The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama [Paperback]

Richard Rosen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2002

For several thousand years, yogis have drawn on the powerful practice of pranayama, a technique of controlling the breath to maximize prana or life energy. Pranayama has been practiced to rejuvenate the body and as a means of self-study and self-transformation. While most yoga practitioners today focus on asanas, or body postures, a growing number of people are learning the complementary practice of pranayama to deepen and enrich their practice.

The Yoga of Breath is a guide to learning the fundamentals of pranayama and incorporating them into an existing yoga practice. Rosen's approach is easy to follow with step-by-step descriptions of breath and body awareness exercises accompanied by clear illustrations. The book also covers the history and philosophy of pranayama, offers useful practice tips, and teaches readers how to use props to enhance the exercises.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Rosen, a nationally known yoga teacher and contributing editor to Yoga Journal, has written an excellent guide to the yogic art of pranayama, which translates from Sanskrit as the lengthening of the breath or control of the life force. Due to its powerful effects, pranayama is traditionally learned under the guidance of a teacher. This book provides a safe introduction to pranayama for modern yoga students. Drawing on classic Indian texts, Rosen clearly explains the complex philosophy underlying pranayama. He leads the reader on a journey of self-discovery by providing several interesting exercises to develop body and breath awareness. Strongly influenced by modern yoga master BKS Iyengar's Light on Pranayama (1981), Rosen incorporates many of Iyengar's innovations, such as the use of yoga props and reclined positions in his treatise. Full of practical advice, this is an expert and accessible introduction to the mystic art of controlled respiration. Jane Tuma
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Richard Rosen's new book The Yoga of Breath is a welcome addition to the few pranayama literature issued in the past decade or so; it will help dedicated yogis keep their spiritual instruments properly strung and finely tuned."—Yoga Journal

"Richard Rosen has written a beautiful and substantial work on pranayama. It is at once modern and classical. Brilliantly engaging and accessible, it is a guide to practice that can become a companion for life. I recommend it unequivocally to students and teachers alike."—Patricia Walden, cofounder of the B. K. S. Iyengar Yoga Studio

"Pranayama is a vitally important part of traditional Hatha-Yoga. Richard Rosen has rendered a most valuable yeoman service by making this widely neglected practice accessible to Western practitioners. I highly recommend this work."—George Feuerstein, Ph.D., author of The Shambhala Guide to Yoga

"Richard Rosen acts as our pranayama tour guide by honestly sharing his own travels, both inward and outward. And he has done it the way all great teachers do: He points to the map and then makes sure we go on our own journey and don't just keep looking at his finger. The Yoga of Breath shows us how to find time, how to work with our mind, cultivate patience, experience more spaciousness, and be playful—all that by breathing in and breathing out. I'm inspired!"—Cyndi Lee, director of the Om Yoga Center

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (August 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570628890
• ISBN-13: 978-1570628894
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 18 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent beginning book on pranayama, December 16, 2006

By 

Patrick D. Goonan "see profile for URL" (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama (Paperback)

This is a good book that takes a slow approach to learning pranayama and integrating it with an asana practice. While I think there are better books out there such as Iyengar's "Light on Pranayama," many beginners may find this level of detail intimidating. However, this book takes things slow and that is a good thing for people experimenting on their own which is probably not the best way to learn pranayama.

I am a former Teaching Fellow in physiology and an ex-scientist. Currently, I work in psychology and part of my business involves the use of biofeedback. With that said, I want to point out that practicing breathing techniques without appropriate instruction can be dangerous at worst and could cause a variety of physical symptoms such as anxiety and panic. It wise to take things slowly and this book is written by someone who is responsible and has taught this material in a variety of settings over many years.

In general, I am an advocate of a slow and gentle approach to any type of yoga practice, but particularly breathing techniques. I also think that if you get this book, you should also consider "The Science of Breath" which provides a scientific framework for the ideas presented here and a more broad treatment by advanced practioners with psychological and more scientific backgrounds. I'm not saying this book doesn't have a lot of value, but I agree with the other reviewers that it's not a standalone text.

If you are only going to buy one book on pranayama, I would say that Iyengar's "Light on Pranayama" is the best. However, it is an area that is best studied from a variety of points of view and certainly Mr. Rosen has made an important contribution to the literature on this topic for Western audiences.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Provides a detailed plan for the study of yoga and breath, January 26, 2004

By 

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama (Paperback)

I have been a home practitioner of yoga for some time now, but I struggle with the breathing, or pranayama, necessary to go deeper into the asanas (postures), and so I was hoping that ths book would provide detailed breathing instruction. Although the author definitely does include step-by-step instruction for how to perform some of the most common types of yogic breath, this information does not come until the end of the book. Instead, the first part of the book focuses on growing accustomed to breathing normally while performing a series of basic yoga poses modified with props (as per the Iyengar tradition). The author offers a planned study guide which first incorporates the basic poses and then eventually works up to the breathing exercises.

This book doesn't really work for people like myself who originally came to yoga via asana practice alone but then eventually desired to incorporate pranayama into their practice. However, for the beginning yoga practitioner looking simultaneously develop an asana and pranayama practice, this might be a useful reference manual.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Opening the door to Pranayama, October 15, 2003

By 

A. Prokop "ants_p" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama (Paperback)

For me this book was the link between Yoga Asana and Pranayama techniques. Useful? Yes, absolutely! If like me you are looking to begin the process of learning Pranayama from a background of attending yoga classes and practising at home. This book helps you build upon the familiar yoga postures allowing you to be confident as you start explore the breath. Pranayama is the foundation of a balanced Yoga practice, this book is an easy to understand introduction to the basics of the practice. For people looking for advanced practices there are plenty of esoteric hard to read, hard to understand books available. For the rest of us this book will more than adequate for many years.