Includes step-by-step explanations for 36 poses and stretches.

For nearly 1,000 years, people in the East have been practicing what was known as hatha yoga, "a kind of forced yoga or abstract meditation”, but in the West during the 20th century, it came to be known simply as yoga.

In the last 50 years, yoga has become incredibly popular as a way to exercise both the mind and body. Yoga means “unity” or “oneness”, and the word is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means “to join”. In spiritual terms, this joining refers to the unity of the individual consciousnesses with the universal consciousness. In practical terms, it refers to balancing and harmonizing the mind, body, and spirit.

Yoga can be both a physical exercise and a way of life that bestows several health benefits upon those who practice it. Whether you have hours to spend on a yoga session that includes traditional postures, chanting, and meditation, or if you have only a limited time to do yoga poses for exercise, the versatility of yoga makes it an ideal way to improve fitness and flexibility.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Yoga for Flexibility will help any yoga newcomer or veteran improve the flexibility of all of their limbs and back by learning yoga poses and stretches for the back, shoulders, hamstrings, and more. Over three dozen different postures and yogic practices are accompanied with explanations to make sure you’re practicing yoga correctly.

This guide is essential for yoga students who seek to increase their body’s flexibility and become more limber.

Contents:

• Chapter one: "The Science of Stretching"
• Chapter two: "Developing Shoulder Flexibility"
• Chapter three: "Developing Back Flexibility"
• Chapter four: "Developing Knee, Hip, and Groin Flexibility"
• Chapter five: "Developing Hamstring Flexibility"
• Chapter six: "Sitting Series"