Yoga Mala

This small book by one of the great yoga fresh of our time attests to the timeless nature of ashtanga yoga practice. Based on vinyasa –the coordination of breath and movement-yoga has become one of the most widespread and influential styles if practice today and Yoga Mala is its most important written guide. this book, Sri K. Pattabhi jois outlines the ethical principles and philosophy underlying ashtanga yoga and explains its terms and concepts.He then guides us through the sun Salutations and the primary series, which consists of forty two asanas. At every step he describes how to execute each pose and what benefits each provides. Jois introduced ashtanga yoga to the West in 1964 and was the driving force behind its worldwide dissemination. Habing studied for twenty –five years with T.krishnamcharya, he passed on his knowledge to generations of students around the world. "Mala is a Sanskrit term that means garland. In India, there are many different kinds of malas. There arejapamalas, made up of sacred beads strung on a thread which air used in prayer for counting and keeping focused on the repetition of a mantra. There are pushpamalas, which are garlands of vivid flowers, smelling of jasmine and other scents that are strung in the form of wreaths and offered in worship to deities in homes and temples. Guruji [Jois] here offers another kind of irra, which is ancient tradition, as sacred as a prayer, and as fragrant as flowers. His inala is a garland of yoga, in wind each riirtasa is like a sacred head to he counted and focused on, and each asoua is like a flower strung on the thread of the breath. Just as ajapaiala adorns neck and a pushpamala adorns the gods, so too does this garland of yoga.