Product Description

Yantra Yoga offers the practitioner a unique approach to yoga practice, parallel to the Hatha Yoga of the Hindu tradition. Called "The Union of Sun and Moon," it is a dynamic system of trulkhor (movements) and tsalung (pranayamas, breath control) and differs from more widespread yogas in that it is done as a sequence of movements coordinated with the breath and specific ways of holding it. Yantra Yoga helps the practitioner to relax and achieve a state of well-being and harmony, at the same time enhancing physical health, energy, and mental balance.

At a more profound level, it is an important practice to integrate body, speech, and mind in a state that is beyond normal dualistic concepts. Yantra Yoga is a very rich body of knowledge that includes three preliminary series, 75 yantras (asanas), 7 breathing practices, 7 lotuses, and the vajra wave--108 exercises in all.

Profusely illustrated with drawings and photographs, Yantra Yoga presents Tibet's trulkhor yoga tradition as taught by one of its master exponents, Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.

Yantra Yoga's movements, exercises, and methods of concentration are all based on an eighth-century text by Vairocana whose translation is included, illuminated by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu's commentary. Detailed charts for the timing of the breathing exercises are also included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45952 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781559393089
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
"Such a beautiful book about a system of practice that involves bodily movements, breathing exercises and visualizations. We learn to twist like a conch, arch like a camel, flame like a lotus, curve like a bow--and know exactly why we are doing it...All Western practitioners will benefit from the clear and precise instructions."--Mandala, April/June 2009 --Mandala, April/June 2009

"This is a must-have for anyone interested in an authentic lineage of hatha yoga practice." Sandra Anderson, Yoga + Joyful Living Magazine, Summer 2009 --Yoga + Joyful Living Magazine, Summer 2009

"...magnificent...There is nothing like [this book]. That is why you should read it even if you never plan to do yoga...For any who have studied yantra this is a deep reference space to which they will return again and again. For those who have not practiced this profound method it is a full picture of the precision and depth of this way and an invitation to enter this practice in an experiential way...By the excellence of the translation and the fullness of details this work can nourish the understanding of practitioners everywhere." --The Mirror

"an enthusiastically recommended addition to Tibetan Buddhism studies shelves" - Wisconsin Bookwatch --Wisconsin Bookwatch

an enthusiastically recommended addition to Tibetan Buddhist studies shelves. -- Wisconsin Bookwatch --Wisconsin Bookwatch

Review
"...an enthusiastically recommended addition to Tibetan Buddhist studies shelves."

"...the definitive work on yantra...Practitioners of hatha yoga will be interested."--Shambhala Sun, May 2009

From the Back Cover
Yantra Yoga, the Buddhist parallel to the Hathayoga of the Hindu tradition, is a system of practice entailing bodily movements, breathing exercises and visualizations. Originally transmitted by the mahasiddhas of India and Oddiyana, its practice is nowadays found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism in relation to the Anuttaratantras, more generally known under the Tibetan term trulkhor, whose Sanskrit equivalent is yantra.

The Union of the Sun and Moon Yantra ('Phrul 'khor nyi zla kha sbyor), orally transmitted in Tibet in the eighth century by the great master Padmasambhava to the Tibetan translator and Dzogchen master Vairochana, can be considered the most ancient of all the systems of Yantra and its peculiarity is that it contains also numerous positions which are also found in the classic Yoga tradition.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, one of the great living masters of Dzogchen and Tantra, started transmitting this profound Yoga in the seventies, and at that time wrote this commentary which is based on the oral explanations of some Tibetan yogins and siddhas of the twentieth century. All Western practitioners will benefit from the extraordinary instructions contained in this volume.

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu is one of the great living masters of Dzogchen. He was a professor at the Oriental Institute of the University of Naples, Italy, and is the author of The Crystal and the Way of Light and Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State.

Adriano Clemente first studied Yantra Yoga with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu in the 1970s. He is the co-author of The Supreme Source.

Customer Reviews

Best book on physical-yoga available in English
This is IMHO the best book on physical-yoga available in English

Let me start by saying that I own hundreds of books on yoga. About half of these are on Tibetan yoga and about half are on the yoga of the Natha-Sampradaya or its modern derivatives (like Hatha-yoga and Kundalini practices). This book is simply the most interesting treatment of asanas (or "yantras" which are movements often containing asanas) and related pranayamas available, whether we are talking about Indian or Tibetan yoga.

