Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Yoga Anatomy
Book Review: A welcome addition to any fitness library
Summary: 5 Stars
Leslie Kaminoff's book is an excellent owner's manual for anyone who has a body! "YOGA Anatomy" not only provides practitioners and instructors with a quick, concise source of information about muscles groups, but it is an excellent reference for anyone who is thinking about adopting any type of exercise routine outside of yoga. As a Yoga, Tai Chi, Nei Gong and Qi Gong instructor, I keep this book in my kit bag and use it whenever I need to make a fine point about alignment or strength. Dancers and martial artists will be excellently served and advised by Amy Matthews' clear and precise descriptions of kinesiology, or muscle/joint interaction. The notes and obstacles section of each posture also offers insight on the range of muscle movement and its effect on skeletal alignment. The fine and detailed illustrations provided by Sharon Ellis help round out this wonderful book. I highly recommend this book! You will be satisfied.Book Review: After the first two chapers, it's a great resource.
Summary: 3 Stars
This was assigned to me as a required resource for Shala (Yoga Teacher Training). Having no background in anatomy, I am really struggling to tie the written descriptions in the first two chapters to the illustrations. Perhaps there is an assumption by the author and illustrator of a certain level of anatomy knowlege that this reader doesn't posses. I find that the illustrations of the thoracic cavity (lungs, central tendon, diaphram) and the spinal column (discs, tendons, vertebrae) more confusing than helpful. I needed to consult with my Shala yoga instructors and 3 different anatomy books to understand what the author was trying to teach me. Chapter two is no better. The illustrations of the spine, tendons, discs are all superbly drawn, yet don't quite sync up with the written text if you're a newcomer like myself.
After these two chapters, it's a great resource. As the other reviewers have stated, the illustrations of the muscles used during different asanas are right on and quite helpful. This is a resource I'll keep and use again. However I'd like to see the first two chapters revised so the illustrations are presented better for the novice.
Book Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an awesome book for artists as well as yoginis! Gorgeous illustrations and great info. Highly recommend for yoga enthusiasts!Book Review: Amazing Explanation of Muscle Effects of Yoga
Summary: 5 Stars
WOW
Amazing photos, amazing rendering of internal musculature. A wow book for understanding what is happening inside the body during asana practice.
Incredibly well done!
Book Review: An excellent body of work for regular yoga practitioners or medical professionals
Summary: 5 Stars
This book strikes me as a labor of love - immense and incredible detail pours forth on every fully illustrated page.
Serious yoga practitioners will glean useful insights on joint actions, breathing, and the precise inner workings of their bodies, in poses from savasana to scorpion. Excellent color drawings show where your intestines curl up to in poses like shoulderstand (they take up a lot more room in the torso than we realize), what parts of the body hold up weight in inverted poses, and even what our illustrated musculature looks like from underneath, in, for example, turtle pose (the publishers photographed yogis underneath suspended glass slabs). There is a lot of neat stuff here.
The "Joint Action," "Working" and "Lengthening" paragraphs detail what parts of the body are under stress or responding to gravity. The arms, legs and spine are given extra attention.
"Obstacles and Notes" includes where one might feel restrictions, try variations or deal with bodily congestion.
"Breathing" offers tips on how the breath might be restricted and how to align each pose to more comfortably/fully breathe.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION -
Beginners won't really know what to make of this book. Besides the "oh, cool!" factor, it's difficult to figure out what beginners could do with this information. It's not a pose book per se. It's not causal reading. It's a serious texbook for serious yogis.
While the top of each page provides both Sanskrit and English pose names, the text refers to the Sanskrit, forcing yoga beginners to fumble around between pages to catch what the references are.
Proper names of muscles, bones and tendons are used: if reading about adductors, flexors, rotators, erector spinae, multifidi and rhomboids that "work eccentrically" are confusing, this book might not be altogether helpful.
That said, this book is a must-have for the libraries of yoga instructors and yoga therapists. Doctors and medical professionals endorsing yoga for health/fitness will likely enjoy this reference tool.
Intermediate to advanced practitioners with a working knowledge of anatomy and Sanskrit names should find exploring Yoga Anatomy an - ahem - illuminating experience. :)