Ray Long

The Mat Companion series provides a methodical approach for using science to balance and connect the body and mind in yoga. The fourth book concludes the series with arm balances and inversionstwo pose categories that clearly integrate opposites within the body.In our bipedal form, the hips and lower extremities are the weight-bearing construct. The more mobile shoulders and upper extremities allow us to interact with the world. In arm balances, we invert this construct, thereby strengthening the muscles, bones, and ligaments of the upper extremities. From an energetic perspective, arm balances stimulate the nerve plexuses associated with the fourth and fifth chakras. Practicing these poses with precision moves nerve impulses upwards through the subtle body. This opens the way for the unimpeded flow of energy from the lower and more primordial regions of the sacral plexus to the higher-functioning levels of the brain.A similar balancing of opposites takes place with inverted poses. Consider that most of our time is spent with the head above the heart and the lower extremities below it. Inversions reverse this, bringing the head below the heart and the lower extremities above it. Potential benefits of this body position include lowered blood pressure and heart rate and improved circulation of endorphins in the brain. All of this prepares the body for deep relaxation.Arm balances invigorate and stimulate the mind. Inversions bring it to rest.

Practicing yoga is not necessarily the path of least resistance. And although the Sanskrit word asana translates to mean "a comfortable, easy position," most yoga poses are neither comfortable nor easy. Working with them, however, makes daily life more comfortable and easy.So why integrate Western science into the ancient art of Hatha Yoga? Because scientific techniques enable you to intelligently design your practice and give you confidence in your teaching. Hatha Yoga works with the body and Western science understands how the body works.For example, suppose you want to deepen a backbend such as Urdhva Dhanurasana. Knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, and physiology enable you to predictably do this. Or if youre a teacher and a student comes to you with lower back discomfort in Camel Pose, you can use the abdominal "air bag" effect discussed in this book and often address the problem quickly and easily. Similarly, if you wish to deepen twists for yourself or your students, design your practice to involve physiological techniques such as facilitated stretching that will release and lengthen the muscles that inhibit turning the trunk. Many of these solutions would not be obvious, or would even be counterintuitive, unless you knew how to apply scientific principles to yoga. This book explains these techniques in detail, with their practical application for backbends and twists.Spare no effort in searching out areas of resistance in your yoga poses. If your body is stiff, use the physiological techniques described in the Mat Companion series to lengthen muscles, break through barriers, and gain flexibility. If your body is flexible, then work with the bandhas described here to increase your strength.Painter and sculptor George Braque once said, "Art disturbs, science reassures." The idea is that art takes one out of a comfort zone and into new experiences. Science provides grounding and stability. Yoga poses are like physical sculptures that take you out of your comfort zone. Scientific techniques are the sculpting tools that allow you to do this with intelligence and precision.

The Mat Companion series is designed to assist you in understandingthe functional anatomy of yoga. Although all yoga poses are interrelated, for learning purposes we have subdivided them into categories according to their general form. This first book of the series shows how to combine Western scientific knowedge with the practice of Vinyasa Flow and the standing poses. In Vinyasa we repeat a foundational series of postures that encircle individual asanas from the other pose categories. This vigorous and aerobic practice combines breathing and body movement to produce heat, warming up the muscles, tendons, and ligaments and generating a detoxifying sweat. Practicing Vinyasa in a heated room enhances these effects. In the first part of this book, we discuss the practical application of Western science to Vinyasa Flow.Following the Vinyasa portion of the book are the standing poses. Learning Hatha Yoga begins with these fundamental postures, which stretch and strengthen the muscles of the lower extremities and open the hips and pelvis. As a result of this practice, activities of daily living, such as standing and walking, feel comfortable and easy. Working the muscles and joints of the lower extremities also stimulates the nerve centers that supply this region, increasing electrical activity in the lumbosacral plexus. This increased electrical activity in turn illuminates the first and second chakras of the subtle body, aiding to remove energetic blockages that develop throughout our lifetime. It is this combination of biomechanical, physiological, and energetic processes that differentiate yoga from other forms of physical activity.

En Anatomía para las posturas de apertura de la cadera y de flexión hacia delante, el Doctor Ray Long te guía en una narración visual a través de la anatomía, la biomecánica y la fisiología de este antiguo arte, descifrando paso a paso cada postura. Los Manuales de Yoga te proporcionan instrucciones detalladas y bellamente ilustradas sobre como utilizar los principios cientificos para que obtengas el maximo beneficio de tu practica, sea cual sea el estilo de yoga que practiques. Cada libro esta dedicado a una categoria especifica de posturas y contiene las siguientes materias: Conceptos clave: una descripcion de los principios biomecanicos y fisiologicos que se aplican en posturas especificas. El Codigo de Bandha Yoga: un sencillo proceso de cinco pasos que puedes utilizar para mejorar tu flexibilidad, fuerza y precision en las asanas. Seccion de las posturas: una descripcion detallada de cada postura concreta. Indice del movimiento: explicaciones del movimiento corporal y listas clasificatorias de los musculos asociados con cada movimiento. Indice de anatomia: un listado visual de huesos, ligamentos y musculos, con informacion sobre los origenes, las inserciones y las acciones de cada uno de ellos.

Explica la ciencia del vinyasa flow y las posturas de pie del hatha yoga. El Doctor Ray Long te guía en una narración visual a través de la anatomía, la biomecánica y la fisiología de este antiguo arte, descifrando paso a paso cada postura. Los Manuales de Yoga te proporcionan instrucciones detalladas y bellamente ilustradas sobre como utilizar los principios cientificos para que obtengas el maximo beneficio de tu practica, sea cual sea el estilo de yoga que practiques. Cada libro esta dedicado a una categoria especifica de posturas y contiene las siguientes materias: Conceptos clave: una descripcion de los principios biomecanicos y fisiologicos que se aplican en posturas especificas. El Codigo de Bandha Yoga: un sencillo proceso de cinco pasos que puedes utilizar para mejorar tu flexibilidad, fuerza y precision en las asanas. Seccion de las posturas: una descripcion detallada de cada postura concreta. Indice del movimiento: explicaciones del movimiento corporal y listas clasificatorias de los musculos asociados con cada movimiento. Indice de anatomia: un listado visual de huesos, ligamentos y musculos, con informacion sobre los origenes, las inserciones y las acciones de cada uno de ellos.

Ilustraciones tridimensionales claras y sorprendentes que radiografían la musculatura y los huesos en cada postura de yoga. Un libro interesante para todo aquel que trabaja con el cuerpo.

En este libro, a travós de ilustraciones tridimensionales claras y sorprendentes, se detalla cada una de las 55 posturas clave del Hatha Yoga. Enseña quó es lo que funciona para que puedas abrir tu propia puerta a la experiencia individual del yoga. Explica la ciencia que hay detrÁs de la biomecÁnica y de la psicología del estiramiento muscular y aplica este conocimiento a las diferentes categorías de posturas, para descubrir sus beneficios. Un libro interesante para todo aquel que trabaja con el cuerpo