H. David Coulter

This is a very good book and is one that is good for someone who has a deep interest in anatomy.

The illustrations are excellent, however, it is indeed daunting for someone who is not a student of anatomy. What I would have liked, was to have more line drawings (or photographs) of some of the exercises/asanas he describes. Without these, it became a bit difficult to follow along

This is a valuable book for serious practitioners and teachers. Students? Only for those with an interest in, or show more knowledge of, anatomy. show less

The author bring the discipline of a scientist and the devotion of a yogi to this wonderful text. He offers a detailed discussion of the anatomical underpinnings of asana, relaxation and pranayama. It goes far beyond a simply accounting of "this muscles does that". This book helped me understand how yoga is brilliantly suited to systematically increasing our capacities.

I've not read all the book. I just dip into it when I'm interested in key areas. I always find what I'm looking for, and in sufficient detail.

Coulter, who received a PhD in anatomy in 1968, and has taught in numerous contexts since then, has also been a student of yoga since the 1970s. Here he conjoins his two areas of expertise. After discussion of basic premises regarding yoga practice--focusing attention, becoming aware of breath, moving into and out of postures, responding to pain--he discusses movement and posture, breathing, and abdominopelvic exercises, and then explores in detail the various standing, backbending, forward show more bending, twisting, and inverted postures, as well as relaxation and meditation. In his densely packed explications and descriptions, he variously addresses yoga teachers, yoga students, and medical practitioners. show less