Original Yoga: Rediscovering Traditional Practices of Hatha Yoga

I love the clear, accessible way this book extracts and makes usable a wide variety of practices from the Hatha Yoga Pradapika, the Gherandha Samhita, and the Shiva Samhita. This book finds the heart of Hatha yoga and shows that it is so much more than "just asana" as I so frequently hear the practice dismissively referred to, even by trained teachers who should know better.I found especially useful the practices created to work with nadis (not just the three primary ones, ida, pingala, and sushumna) by drawing on and incorporating aspects of ideokinesis. This section alone has significantly shifted the way I practice and teach asana.Original Yoga belongs on the shelf of every teacher and serious student of yoga/ meditation, regardless of lineage or preferred style of practice.

This book was recommended by my yoga teacher along with several others. I'm not finished reading yet, but so far I'm enjoying it. It does go over the history and "making of" yoga and some of the first poses. It covers energies in just a little different format than chalkras. Its not a completely objective history, but more of Mr. Rosen's take on the forming and development of yoga based on several ancient texts. If you're looking for something that follows the 8 limbs or yoga sutra, this isn't exactly it. But if you're looking for another perspective. This is a great option. I'm trying to learn all I can, so I'm enjoying reading about this history, the energies, and the postures.

Allow yourself to weed through this book and don't get bogged down on the actual practices lest you miss the gems Rosen brings to light from the treatises illuminating what yoga was what yoga is and what yoga will be for each of us if we take them back into those practices and the workshop of our mat. Wonderful stuff.

The only improvement would be more illustrations. Using another book as the reference for photos isn't very helpful. Lowers the rating from 5 stars to 4.5 stars.

This book was Amazing As expected. It is richard Rosen...of course it completely changed my life as a yoga Practioner and a full time Yoga instructor.

It is unlike any other contemporary yoga book I've read. Richard Rosen has done the grueling work of reading and understanding and comparing early Hatha Yoga textts so that we can learn from him what practices are accessible and useful today . RR also shares wisdom from his decades of practice -- all with humor and a great love of words.

A joy and a hoot and I am learning a lot! Richard contextualizes his teachings well. I come to understand the body's process as a natural path to serenity through traditional yoga. Thanks, Richard Rosen!

Different viewpoint and very useful.

Great book to get a broader understanding of Yoga.