[close] Yoga has millions of devotees in the Western world, but most contemporary yoga students center their practice on postures but not on the ancient teachings that are still relevant today. In Yoga for Transformation, author Gary Kraftsow leads the modern yoga student in combining posture practice with the rich and deep tradition of mind, heart, and spirit. He presents core postures (asanas), clearly illustrated by models of all ages, and describes how to incorporate breathing, chanting, meditation, prayer, and ritual to add a spiritual dimension to your practice.

"The purpose of these practices is to serve you in deepening your self-understanding, and to assist you in the process of self-transformation," writes Kraftsow, founder of the American Viniyoga institute and author of Yoga for Wellness: Healing with the Timeless Teachings of Viniyoga. Viniyoga is a methodology for developing a personal yoga practice using asana, pranayama (breathing), meditation, ritual, and prayer. This multifaceted book is recommended for the serious yoga student who wants to explore new dimensions of yoga; it's not for the beginner or dabbler. --Joan Price [close]