Daniel DiTuro - Hatha Yoga Asanas: Pocket Guide for Personal Practice

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DiTuro, Daniel. Hatha yoga asanas : pocket guide for personal practice / Daniel DiTuro, Ingrid Yang. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-1485-2 (soft cover) ISBN-10: 1-4504-1485-0 (soft cover) 1. I. I.

Yang, Ingrid, 1979- II. Title. RA781.7.D58 2012 613.7'046--dc23 2011041296 ISBN-10: 1-4504-1485-0 (print) ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-1485-2 (print) Copyright 2012 by Daniel DiTuro and Ingrid Yang All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. The web addresses cited in this text were current as of November 2011, unless otherwise noted. Developmental Editor: Laura E.

Podeschi; Assistant Editor: Tyler Wolpert; Copyeditor: Jan Feeney; Cover Designer: Keith Blomberg; Photographer (cover and interior): Daniel DiTuro; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Printer: United Graphics We thank the owners of Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, California, and Yoga is Youthfulness in Mountain View, California, for assistance in providing the locations for the photo shoots for this book. Human Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts can also be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Manager at Human Kinetics. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry program. Human Kinetics Website: www.HumanKinetics.com United States: Human Kinetics P.O.

Box 5076 Champaign, IL 61825-5076 800-747-4457 e-mail: Canada: Human Kinetics 475 Devonshire Road Unit 100 Windsor, ON N8Y 2L5 800-465-7301 (in Canada only) e-mail: Europe: Human Kinetics 107 Bradford Road Stanningley Leeds LS28 6AT, United Kingdom +44 (0) 113 255 5665 e-mail: Australia: Human Kinetics 57A Price Avenue Lower Mitcham, South Australia 5062 08 8372 0999 e-mail: New Zealand: Human Kinetics P.O. Box 80 Torrens Park, South Australia 5062 0800 222 062 e-mail: E5537 To all yogis and yoginis, past, present, and future. Daniel DiTuro To my cousin Sharon, for believing in me always. Ingrid Yang

I am extremely thankful to have worked with so many gifted people on this project. This undertaking would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my parents, Donato and Rachele DiTuro. They immigrated from a rural part of southern Italy to the United States for new opportunities. Their dedication and vision ensured that their children would have a better life. My parents allowed me to pursue my love of cooking, science, and the arts. They were excellent teachers with little formal education.

They never attended a cooking or science class nor the opera or symphony, but they excelled at cooking, were enthralled by science, and enjoyed all music, from classical to pop. I cannot thank them enough for their love and the many sacrifices they made in pursuing a better life. The photographs in this book were shot in Arizona and California. For allowing me to use their yoga studios for the California photo shoots, I thank Sabina Hentz, co-owner of Yoga Is Youthfulness in Mountain View, and Gerhard Gessner and Alexandra Oehmigen-Gessner, owners of Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla. Special thanks to Cheri Gross for coordinating the Mountain View photo shoot. Cheri devoted many hours recruiting excellent yoga teachers to model for the book, assigning the poses for each model, and arranging for the use of Yoga Is Youthfulness.

I met my coauthor, Ingrid Yang, at the La Jolla photo shoot. Her sincere enthusiasm for the project was evident from the very beginning. She assisted with setup and teardown and modeled for a fast-paced photo session scheduled between yoga classes. I learned from Ingrid how many asanas have evolved over the years, placing more emphasis on the physical abilities of the majority rather than the extreme flexibility of a minority. It was a pleasure working with Ingrid on this book. More than 20 yoga teachers and students modeled for this book over a period of seven years.

They endured less-than-ideal conditions modeling many of the asanas without complaint. Their professionalism was amazing. Each photo session taught me a new pose or variation of a pose. Each photo shoot, like each model, was unique. I learned so much in the process. The models experience ranged from gentle to vigorous ashtanga vinyasa yoga.

The models appearing in this book are Ingrid Yang, Pamela Scott, Elizabeth Ormon, Beth Perry, Cheri Gross, Carlos Mendez, Louis Jackson, Beata Skrzypacz, Zahra Mojdeh Zahiraleslamzadeh, Liza DiGaetano, Gerhard Gessner, Jamie Pinkum, Kristi Nelson, Justina Kerth, Robert Birks, and Leslie Thompson. You are all awesome, and I thank each of you for your time and the opportunity to work with you on this project. Finally, my gratitude to Jason Muzinic and Human Kinetics for the opportunity to make this book available to all yogis and yoginis. Daniel DiTuro T he adage It takes a village to raise a child applies to writing a book. I owe thanks to every person who has come into my life to challenge, support, embrace, or inspire me. Among the many people to whom I owe thanks, the first is my cousin Sharon, who supported, encouraged, and believed in me when it seemed that no one else did.

Her faith in my ability to succeed and fulfill my dreams has never wavered and, consequently, has passed onto me. I owe to Sharon my belief in positive self-fulfilling prophecies, tenacity, and unquestioning love. Special thanks to my teachers Sarah Trelease, Cyndi Lee, David Life, Sharon Gannon, and Dharma Mittra. Your wisdom and guidance will continue to resonate with me throughout my life. To the community of Blue Point Yoga Center in Durham, North Carolina, thank you for allowing me to be your founder, teacher, and fearless leader for many years. To the community at Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, California, and Alex Gessner, thank you for welcoming me with open arms and offering me the opportunities, support, and enthusiasm to teach new and innovative programs.