Yoga Mat Companion 4: Anatomy for Arm Balances and Inversions

Master the science behind the arm balances and inversions of Hatha Yoga. Dr. Ray Long guides you on a visual narrative through the anatomy, biomechanics, and physiology of this ancient art, decoding each pose along the way. The Mat Companion series provides you with beautifully illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to use scientific principles to obtain the maximum benefit from your practice. Each book includes the Bandha Yoga Codex, a simple five-step process that can be applied to any pose to improve strength, flexibility, and precision -- no matter what style of yoga you practice. The Mat Companion series provides a methodical approach for using science to balance and connect the body and mind in yoga. The fourth book concludes the series with arm balances and inversions—two pose categories that clearly integrate opposites within the body. In our bipedal form, the hips and lower extremities are the weight-bearing construct. The more mobile shoulders and upper extremities allow us to interact with the world. In arm balances, we invert this construct, thereby strengthening the muscles, bones, and ligaments of the upper extremities. From an energetic perspective, arm balances stimulate the nerve plexuses associated with the fourth and fifth chakras. Practicing these poses with precision moves nerve impulses upwards through the subtle body. This opens the way for the unimpeded flow of energy from the lower and more primordial regions of the sacral plexus to the higher-functioning levels of the brain. A similar balancing of opposites... Yoga,Anatomy,Biomechanics,Physiology,Poses,Asana,Vinyasa,cues,inversions,arm balances,stretching Master the science behind the arm balances and inversions of Hatha Yoga through a series of step-by-step practical instructions illustrated with over twelve hundred full-color anatomical images