Product Description

The first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to viniyoga--yoga adapted to the needs of the individual. 

• A contemporary classic by a world-renowned teacher. 

• This new edition adds thirty-two poems by Krishnamacharya that capture the essence of his teachings. 

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value. 

In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle. 

This is a revised edition of The Heart of Yoga.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1509 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-01
• Released on: 1999-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 244 pages

Yoga Journal
Krishnamacharya was one of the greatest yogis of modern times-a master scholar, healer, and spiritual teacher-whose students have changed the face of yoga in the West. Now Krishnamacharya's son, himself a renowned teacher, talks about his father's unique vision of yoga.

From Scientific American
Here, the practice of yoga is directed toward the individual's needs and goals.

Bodhi Tree Book Review, Winter 1999 / Spring 2000
. . . a milestone in the transmission of yoga from the ancient masters to the modern world.

Customer Reviews

Interesting but not for Beginners
We assign this book for our Advanced Yoga class. It is a great way to bridge physical activity with mental activity in the practices of yoga. I enjoyed this book, but it is not for beginners. I think some basic understanding of the practice is needed before reading this which is in more detail.

This is it!
Being a yoga teacher, I am often asked if there were only 1 book on yoga that I could recommend, which would it be? The answer is The Heart of Yoga. There is no hidden agenda here. The essence of yoga from the heart of a yogi. My second choice would be Srivatsa Ramaswami's-- Yoga for the Three Stages of Life: Developing Your Practice As an Art Form, a Physical Therapy, and a Guiding Philosophy. Second only because it did not have a translation of the Yoga Sutras included, as does The Heart of Yoga.

Very Enlightening and Inspiring
I had to pick this book up for my yoga instructor certification course. Initially, I approached like I do all textbooks, with dread and out of necessity. I expected it to be WAY over my head, especially since I am relatively new to rigorous practice of yoga. However, Desikachar's writing style and tone make this book completely accessible. I have learned so much from this book and what I have found is that Desikachar's words are very easy to incorporate into my dharma talks and apply to my yoga practice. The book is very well organized and very well laid out with each section building on the previous section's information. There is even a Sanskrit pronunciation guide in the back of the book! In addition to that, Desikachar's gift is his ability to share his knowledge and his passion in a way that engenders hope and allows the readers to have faith in their abilities, at whatever level of their yoga practice. It's not so much that he tells you what to do and places an expectation on you to do it. No, it is more as if he shares what he knows and wants the reader to be able to experience the joy and the profound effects of yoga. I highly recommend this book to any level yogi who practices any style of yoga.