Feuerstein - Yoga For Dummies

Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Georg Feuerstein, PhD, and Larry Payne, PhD

Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010921241

ISBN: 978-0-470-50202-0

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

Georg Feuerstein, PhD, has been studying and practicing Yoga since his early teens and is a practitioner of Buddhist Yoga. He is internationally respected for his contribution to Yoga research and the history of consciousness and has been featured in many national magazines both in the United States and abroad. He has authored over 40 books, including The Yoga Tradition, The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, and Yoga Morality, which have been translated into eight languages. Since his retirement in 2004, he has designed and tutored several distance-learning courses on Yoga philosophy for Traditional Yoga Studies, a Canadian company founded and directed by his wife, Brenda (see www.traditionalyogastudies.com).

Larry Payne, PhD, is an internationally prominent Yoga teacher, author, workshop leader, and pioneer in the field of Yoga therapy since 1980. He discovered Yoga when he was challenged by his own serious back problems and injuries from numerous competitive sports played in his youth.

Larry is co-founder of the Yoga curriculum at the UCLA School of Medicine. He was named One of Americas most respected Yoga teachers by the Los Angeles Times, and was selected as a leading Yoga expert by Dr. Mehmet Oz, Readers Digest, Web-MD, Rodale Press, and the Yoga Journal.

In Los Angeles, Larry is founding director of the Yoga Therapy Rx and Prime of Life Yoga certification programs at Loyola Marymount University and has a thriving private practice in Yoga therapy as a back specialist. He is coauthor of five books and is featured in the DVD series Yoga Therapy Rx and Prime of Life Yoga. His Web site is www.samata.com.

Dedication

From Larry: My contribution to this book is dedicated to the love of my life Merry Aronson, my beloved family, Dolly, Harry in heaven, Chris, Harold, Susan, Lisa, Natale, Maria, and my students who have been my greatest teachers.

Authors Acknowledgments

From Georg: I would like to cordially thank Larry for graciously shouldering the main burden of preparing this new edition for the press. My thanks also go to the For Dummies staff for their essential behind-the-scenes work done.

From Larry: Unless you are truly gifted like my coauthor Georg, writing a book takes a village, and I have many people to thank in mine. Merry of MerryMedia first encouraged me to do this revision. Sri TKV Desikachar and his family have inspired my Yoga path since 1980. My editor, Deborah Myers, was simply grand. My council of advisors is always there for me: Prof. Zhuo-Yi Qiu, OMD; David Allen, MD; Richard Usatine, MD; Rick Morris, DC; Richard Miller, PhD; Art Brownstein, MD; Mike Sinel, MD; Prof. Sasi Velupillai, Steve Ostrow, JD; and my personal assistant, Jenna Entwistle.

Michael Lewis at Wiley initiated this revision project, and his patience and persistence made it happen. Thanks also go to Carol Susan Roth, our book agent, and our editorial team at Wiley, led by Chrissy Guthrie and Megan Knoll who are both talented and compassionate.

I am very grateful to our photographer, Adam Latham, and our 21 models starring Jeffrey Aronson, Michael Aronson, Deborah Barry, Holly Beaty, Anna Brown, Chauncey Dennis, Lili Foster, Mia Foster, Terra Gold, Eden Goldman, Anna Inferrera, Marvin Jordana, Chris Joseph, the Ketterhagen family: Kourtney, Luke, Mangala, and Prakash, Dolly Payne, Tony Ransdell, Heidi Rayden, and Vivian Richman.

Publishers Acknowledgments

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