Winning Ways: Hatha Yoga Illustrated

Winning Ways (FYI):
Hatha Yoga Illustrated
Sunday, April 18, 2004

By Gregory "Graig" White
SJSports Physical Fitness Advisor

I don't practice Yoga, so let's get this out of the way, but if I did this book would be a great place to start. "Hatha Yoga Illustrated" could have also been called "Yoga for Dummies". The writers of this book went out of their way to keep things as simple as they could so that everyone who picked up the book would be able to understand it.

Hatha Yoga can calm the mind, reduce stress or provide a challenging workout, and sometimes before a game or match this could be just the thing to help an athlete get ready. One of my tennis players was notorious for starting matches really slowly, we decided to give this a shot and before we knew what had happened this athlete was no longer starting matches losing the first two games. This active version of Yoga combines an uplifting, self-honoring discipline with a more physical style.

This publication is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to fully understand and benefit from this form of Yoga. The book contains nearly 650 full-color pictures to demonstrate the 77 standard hatha poses from the four most popular types of Hatha yoga: the Iyengar, Astanga, Anusara, and Bikram styles. Individual poses are presented from start to finish, showing how to achieve proper alignment and breathing for a deeper, richer experience.

Unlike many other forms of physical activity, there is a level and style of hatha yoga for almost everyone. "Hatha Yoga Illustrated" makes it easy for readers to adjust yoga practice to their individual levels. So if you are an athlete and you are looking for a different component to enhance your ability to compete the answer may lie in between the covers of this book.

Do you have a fitness or conditioning question for Graig? Send it to gwhite@teamconditioning.com. If your question is used in an article, you will receive a free Team Conditioning Systems t-shirt.

For previous Winning Ways, visit Graig's Archives