Leslie Kaminoff - Yoga Anatomy-2nd Edition

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kaminoff, Leslie, 1958
Yoga anatomy / Leslie Kaminoff, Amy Matthews; Illustrated by Sharon Ellis. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-0024-4 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 1-4504-0024-8 (soft cover)
1. Hatha yoga. 2. Human anatomy. I. Matthews, Amy. II. Title.
RA781.7.K356 2011
613.7046--dc23

2011027333

ISBN-10: 1-4504-0024-8 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-0024-4 (print)

Copyright 2012, 2007 by The Breathe Trust

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.

This publication is written and published to provide accurate and authoritative information relevant to the subject matter presented. It is published and sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, medical, or other professional services by reason of their authorship or publication of this work. If medical or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

The web addresses cited in this text were current as of August 2011, unless otherwise noted.

Managing Editor: Laura Podeschi; Assistant Editors: Claire Marty and Tyler Wolpert; Copyeditor: Joanna Hatzopoulos Portman; Graphic Designer: Joe Buck; Graphic Artist: Tara Welsch; Original Cover Designer and Photographer (for illustration references): Lydia Mann; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Associate Art Manager: Alan L. Wilborn; Illustrations (cover and interior): Sharon Ellis; Printer: United Graphics

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To my teacher, T.K.V. Desikachar, I offer this book in gratitude for his unwavering insistence that I find my own truth. My greatest hope is that this work can justify his confidence in me.

And to my philosophy teacher, Ron Pisaturothe lessons will never end.

Leslie Kaminoff

In gratitude to all the students and teachers who have gone beforeespecially Philip, my student, teacher, and friend.

Amy Matthews

I am pleased to write this preface to an expanded, updated, and improved version of Yoga Anatomy. Most important, this new edition accurately reflects the true coauthorship of my collaborator and friend, Amy Matthews. In the first edition, I acknowledged working with Amy as one of the richest and most rewarding professional relationships Ive ever had. At this point, a few years later in our collaboration, I remove the qualifier one of. When Amy and I work together, it is as if our complementary, individual knowledge and perspectives are specialized hemispheres that come together to act as a kind of superbrain. It is a truly joyous experience to work with someone who makes me exponentially smarter than when Im alone. When we add the talent of Sharon Ellis, our extraordinary illustrator, as well as the support of our creative team at The Breathing Project, it makes for a potent mix.

Following the release of Yoga Anatomy in the summer of 2007, its success took everyone by surprise. As of this writing it has been translated into 19 languages, over 300,000 copies are in print, and it remains among the top-selling yoga books in the United States. We have received tremendous positive feedback from readers, many of whom are educators who now include Yoga Anatomy as a required text in their yoga teacher training courses. Practitioners as diverse as orthopedists, chiropractors, physical therapists, fitness trainers, and Pilates and Gyrotonic instructors are making good use of the book as well.

Some of the best feedback Ive received revolves around the first two chapters centered on breath and spine. My intention in these chapters was to provide information I wish had been available to me 25 years ago when I was trying to figure out the anatomical basis of my teachers distinctive approach to breathing in asana practice. I am especially pleased at how well received this information has been and am happy that this second edition provides the opportunity to add more illustrations, an expanded discussion of intrinsic equilibrium, the bandhas, and a brief history of the spine, deleted from the first edition due to space constraints.

Amy and I have also received critical feedback from readers, colleagues, and respected professionals in a variety of fields. The process of responding to this feedback has resulted in numerous improvements, the most significant of which are two new chapters by Amy on the skeletal system and the muscular system. These chapters feature a unique combination of sophistication and simplicity. The addition of these chapters makes Yoga Anatomy a more useful book that allows readers to better understand the specific anatomical terms used in the asana sections, especially joint actions and muscle actions.

is a new jointly written chapter offering our analysis of the asanas and our approach to choosing what to analyze. You should read this chapter before reading any of the entries for the specific asanas, because it explains our unconventional and sometimes controversial perspectives on classification, breathing, and joint and muscle actions.

Amy has completely reviewed and revised the asana sections. She has eliminated arbitrary or confusing classifications, terms, and concepts and added information to clarify muscle actions and improve the overall consistency of presentation. Lydia Mann provided assistance in design by organizing the revised data as tables to offer ease of comprehension. Other improvements include additional asana variations and new indexes for illustrations of specific joints and muscles as well as corrections and relabeling of illustrations throughout.

Amy and I are confident that this new edition of Yoga Anatomy will continue to be a valuable resource for practitioners and teachers of yoga and all other forms of healthy movement. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Please continue to let us know about your experiences in using the book.