The Art of Vinyasa: Awakening Body and Mind Through the Practice of Ashtanga Yoga

A radical presentation of the most rigorous form of contemporary yoga as meditation in motion

The Art of Vinyasa takes a unique look at Ashtanga yoga as meditation in motion that produces profound inner change. Two of the most well-respected teachers of the Ashtanga style of yoga, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, explore this rigorous practice not as a gymnastic feat, but as a meditative form. They reveal that doing the practice--and particularly the vinyasa, or the breath-synchonized movements--in such a deep and focused way allows practitioners to experience a profound awakening of the body and mind. It also develops an adaptable, flexible practice that can last a lifetime.

Freeman and Taylor give an in-depth explanation of form, alignment, and anatomy, and how they work together in the practice. They also present a holistic approach to asana practice that includes an awareness of the subtle breath, and seamlessly merges yoga philosophy with practical technique.

Unlike other books on Ashtanga, The Art of Vinyasa does not follow the linear pattern of the sequences of postures that are the hallmark of Ashtanga yoga. Instead, it interlinks the eight limbs: yama and niyama (ethical practices), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (nongrasping of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), samadhi (harmony, insight)--and shows how to establish an internally rooted yoga practice.

Author: Richard Freeman, Mary Taylor
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 12/27/2016
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.00lbs
Size: 10.90h x 8.50w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781611802795
ISBN10: 1611802792
BISAC Categories:
- Health & Fitness | Yoga
- Philosophy | Hindu

About the Author
Richard Freeman has been a student and practitioner of yoga since 1968. He is one of the first students of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois to be certified in the Ashtanga tradition and teaches workshops and seminars on yoga asana, philosophy, pranayama, and meditation throughout the world. He is the author of The Mirror of Yoga.

Mary Taylor began studying yoga in 1972 and became an avid Ashtanga practitioner in 1987 after her first trip to Mysore, India, to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. She is the cofounder, with Richard Freeman, of the Yoga Workshop, which they started 1988. Mary travels and teaches Ashtanga yoga throughout the world, in addition to working with programs that focus on bringing yoga practices into the health care system.