the rhythm of the breath with movements in the Asanas, generally coupling inhalation with expansion and exhalation with deepening. Pranayama perfects this process.”
