Structural Yoga Therapy: Adapting to the Individual™
by Mukunda Stiles
A clear and comprehensive discourse to take you from the subtlest theory to the most detailed application of Structural Yoga Therapy.
This book shows how to evaluate yourself or a client using several methods, a series of joint-freeing exercises which can assess for normal flexibility, asana kinesiology of 24 foundational poses, musculoskeletal anatomy charts, pranayama guidelines, how to use Yoga therapeutically with case studies sampling from 10,000 cases covered since Mukunda Stiles created the method in 1976.
Structural Yoga Therapy has been written for teachers and serious practitioners who want to use yoga to bring complete balance to the body. Mukunda Stiles begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the spiritual philosophy of yoga, and its many branches. He discusses everything that a beginning student needs to consider when choosing a practice, including how to find a yoga teacher. He also shares his solid understanding of anatomy and kinesiology (how specific muscles and bones react during movement) so that you can understand how each asana affects your body. Structural Yoga Therapy "TM" involves a series of 24 asanas. You'll learn "bodyreading" to determine what your posture reveals about muscular imbalances. You'll find out about joint mobility and muscle strength and learn how to work with a series of jointfreeing exercises to strengthen muscles. Once you are fully acquainted with your individual needs, Stiles teaches you how to synthesize a personalized program from the 24 Structural Yoga asanas to optimize health and healing. This valuable textbook is also useful for anyone working in physical therapy, myofascial release techniques, or other forms of massage.
by Mukunda Stiles
A clear and comprehensive discourse to take you from the subtlest theory to the most detailed application of Structural Yoga Therapy.
This book shows how to evaluate yourself or a client using several methods, a series of joint-freeing exercises which can assess for normal flexibility, asana kinesiology of 24 foundational poses, musculoskeletal anatomy charts, pranayama guidelines, how to use Yoga therapeutically with case studies sampling from 10,000 cases covered since Mukunda Stiles created the method in 1976.
Structural Yoga Therapy has been written for teachers and serious practitioners who want to use yoga to bring complete balance to the body. Mukunda Stiles begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the spiritual philosophy of yoga, and its many branches. He discusses everything that a beginning student needs to consider when choosing a practice, including how to find a yoga teacher. He also shares his solid understanding of anatomy and kinesiology (how specific muscles and bones react during movement) so that you can understand how each asana affects your body. Structural Yoga Therapy "TM" involves a series of 24 asanas. You'll learn "bodyreading" to determine what your posture reveals about muscular imbalances. You'll find out about joint mobility and muscle strength and learn how to work with a series of jointfreeing exercises to strengthen muscles. Once you are fully acquainted with your individual needs, Stiles teaches you how to synthesize a personalized program from the 24 Structural Yoga asanas to optimize health and healing. This valuable textbook is also useful for anyone working in physical therapy, myofascial release techniques, or other forms of massage.
"Structural Yoga Therapy is one of the most important guidebooks for the practical use of Yoga postures for health and healing. It is comprehensive, thorough and practical in its approach, accessible both to the serious practitioner and to the sincere beginner. Mukunda Stiles has made a great contribution to Yoga therapy, showing how each asana can be used to correct specific structural imbalances and restore harmony to the body, prana and mind, creating well-being on all levels." "Structural Yoga Therapy is the single most comprehensive, authentic and valuable book on Yoga and health available today. Brilliantly written and easily accessible, it will help you implement a practice uniquely suited to your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Mukunda is the finest Yoga therapist that I've ever worked with. Now the wealth of wisdom and experience that he brought to teaching me, my staff (at Mind Body Medical Institute, Deaconess Hospital, Boston) and our clients is available to you in book form." I've looked at many books about yoga for various physical needs, and this is the most knowledgable and comprehensive book I've seen. Charts and comprehensive details about muscles need to be strengthened or stretched. There is a great deal of information about body structure, and the reader is guided through an analysis of their own posture problems. I have suspected that my shoulder, back, and knee problems were related to each other in some way. This book confirmed it. I have been doing recommended postures for a few weeks and am seeing real progress. I feel like I'm equipped to go into a yoga class and modify or substitute postures for to meet the needs of my body. The author has a physical therapy degree and well as yoga training and his knowledge level is very apparent in this book. I can't recommend it enough! This information is not available anywhere else that I know about, in this beautifully organized, accessible way.
