Yoga Self-Taught

1971

by Andre van Lysebeth

CONTENTS

• 1. Modern Man and Yoga
• 2. The Spirit of Hatha-yoga
• 3. To Breathe is to be Alive
• 4. Complete Yogic Respiration
• 5. Goodbye to Colds
• 6. Tongue Dhauti
• 7. OM
• 8. Relaxation
• 9. Relaxation (continued): Its essentials
• 10. Now to Deeper Relaxation
• 11. Self-Awareness
• 12. The Secret of a Supple Body
• 13. Concentration During Asanas
• 14. In What Order Should We Practise the Postures?
• 15. Asanas
• 16. to 25. Postures in Detail
• 26. Uddiyana Bandha
• 27. Perfecting the Asanas
• 28. Suryanamaskar: A Salutation to the Sun
• 29. We are What We Eat
• 30. to 33. Diet
• 34. And Finally

Chapter 3.

To Breathe is to be Alive
Priority should be given to exhalation (twice as long as inhalation). Yogic breathing (complete breathing) consists of Diaphragmatic, Intercostal, and Clavicular breathing. Diagrams and instructions are given in the next chapter.

Chapters 8, 9, 10.

Relaxation
The voluntary (striated) muscles can with practise be relaxed at will. The muscles have five states:

• latent-quiescent, ready to contract, as when awake
• contracted, when the nerve impulse causes contraction
• relaxed, as during sleep
• super-relaxed, yogic relaxation in which there is even less activity than in sleep
• super-contraction, a perpetual state causing too much tension.

Practise relaxation in a quiet, comfortable room. Say to yourself that you are calm and relaxed. Smile, set aside worries, stretch, yawn, lie in Shavasana. Let gravity pull you down, feel the weight, relax and every each part of your fingers, hand, arm.

When you can do this at will, then start by noticing your breathing, concentrate on it, let it happen. Then start to slow it down, making exhalation twice as long as inhalation (the natural state). Now start to relax the arm, then the whole body. Relax from the feet upwards to the head, then the arms and then the head again - i.e. relax big muscles first, because these are easier to relax. Now feel the force of gravity and how heavy your body is. This is super relaxation. With practise, it can be done quite quickly.

Chapter 11.

Self-Awareness
A yoga session consists of warm-up (e.g. sun salutation), self-awareness, asanas, relaxation.
Self-awareness is to re-establish contact with the body, beginning with the skin, muscles, breathing and internal organs.

Chapter 12.

The Secret of a Supple Body
A young body is supple and so also is a yogi, even an older one. the secret of suppleness is relaxing the muscles, so that they can be lengthened to the maximum.

A muscle may be in contraction, in a state of tone (ready to contract), relaxed (at rest), or being stretched. In the stretched state, the blood is squeezed out of it, so that when the stretching stops, fresh blood enters to nourish the muscle. The steady stretching of a relaxed muscle allows it to reach maximum length.

Chapter 13.

Concentration during Asanas
During the dynamic stage, concentrate on method, Relaxation, Breathing, Consistently Smooth Performance.
During the static stage, concentrate on Remaining Motionless and Relaxed, Strategic Intent of asana (e.g.shoulder stand affects thyroid).

Chapters 14 to 28.

Asanas
Asanas shown in the following order: shoulder stand, plough, fish, forward bend, cobra, locust, bow, spinal twist, headstand, cleansing, breathing, relaxation. Excellent descriptions and pictures, including contra indications and benefits.