This book covers a system of yoga originally recorded in writing in the 8th CE in a cycle of teachings by the Tibetan translator Vairochana. This cycle contains three works, one of which is fully translated (and commented upon at length) and another on the "elimination of obstacles" is quoted from extensively. The third work on tummo practice is not dealt with at all in this text.

I have only rarely seen such a comprehensive treatment of physical yoga. The text starts with a treatment of the preliminaries (sngon `gro) including two forms of pranayama and eighteen yantras for basic "body training" (lus sbyong). The yantras are yogic movements, many of which include the asanas familiar in Hatha-yoga.

This is followed by the main practices (dngos gzhi), which include five main series of techniques. Each of these five cycles has a method of pranayama, five basic yantras (dngos gzhi) and two variations of these yantras for training (rtsal `don) and progressing (bogs `don).

Thus there are five main pranayamas and seventy-five main yantras. These are followed by seven movements utilizing the lotus posture and a concluding section (rje kyi rim pa) with a method for clearing obstacles called the "vajra-wave".

So the text covers a total of 108 methods. The illustrations and descriptions of the yantras are very detailed, as are the explanations of the methods and rhythms of breathing while doing each yantra. Another important aspect is a detailed traditional description of the benefits of these yantras/asanas.

The pranayama is very advanced and I was astonished to find such methods described so plainly and in such detail. The methods for causing the prana to enter the central-channel (which have long been carefully guarded secrets) are explained in an unexpectedly thorough manner and the texts has a wealth of practical information, such as the progressive timetable for lengthening the practice of kumbhaka. The book has also answered a host of obscure questions that I have wondered about, such as if there is a relationship between madhyama, vama, and dakshina "nauli" and the three main nadis of the body.

From a historical perspective, the root-text (which is older than any of the extant texts on Hatha-yoga) is probably the most interesting document on physical yoga ever published. Many of the yantras are extremely similar to the asanas of Hatha-yoga in both name and appearance.

This illustrates that the yoga methods preserved in Tibet and the methods of the Hatha-yoga tradition (of the Nathas) were once deeply connected. This is particularly true of the abhyantaravarga of ati-yoga (especially the rdo rje zam pa) and the sampannakrama of anuttara-yoga-tantra (especially of Heruka Bhagavan Shri mngon rdzogs rgyal po). The lists of "great adepts" or mahasiddhas preserved in both the Tibetan and Indian traditions reinforce this connection. Many of the same adepts appear in the lineages of both traditions

This is now the most valued text in my collection, and I am deeply grateful to Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and the translators for making it available to students in the West.

RC Parker

This book saves many years of research.
This book saves many years of research. It clearly explains purpose of many methods which are usually assigned to domain of Hatha yoga. Available books with commentaries in twilight language of Natha sampradaya can be understood much better now. Also, it is a real treasure for practitioners of Vajrayana.
Sw. Santosh Suraj

one of a kind, but caveat emptor
in this book, chogyal namkhai norbu presents a detailed explanation of a medieval yoga text, as informed by his receipt of oral transmission. he makes no mention of whether in doing so he violates tradition, or whether an initiation is considered necessary to practice the exercises.

in general, tibetan buddhists are required to complete a series of purification exercises that last about two years before undertaking the higher levels of tantric instruction. one can only assume the practices in this book are an exception, because norbu does not discuss that point. there's a brief, obligatory statement at the introduction of the text stating that one should seek instruction from a qualified practitioner, but aside from that the reader is not discouraged from giving the material a go.

the text itself is basically a manual, presenting the exercises verbatim without frills or discussion. one might infer that the text was intended for an academic audience if it weren't for the fact that the instructions are so clear and specific. perhaps it was intended as a reference for the author's students, but if so that statement is not made anywhere.

if you are like me and are fascinated by the various schools of yoga and their practices, you will find in this book a real treat. it presents a highly esoteric system from a lineage totally distinct from modern hatha yoga. the exercises themselves, however, are quite complicated, and it is probably unrealistic to think you can learn to perform them correctly from this book. you should probably check out the videos available freely online by norbu's students and others, under the titles "yantra yoga" and "trul khor." there is a very specific rhythm and form to the exercises that cannot be gleaned from the text itself. if the author's assumptions are correct and these exercises act to free blocked energies in the subtle body, performing them incorrectly could conceivably lead to temporary psychosis or other problems.