Yoga Mat Companion 4: Anatomy for Arm Balances and Inversions

One of the "must have" book for every Yoga instructor or student.The quality of the paper, the drawings, the detail of the muscles, the clarity of the information,etc.Inside you'll find instructions to ace the final Asana, options for preparing it like another asanas or how to use props (like in Iyengar style).The book have a guide for muscles used in every asana or involved in it.

vol 4 arrived separately packaged individuallyafter vols 1/2/3 which were sent ahead as soon asavailable, to avoid delay and at no extra cost..all arrived well before estimated delivery time..again, in perfect new condition etc..having now had some opportunity to read thru these volsbeyond initial [delighted] skimming and sampling, the bestamplification is probably that everything mentioned inmy review of vol 1 has been further confirmed..the more you read and take in the information andamazing imagery, the more you realize that creativeexperts in teaching and yoga have attempted a new standardfor this type of yoga physiology teaching resource..best advice is still to fully investigate dr longs greatwebsite bandahyoga.com which allows you to go thru thesewonderful books page by page at the click of a mouse..namastecarl

I am OBSESSED with these books! Be sure to get all four in the series, along with Ray Long's Scientific Keys. These are brilliant if you're a serious yoga student. If you're new to the practice, maybe get something a little more basic to start, and then buy all of these!

All of the Yoga Mat Companion books are a must if you are in the fitness field. I am a NASM certified personal trainer and I use these books constantly. They really helped me learn and UNDERSTAND the muscles of the body and how they work and cues to activate certain ones. You don't need to practice yoga to get the benefits from these books. I do plan on eventually going through yoga teacher training at some point in my career and I know having these will definitely benefit me.

very informative book and the details are very helpful.

Great book, but not kindle ready. Every picture with relative description is wasted because one can't zoom in with decent quality

this series of books is the best detailed info i've seen on the postures. There are 3 ways I understand poses here. Names are given for each muscle that either stretches or flexes, also pictures of said muscles in different hues of blue and red to show where intensity is, also the joints involed and the direction the muscles move the ligements. While it could be overwhelming for some there is a lot of growing room and so many details to continue to work towards better posture. Even the sugested vinyasa flow has some weight to how to order poses and it gives reference to the chakras. But what I really like is how scientific it seems. It even gives several variations that can be used for injuries or preparation for each pose. What I really like is how it details how to use reciprocal inhibition and the golgi tendon to go deaper into poses- which I might call a simple shift of awareness to push into the pain without getting hurt. As well as a heap of detail about creating bandhas via co-activation for stabelization. One thing I dont see is much detail to get into the individual poses. But you can get that from a number of other good books. Once you're in the basic pose this book will provide much detail to continue to explore, play and increase awareness and form. The 4 books in the series have minimal overlap and the portions that do use different poses for the examples. Definately check these out!

Having this book has been a great instrument to help my students break down poses even more. Having the illustrations in such detail has given my students the ability to really visualize what they are striving for in each pose! If you are an instructor or a student looking to deepen your own practice, this is a must have!

These are great books. I have the Key Muscles of Yoga and the Key Poses of Yoga by the same guy as actual books for reference. Couldn’t quite stretch to getting all these companion books in physical form so got them in cheaper kindle edition. No good on the black and white kindle, but good on an iPad when you can see the colours of the diagrams easily. Not quite so easy to flick through as an actual book, but a good reference on iPad kindle app.

All of the Mat Companion Yoga books are fantastic guides for yoga teachers and keen students. Fairly anatomical so some background knowledge is pretty helpful. Its so useful to have the anatomical information there both is script and illustration and then to have a step by step guide how to apply this knowledge in each asana. Fantastic, inspiring books for yogi's who want to know more about anatomy.

Got delivered via prime, so recieved this next day. The book itself, unless you're aware of the names for each muscle, ligament & tenden, it can be difficult to follow. I do love that each pose has a few prep poses to warm into the full asana. Each asana is then explained by how each muscle group works in that asana & how best to work them to gain maximum benefit. I can see how this is a great teaching guide but I wouldn't recommend for beginners.

Great book for yoga 🧘‍♀️

Very detailed and focused on anatomy, good for teachers and those interested in deepening their understanding of yoga.