The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice: TKV Desikachar is the son of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, one of the greatest modern yogis. Krishnamacharya lived over 100 years and his teachings have influenced BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi and his son, who has based this book on his fathers concept of viniyoga.
Viniyoga maintains that for the optimal therapeutic benefit, yoga must be adapted to the needs of the individual student. The adaptations that are required are always changing, as the needs of the individual are always in flux.
In this book, Desikachar discusses his father’s system and his own approach. The Heart of Yoga outlines step by step sequence for developing a personal practice. The author teaches how students can develop a practice that fits their specific needs, such as health, age, lifestyle, and occupation.
The Heart of Yoga is not a book that is devoted entirely to describing yoga poses and how to perform asanas. It is intended to help you understand yoga on a deeper level and learn how to create a practice that specifically benefits you. Desikachar addresses all aspects of yoga, poses, counter poses, breathing, meditations and philosophy.
Through this book, the yoga student will learn how to fully benefit from yoga and every asana. There is a section on pranayama, connecting breath with movement and some sequences for a general yoga practice, connecting poses and much more.
If you are looking for a book that will help deepen your understanding of yoga, this is a good choice. It is beneficial for anyone interesting in developing or deepening their own practice and is a great addition to the library of any yoga teacher or aspiring teacher.
The book has sections on asanas, constructing a practice, varying asanas and foundations of creating your yoga practice. As an added bonus, the book includes a complete translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali at the back.