Structural Yoga Therapy: Adapting to the Individual

by Mukunda Stiles

Structural Yoga Therapy has been written for teachers and serious practitioners who want to use yoga to bring complete balance to the body. Mukunda Stiles begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the spiritual philosophy of yoga, and its many branches. He discusses everything that a beginning student needs to consider when choosing a practice, including how to find a yoga teacher. He also shares his solid understanding of anatomy and kinesiology (how specific muscles and bones react during movement) so that you can understand how each asana affects your body. Structural Yoga Therapy "TM" involves a series of 24 asanas. You'll learn "bodyreading" to determine what your posture reveals about muscular imbalances. You'll find out about joint mobility and muscle strength and learn how to work with a series of jointfreeing exercises to strengthen muscles. Once you are fully acquainted with your individual needs, Stiles teaches you how to synthesize a personalized program from the 24 Structural Yoga asanas to optimize health and healing. This valuable textbook is also useful for anyone working in physical therapy, myofascial release techniques, or other forms of massage.

Genres: Health, Reference, Nonfiction

344 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2000

Reviews

[Emily]

I love this book and refer to it constantly in my teaching and even in my massage practice. Just today I pulled some information from it for a client. There are great assessment tools as well as lots of great information in helping to work one on one with clients with physical limitations and stress.

[Julia]

a must read for anyone who inhabits a body

[Bryan]

I am sure that ‘Structural Yoga Therapy’ will always be a foundational book in my yoga library. It is very basic but holds so much great advice for the yoga practitioner. Two of my favorite parts of the book were; first a section on what you should look for in a yoga teacher, and the second is the “Joint Freeing Series.”

[yamiyoghurt]

One of the best books on yoga. As the title says, structural yoga therapy, so it addresses assessment for joint mobility and recommends movement or asanas to address the problems.

[Kate]

The textbook for yoga therapy.

[Matt Kelland]

A useful book if you want to understand exactly what yoga does to your body and how you need to adapt your practice to your specific needs. I found some of the tone irritating - I don't want to be constantly reminded that what he's promoting is a trademarked system - but the information is good and easy to read.

[Sandra Bloom]

this is a perfect essay about yoga therapie

[Christine]

Must have

[Jack Keaton]

This is a great book on yoga technique, wellness, and spirituality with great references for further readings. It took me over a year to read it. Taking my time, meditating on every thought. Indispensable!

[Justin]

I liked the body signals section of the asanas which pointed out how different deviations point to different issues. I found the asana descriptions lacking. I'd like to have seen more pictures and had instructions in bullet points

[John Hawkins]

Great structural overview of asanas. Things in there you have never seen. Mukanda Stiles offers new insight in the Practice of Hatha Yoga.

[Suzanna]

One of the best books I have seen on how and why yoga asanas work.