Skip to main content

Book Review: Yoga Anatomy


Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kiminoff and Amy Mathews will likely teach you more than you will ever need to know about yoga postures, movements and breathing techniques. It discusses various parts of the body and how their movements impact the internal organs, muscles and skeletal system. The book is for those who desire to take their yoga moves to the next level creating maximum flexibility. 

The book will only touch on some of the basics and will quickly move into medical terminology. It will discuss breathing, spine, skeletal muscle, muscular systems and the overall different types of poses and how they impact the body. It is probably way more than the recreational yoga enthusiast will ever need to know. 

For example, you may go into a lengthy description of how the muscles connect to the rib cage, how the lungs work and stretch as well as the different types of skeletal systems. After the general medical description there are also descriptions for each movement. Illustrations will show how the muscles and internal organs are impacted. 

As this book provides detail that recreational users will not need it is more for the yoga practitioner or those who desire to teach the activity. Most instructors do not have this knowledge and are unlikely able to answer these types of questions. However, if you are serious you can study how the entire body works in varying angles and postures. 

Why would someone want to engage in Yoga? Whether you play sports or are sitting in an office chair for most of the day it is beneficial to stretch from time to time. Maintaining your flexibility, retaining muscle tone, improving breathing, and reducing stress are some of the advantages. If you are into high activity sports this is one way to incorporate advanced stretching and flexibility.

Kaminoff, L. & Mathews, A. (2012). Yoga Anatomy. IL: Human Kinetics.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Meaning of A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost

A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost He halted in the wind, and — what was that Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost? He stood there bringing March against his thought, And yet too ready to believe the most. "Oh, that's the Paradise-in-bloom," I said; And truly it was fair enough for flowers had we but in us to assume in march Such white luxuriance of May for ours. We stood a moment so in a strange world, Myself as one his own pretense deceives; And then I said the truth (and we moved on). A young beech clinging to its last year's leaves. The poem is one of seasons changing and the cycle of life. Each May the bloom comes out and brings life to the death of winter. The poem is about a single moment when the characters see that life has changed. The layers of meaning can be deep but on the surface it appears Robert Frost is discussing nature and its cyclical momentum.   Everything in nature moves through patterns. The poem indicates that

Art Review: The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

The Kiss is Gustav Klimt’s most famous and well known painting. Produced in 1908 in Vienna, Austria and incorporated oil and gold life on the canvas ( 1 ). This was unique for his time and represents both tile works with Asiatic influence. The painting and the romance it brings forward is still wonderment to onlookers. The picture depicts a passionate relationship between a man and woman in a sort of perfect place.  The couple is embracing, bodies entwined, wearing robes of wealth and decadence. It provides linear constructs of the Art Nouveau style and the movement of arts with crafts ( 2 ). The male is square and masculine while the woman painted is in curves to represent femininity. The couple is a pair with the woman and man equal in stature. They are in a field of flowers and appear to rise above it.  To many this painting represents the concept that love has no bounds. Social position or worldly wealth cannot hide what goes on under the fancy clothes and standard m

The Nine Parries of Saber Fencing

The Parry is important for defending against attacks and offers an opportunity to counter attack. Without learning parries it will be difficult to effectively compete in fencing. Your body will be generally open to seasoned fencers. Practicing defending against attacks using multiple parries is important for creating the highest levels of competitive skill. The most common parries used are Parry of Four, Parry of Six, Parry of Seven, and Parry of Eight ( 1 ). They are designed to protect your right side, left side, lower stomach, middle of your stomach. They are parries designed to cover the core areas of your body and help you defend against the majority of fencing attacks.   Prime: Stops a cut to the chest. Seconde: Stops a low cut to the flank Tierce: Stops high cut to the flank Quarte: Stops high cut to the chest. Quinte: Stops cut to head. Sixte : Stops cut to head. Septime: Stops cut to back. Octave: Stops cut to flank. Neuvieme: Protects Back Mic