The Yoga of Breath: A Step-By-Step Guide to Pranayama

The reviewers below fail to recognize there are different schools of yoga - with the attendant different approaches to pranayama. In the Iyengar method - which Rosen employs - the approach is slow. You begin with ujjayi breath, start to incorporate breath retention, i.e., viloma, and well down the road (i.e., months/years) start to incorporate alternate nostril, bastrika, etc. I began pranayama with an eclectic practice - pasted together from Integral Yoga, Sivanadana, various media (Shiva Rea, etc.), Kripalu. I find the most fulfillment with the Iyengar method. Pranayama is slow and rewarding - gives me intimacy with myself. Rosen's book is intelligent and well constructed - a door opening to that path.

Just as Light on Yoga can be a bit daunting to the beginning yoga student, so Light on Pranayama can feel overwhelming to those trying to incorporate a home practice of pranayama. Having practiced Iyengar yoga for seven years but still finding it challenging to incorporate a regular home pranayama practice, I found Richard's book was exactly the roadmap I was looking for. If some find the introductory chapters unecessary, it is easy to skip them. I like having them there so that the book is accesible to as many students as possible - plus it is always interesting to see how each new teacher approaches the poses. And of course context is always helpful. However, the book is worth the price for the pranayama sections alone. Deliberate and thoughful instructions make it easy to follow. Also worth mentioning is that this book has recieved excellent reviews in every yoga publication on the newsstand - Yoga Journal, Yoga Internationa, Ascent, and numerous online publications. This book is a must for anyone interested in pranayama practice.

For me this book was the link between Yoga Asana and Pranayama techniques. Useful? Yes, absolutely! If like me you are looking to begin the process of learning Pranayama from a background of attending yoga classes and practising at home. This book helps you build upon the familiar yoga postures allowing you to be confident as you start explore the breath. Pranayama is the foundation of a balanced Yoga practice, this book is an easy to understand introduction to the basics of the practice. For people looking for advanced practices there are plenty of esoteric hard to read, hard to understand books available. For the rest of us this book will more than adequate for many years.