Yoga Self-Taught

by André Van Lysebeth, C. Congreve (Translator)

It's like having a yoga teacher in your own home! Van Lysebeth, with over 50 years experience as a yoga instructor, describes more than 200 exercises and postures, using over 100 photographs and numerous illustrations that show both the right and wrong way to perform them. Unlike other yoga books which show only the completed posture, these illustrations show the intermediate steps for attaining the final postures. For beginning students, this classic book is a perfect introduction to yoga.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

André Van Lysebeth has practiced yoga since 1945 and is the founder of the Belgian Yoga Federation and co-founder of the European Yoga Foundation.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on yoga I've read so far. It has very detailed instructions for each asana, but more than that, it doesn't pretend that you can separate the asanas from the yamas and niyamas - in other words; you can't pretend that yoga is just another kind of exercise and actually get much out of it.

He is a teacher in the tradition of Integral Yoga, a spiritual student of Swami Shivananda, who in turn seeks his inspiraton from Patanjali. As do most. The difference is that instead of preaching a particular branch of Hinduism, a particular path, Shivananda and his own forefathers believe, as Krishna himself laid out in the Gitas, that all four paths can and should be practiced together - thus the "integrated" title.

Van Lysebeth does not get preachy, though. He just lays out what one needs to do in order to get the most benefit from practicing yoga. I highly recommend it, even for those who are more experienced in the physical practice.

[Mafalda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book on yoga.
I actually bought it because I was browsing books while waiting for a friend and decided to have a look at this one.
I found it incredibly well structured. Basic Hatha Yoga asanas were explained in detail and since he's a physician he had two different approaches to them, he would explain its physiological effects as well as their religious meaning.
I had been practicing yoga on my own for a long time and this and the second volume helped me improve the results and gave me some insight into the medical benefits and risks it involves.

Overall useful and enriching.

[Manuel Rodriguez Acosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excelente compañero práctico para las personas que buscan iniciarse en el Yoga. Bastante fácil de entender y muy ilustrativo con lo que respecta a las prácticas de las asanas (posturas corporales).

[Ametista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preziosissimo libro di Andrè van Lysebet.
Inizialmente viene spiegato quale è il miglior modo per respirare, poi si passa alla descrizione delle asana (posizioni) nei minimi dettagli al fine di praticare l'esercizio nel modo più corretto possibile. Per ogni asana vengono indicati gli errori più comuni, affinché non vengano ripetuti, e i benefici delle posizioni sugli organi interessati.
Al termine vi sono alcune pagine dedicate all'alimentazione.


Un'anteprima del libro è disponibile su: http://it.scribd.com/doc/51667772/IMP...

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ea un libro muy ilustrativo h claro sobre los principios del yoga y su práctica. Cuando lo compré pensé que solo me iba a enseñar ub par de asanas, pero me sorprendió gratamente al mostrarme varios aspectos de la vida del yogi h su filosofía, pasando por sus orígenes, tecnicas de respiración, beneficios de su práctica y hasta consejos de alimentación (pasando obviamente por la descripción detallada y gráfica (tiene fotos y dibujos) delas asanas.

Por ello, mi conclusión es que es ub libro muy recomendable para quienes

[Monika Müller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very good yoga teacher and it teaches yoga teachers as well. Andre van Lysebeth gives in the way he writes certainly a lot of love to the student, what enhances their efforts to study yoga. He is a master (this is a term I almost never use in my life to speak about someone).

[Aleksandar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good basic introduction to Hatha Yoga for a westerner.

It has a brief explanation of what Yoga is supposed to be, but doesn't go into esoteric and spiritual significance of Yoga, which are the most important parts of it.

But the book is meant for people just getting into their Yoga journey, it explains the Asanas, how to perform and perfect them, their physiological and physical effects, which is by itself great. It's a valuable book for beginners that want to know more about Yoga and the book is an easy read.

Author also considers westerners as people that are unable to take out more than 30 minutes for Yoga every day, so the routine is made to be done in a short amount of time, that's a plus for some, and a minus for others that are more serious about their practice.

[Lex van Wingerde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book about 40 years ago. I was young and there hardly were any yoga teachers at all in my city. But the library has some 20 books about yoga. I read them all and this one was by far the best. Even now, my own yoga library is 30 modern books, this one is still my favorite. Van Lysebeth didn't use terms like Kundalini or chakra but instead explains the effects of yoga in terms of blood vessels, intestines, the nervous systems, bones and muscles. He takes hundred of pages to explain a few asanas in such details I never encountered in class or in other books, with perhaps the exception of Iyengar. He also explains very useful techniques like Udyanna Bandha, Nauti and Nidra, in such a simple way that people can actually master these powerful techniques.

[alex elko · Rating 3 out of 5]

• The yogis advised us to breathe as though at our birth we had been allotted a certain unber of respirations, and our lives would last until this capital 'number of respirations' came to an end. Had we inherited this belief, how careful would we be to breathe slowly. There is no doubt that to breathe is to live. But to breathe slowly is to live long-and to enjoy good health.

• Cicero: 'Only the man who can relax is able to create, and ideas reach his mind like lightning.'

• Practice of silence is very important:

    • to relax your nervous system & brain

    • to exercise your will

• Uddiyaana Bandha breathing ≈ "blockage flying up", prana (energy) flying upwards by the Sushumma Nadi (the channel of subtle energy corresponding in the material body to the spinal cord)

[Vladana Milivoj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for everyone interested in yoga, especially for the beginners. You’ll get a very detailed program of asanas which you can modify to suit your needs and current condition. And beyond that :)

[pemondelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

En esta guía fácil de seguir y de usar encontré una receta que llevé a cabo durante años: el desayuno Kollath. En sí, es una guía fácil de usar y entendible. Los conocimientos que tiene Van Lysebeth no los conozco.

[Sche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un ouvrage très complet mais accessible !

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Nassima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the book and exercises were helpful. Gives a basic understanding of yoga

[Lilith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manuale semplice ma nello stesso tempo ben dettagliato utile ai neofiti per apprendere le basi della disciplina. 6.5

[Eleonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ottimo per un primo approccio pratico/teorico

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torno spesso a prendere in mano questo libro, ma non lascio mai abbastanza spazio per la pratica!

[Monika Müller · Rating 5 out of 5]

If one uses this book which exists in different languages as a teacher and likes to learn Hatha-Yoga well, one is well advised to study with this book.

[Ellen Martens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in the late sixties, and have consulted it ever since. Some of the forms differ from Iyengar Yoga, but it provides an excellent set of postures for back care.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une bonne base pour démarrer le yoga. Très complet, avec des explications claires et précises. Je regrette simplement le côté "ludique" qui manque au livre.