Eighty-Four Asanas in Yoga : A Survey of Traditions (With Illustrations)

Contents: Acknowledgements. Guide to transliteration and pronunciation. Frequently used abbreviations. 1. Introduction. 2. A brief survey of relevant texts. 3. On the terms Hathayoga and Rajayoga. 4. The place and function of Asanas in Yoga systems. 5. Eighty-four Asanas in yoga. 6. Sets of illustrations of eighty-four asanas. 7. Concluding remarks. 8. Appendices: lists of names of eighty-four asanas. Selected bibliography and abbreviations. Index of names of Asanas listed in the appendices. General index.

"Physical postures (asanas) are the most important and often the only constituent of modern yoga. Many practitioners believe that the postures derive from an ancient original set of eighty-four asanas. This book, for the first time, traces traditions of eighty-four postures by examining original material, including drawings, descriptions in older Indic texts and modern publications which reflect contemporary traditions. It also takes up a number of broad issues related to the topic of yoga postures so as to provide the reader with a larger context." (jacket)