LITMIR.BIZ

      New World Library

      14 Pamaron Way

      Novato, California 94949

      © 2003 by Here+There

      Photographs © 2003 by Dharma Mittra

      Asanas was produced in New York and London by Here+There

      Editor: Joe Dolce • Editorial Advisor: Angela LaSpisa

      Design: Caz Hildebrand

      Production: Mary Ann Casler

      All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part,

      stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means

      electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the

      publisher,except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

      The material in this book is intended for education. Please consult a

      qualified health care practitioner before beginning any exercise program.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Mittra, Dharma,1939–

      Asanas : 608 yoga postures / by Dharma Mittra.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 1-57731-402-6 (pbk. :alk. paper)

      1. Yoga — Pictorial works. I. Title.

      RA781.7 .M552003

      613.7'046—dc21

      2002154288

      First Printing, March 2003

      ISBN 1-57731-402-6

      Printed in Hong Kong

      Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      CONTENTS

       About This Book 8

       Guidelines for Practice 10

       Introduction 12

       Sun Salutation & Hero Series 21

       Standing Poses 47

       Inversions 145

       Floor & Supine Poses 258

       Arm Balancing Poses 527

       Twists & Seated Poses 596

       Breathing & Cleansing Practises 642

       Resting Poses 650

       Biography 660

       Glossary 662

      DEDICATION

      I offer my deepest thanks to:

      Shri Swami Kailashananda Maharaj 108, my Guru, my inspiration, my teacher, my father, my everything in the Divine Practice;

      my tireless and faithful Karma Yogi Ismrittee Devi, aka Eva Grubler Vargas;

      Angela LaSpisa my devoted student and angel in disguise; all of my students past and present who inspire me to serve and teach daily;

      my longtime students, initiated disciples, and certified teacher graduates who invest themselves in passing on the tradition;

      Krishna Das for his eternal love of chanting the divine name, for his friendship, and for allowing my home to be his; and most of all, to the Supreme Lord for honoring me with human birth and revealing to me my spiritual existence and unity with God, thereby giving me the opportunity to perform my prescribed duties in a disinterested way, and to use reason and discrimination to help maintain world order and make spiritual progress in this lifetime with no attachments to the fruits of my actions. He whose heart gets purified through action without attachment obtains God-Realization. May I uphold righteousness and live up to my initiate name of Dharma, Om Shantih Om.

      Dharma Mittra

      6

      Om.

      May we practice yoga so that our bodies and minds are purified. O Luminous One, may we find a guru (spiritual preceptor) to receive the right guidance and knowledge. O Imperishable, Incomprehensible, Infinite One, may we cross by Thy Grace this ocean of birth and death. May detachment be our boat, strength be our speed, the guru be our guide, and thy light our destination, so that we can safely cross this ocean (of pain and delusion) and return home again. May we never leave home again.

      Hare Om.

      7

       ABOUT THIS BOOK

      This book is an extraordinary celebration of human achievement — extraordinary not only because one man possessed the grace and prowess to execute so many yoga postures, but because he also had the determination to photograph himself doing them.

       For organizational purposes, Asanas groups the postures into eight broad sections. It would be a mistake to take those categories too literally because unlike other exercise regimes, yoga works on both the outside of the body and the inside. While a pose may appear to be a back stretch, it’s likely to also be working the legs and arms, increasing the flow of blood to specific glands and organs, and clarifying the practitioner’s relationship with the cosmos.

       The majority of the photos were shot in 1984, when Dharma was 45 years old. In the years since, some of the original negatives were lost or damaged, thus when it came time to put this book together, Dharma had to photograph himself again. It was impossible to replicate the original lighting conditions, so the newer shots have a different, more dense quality. Perhaps it is testimony to the

      8

Скачать книгу