P Baldwin I have just started a Yoga practice, and I am interested in the therapeutic use of asanas. This book goes in depth enough to help me in this way. Mr. Stiles makes it possible to learn about and self treat all types of musculo-skeletal issues safely, though he does recommend having a teacher to supplement your own practice. This book has explained what muscles I need to stretch and strengthen. The history and background of yoga given in the introductory chapters is well written and interesting to read, which was an unexpected bonus for me. I am looking forward to using the exercise series outlined in the book. P. J. I am an RN, Family Nurse Practitioner, wholistic health practitioner, massage therapist and yoga teacher. This is the best book I've seen on this topic. Mukunda Stiles begins with the history and philosophical basis for yoga therapy, then gives methods for assessment and support of physical structures to promote healing. I would love to study with the author, but having the book is the next best thing. Sunflower |
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS YOGA?
Everything has two fundamental aspects: the superficial—which is obvious, clear,and revealed—and the unknown—which is secret, unclear, and hidden. For example,a tree has a trunk, branches, and leaves above the ground. These drawnourishment from the light, while unseen roots draw strength in the darknessfrom the soil and water. In yogic philosophy, the obvious, that which is inconstant motion, is called Shakti. The opposite pole of the unrevealed, thatwhich is eternal and unchanging, is called Siva. In Chinese philosophy, thelatent, dark, unexposed aspect is called yin, while yang is the patent, thebright, the exposed. The Shakti, or yang, aspect is the public part, generallycalled the exoteric aspect. The Siva, or yin, aspect—the inner, hidden part—iscalled the esoteric. Similarly, in describing human nature on the superficialpsychological level, psychologist C. G. Jung noted that we have a public sidethat we reveal, and a private side that we keep hidden. On the transpersonalpsychological level, we share common traits in our personalities. We also sharetranscendental traits, in that we have limited qualities of the Eternal One,omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. C. G. Jung said, "There is good reason for yoga to have many adherents. Itoffers not only the much-sought way, but also a philosophy of unrivalledprofundity. Yoga practice is unthinkable, and would also be ineffectual, withoutthe ideas on which it is based. It works the physical and the spiritual into oneanother in an extraordinarily complete way." The word yoga literally means "yoking," in the sense of the coming together of aharmonious relationship between our separate aspects. Different aspects of ourperception make yoga either exoteric or esoteric. The yoga teachings regardingbringing the body, mind, and emotions into harmony, such as Hatha Yoga, areexoteric. Those teachings focused upon the outer self in harmony with the InnerSelf, such as Classical Yoga, are esoteric. In exoteric-based Hatha Yoga, thepractices focus on developing health to optimal physiological and psychologicallevels. In esoteric-based Classical Yoga, the practices focus on developinginsight to know the hidden truth about one's nature. In the yogic view of human anatomy, there are five bodies. Exoteric yogapractices strengthen the physical body (the first body), while at the same timepurifying the hidden bodies. The second body is the subtle body, which makes upthe emotional sense of vitality and energy. The third body is the mind, theembodied perception of thoughts and feelings. The fourth body is called the bodyof wisdom, the higher mind. The fifth body is composed of great joy that arisesfrom "dispassionate nonattachment" to the experiences of the other bodies. (Formore details see chapter 6.) In the story of Matsyendra, Matsya, the fish, traveled through the five bodiesas he grasped the teachings of Siva. The result was absolute one-pointednessthat transformed him from a fish into a human. This allegory points to thehidden transformation available to yoga students through devoted practice. Thelower nature, the fish, refers to that consciousness concerned with moving in aschool, following the lead of others, as one who is held by water (emotions) andliving a life based upon avoiding pain while pursuing pleasure. Classical Yoga Classical Yoga was first described as a systematic approach to Self-realizationby Maharishi Patanjali about 200 B.C. His classical text, the Yoga Sutras,describes the nature of the mind and ways to control its restlessness. Unlikethe five other classical Indian philosophical systems, Yoga is based on aprocess of physical and mental training culminating in the direct experience ofrealizing the universal Self within everyone. Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah tada drastuh svarupe auasthanamYoga is experienced in that mind which has ceased to identify itself with itsvacillating waves of perception.When this happens, then the Seer is revealed resting in its own essentialnature, and one realizes the true Self. Patanjali defines guideposts to keep the student of yoga progressing along thepath. While there are numerous paths to yoga, they have a common thread that hasbeen delineated in the Yoga Sutras. In fact, the Sutras can be taken as a guidefor anyone undergoing any discipline of body, breath, emotions, mind, andspirit. The goal of yoga is to merge the mind into the True Self, and thus to betrue to your Self in all thoughts, words, and deeds. Anyone proceeding anydistance along this path cannot help but experience more joy and health. Yoga is not a religion. People of all faiths practice yoga. From a yogi's pointof view, everyone is doing yoga—everyone is seeking the joy found in theexperience of the Self as our innate spirituality. Yet, most of the time, we donot realize that the joy we seek is experienced within, in the discovery of theSelf. We erroneously believe our joy comes from objects of sensual pleasure. Incompleting activities, there is a momentary experience of stilling the mind, andthus we feel peace. This state of fulfillment is what the yoga practitionerseeks to gain more consistently, more permanently. Yoga, then, is a continuous process. For serious students, it is a life's work.Yoga—as the stilling of the mind—occurs momentarily in many people withouttraining. Often, following periods of concentration, people will report thatthey were performing a task (such as reading) and became perfectly still. Theirbreathing became nearly unnoticeable and they lost all sense of time. Duringthese periods of active meditation, access to intuitive insights is available.We will intuitively understand how to manage ourselves in situations thatformerly produced difficulties. This natural process is what Patanjali definedas yoga. It is through the study of yoga, in the context of the guidelines laidout in the Yoga Sutras, that these momentary experiences become part of dailyliving. Patanjali's practical means of knowing the inner Self is known as Ashtanga Yoga,the yoga of "eight limbs." It is also called Raja, "royal," Yoga, the yoga ofthe royal path to self-realization. Raja, which also means "to radiate," is thepractice of radiating the royal light of the true Self. The mysticism of RajaYoga, simply put, means to be radiantly happy and share that compassionateaffection for all creation. The eight component limbs, found in his Yoga SutrasII, 29–III, 3, are: 1. Yama—external attitudes for guiding conduct within society • Nonviolence (ahimsa): when mastered, one creates an atmosphere in which violenceceases; • Truthfulness (satya): when perfected, one's words and deeds exist in service tothat Truth; • Abstaining from stealing (asteya): when mastered, that which you considerprecious is drawn to you; • Behavior that moves one toward the Truth (brahmacharya): when perfected,vitality is gained; • Noncoveting (aparigraha): when mastered, knowledge of the hidden lessons of therepetitive cycle of birth and death is gained. 2. Niyama—internal attitudes for personal discipline • Purity (sauca): when established, one desires to protect the physical body andhas no interest in contact with others of an adverse nature; • Contentment (santosa): when perfected, one gains supreme happiness; • Perseverance in selfless service (tapas): when mastered, leads to a dwindling ofall impurities and a perfection of the body, mind, and sense organs; • Study of the Self (svadhaya): when mastered, leads to communion with yourpersonal chosen ideals or deity; • Devotion to God (Ishvara pranidhana): when mastered, leads to absoluteabsorption into the Divine Presence. 3. Asana—yoga posture. When regularly practiced, all movements end in a "steady andcomfortable" pose that is performed by relaxation of effort and results in nolonger being disturbed by duality, praise, and/or criticism. 4. Pranayama—regulation of the in- and out-flow of breath/prana. When perfected,one feels the life-force (prana) permeating everywhere, transcending theattention given to either external or internal objects. 5. Pratyahara—withdrawal of the senses from their objects. When the senses becomedetached from external objects of the mind's desire, the mind sees its source aspure consciousness. 6. Dharana—contemplation of one's true nature. When mastered, the mind is confinedto one place of attention. 7. Dhyana—meditation. When mastered, a continuous flow of awareness to a singlepoint of attention is maintained. 8. Samadhi—absorption in the Self. When achieved, it is the meditation that resultsin only the essential light of the object remaining. The object loses itsconcrete form. The Spiritual Light prevails and is experienced as the essence ofall of creation. This eightfold process is exactly what happened in the transformation of thefish Matsya into the yogi Matsyendra. Through a strong interest in the subject(yama and niyama), his body became still. In losing all awareness of his body,those sensations common to willful movement ceased (asana). His breath becamesubtle and steady (pranayama). Then his prana and senses withdrew theirawareness of the distinction between outside and inside (pratyahara). Next, hismind focused upon listening intently to the teachings (dharana and dhyana).Finally, he lost the sense of himself and was left with only the awareness ofhimself as Pure Consciousness without an object to pull it (samadhi). CHAPTER 2WHAT IS HATHA YOGA? The word "yoga" is usually preceded by a descriptive adjective that connotes aparticular method. In general, most yogas in America today are variations ofHatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is the physical discipline of Classical Yoga, comprisingstages three and four of the eight stages (Ashtanga Yoga) of Patanjali's YogaSutras. Hence most yoga methods—the exceptions being Classical and Kriya Yoga—deletetraining about yoga life-style, ethics, philosophy, preparation forspirituality, and meditation. Hatha Yoga emphasizes methods of doing yoga poses(asanas) and energetic breathing exercises (pranayamas) for physical health andwell-being. Proponents of Classical Yoga utilize these techniques for thepurpose of preliminary training in meditation, then proceed to give instructionin meditation and yoga life-style. There are many types of yoga available for study today. New methods are broughtout each year. Yoga is extremely popular these days, with an estimated ten totwelve million practitioners in America alone. For more information, see YogaInternational magazine's Yoga Teacher Directory published in the January-Februaryissue each year. This features a comprehensive description of the majormethods of yoga. For information about yoga organizations on the Internet, go towww.sponscenter.com.arlyogaorganizations.html. Methods of Hatha Yoga There are a number of major styles of Hatha Yoga in America. The following aresummaries of methodologies of the most common lineages of yoga. Ashtanga Yoga Ashtanga Yoga is the name applied by Indian master Pattabhi Jois, now in his80s, to his system of yoga poses. Pattabhi Jois developed the system while beingmentored by Prof. T. Krishnamacharya of Madras, South India. There are threelevels, the first challenging enough to meet the requirements of even the mostathletic student for several years. It is a system that was given to him in hisyouth to meet the high energy level of his developing body. In America, it ispresented in modified formats, sometimes milder in form, as hot yoga, or poweryoga. While the series does end with a pranayama series, it deletes thepractices of meditation. Ashtanga Yoga, while named for the "eight limbs" ofPatanjali's Classical Yoga, rarely presents the eight limbs or Patanjali's text. The benefits of this method are its tremendous challenge to physical strengthand flexibility. It is enjoying a period of popularity and so it is easy to finda teacher of this method. Classical Yoga Classical Yoga appears in two major forms, as the Ashtanga Yoga of Baba HariDas, or as Viniyoga, originating from the teachings of Prof. Krishnamacharya andhis son/successor, T. K. V Desikachar. This yoga is presented in the context ofPatanjali's Yoga Sutras and hence incorporates study of the text, the source ofthe teachings, and adapts to the individual with many varieties of practicesbeyond the commonplace asanas. These may include pranayamas, kriyas, mudras, andbandhas. Its benefits include thoroughness and well-rounded study of yoga as a life-styleand the ability to receive individually tailored practices for your situation. Integral Yoga The Integral Yoga of Swami Satchidananda of Yogaville, Virginia is also agentler spiritual-based yoga that is clearly leading to devotion and meditationpractice. Swamiji, a disciple of the renowned Dr. Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh,came to America in the 1960s and is responsible for converting many hippies froma life-style of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to family life, yoga, andchanting. His appearance is one often associated with yoga. He is a tall mild-manneredman, soft-spoken, who wears long white robes and has long flowing whitehair and beard. His brand of yoga emphasizes poses taken to the extremes offlexibility as a way to awaken the kundalini spiritual energy, numeroustraditional pranayama breathing exercises, chanting, candle-gazing, andmeditating on the chakra energy centers. (For details see his book Integral YogaHatha.) This yoga is not to be confused with the integral yoga of SriAurobindo, a spiritual yet practical meditation technique. The benefits of this method are that it is a well-rounded program supervised byan Indian adept who has lived in America for over thirty years. The Sivananda Hatha Yoga method of Swami Vishnu-Devananda is essentially thesame as Integral Yoga, as the same master trained both teachers. Swami Vishnu-Devanandaalso has a valuable book referencing all the aspects of yoga practice,the Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga. The benefits of this method are athorough practice in all the aspects of yoga to meditation. This method ispopular, with over 7,000 teachers trained in a style that focused on twelveprincipal asanas. Iyengar Yoga Iyengar Yoga is named for its creator B. K. S. Iyengar of Poona, Maharasthra(West-central) India. Iyengar, also a student of Prof. Krishnamacharya, hasbecome the trademark of popular yoga in the West. His book, Light on Yoga, hasbecome an authoritative standard for thoroughness in asana. America's mostpopular yoga magazine, Yoga Journal, was founded by his students and remains aformat of his teachings more than any other line of yoga. His yoga focuses onasanas done with precision, maintaining anatomical alignment, often with the useof props that he designed. The practice is physically challenging, and is oftendisrupted by the teacher giving adjustments and explaining the corrections tothe students. Some teachers are known for giving only 3 or 4 poses in a 90-minuteclass. (Continues...)Excerpted from structural YOGA therapybyMukunda Stiles. Copyright © 2000 Mukunda Stiles. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. |