The Yoga of Breath - by Richard Rosen (Paperback)

About the Book

"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. 40 illustrations.

Book Synopsis

Discover the basics and benefits of breath control--pranayama--and how to incorporate it into your yoga practice

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.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

Richard Rosen is a graduate of the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco and has been teaching yoga since 1987. He is a contributing editor at Yoga Journal magazine and director of and one of the principal teachers at the Piedmont Yoga Studio (cofounded by Rodney Yee), in Oakland, California. Many of Rosen's practice instructions and technical teachings are posted on the Piedmont Yoga Studio website, www.piedmontyoga.com.