Yoga: Volume 2: The 32 Asanas: The 32 Asanas of the Gheranda Samhita (Classical Hatha Yoga Series) - Couverture souple

Veda, Sikandar; Agastya, Kiran

Couverture souple

ISBN 13 : 9798185352625

Editeur : Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

The Complete Thirty-Two Asanas of the Gheranda Samhita

Every yoga practitioner knows the word asana—posture. Yet in the classical tradition of Hatha Yoga, asana is far more than a physical shape or exercise.

It is the deliberate preparation of the body as a vessel—a means of purifying, strengthening, and stabilizing the physical form so that prana, the vital life force, may move with greater freedom and the deeper disciplines of breath control, concentration, and meditation may take root.

The 32 Asanas of the Gheranda Samhita is devoted to the complete postural system presented in one of the foundational manuals of classical Hatha Yoga.

Composed in eastern India, probably in the late seventeenth century, the Gheranda Samhita is traditionally presented as the teaching of the sage Gheranda to his disciple Chanda. Among the major surviving Hatha Yoga texts, it is especially remarkable for the richness of its asana catalogue.

Where the Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes fifteen asanas, the Gheranda Samhita preserves a broader sequence of thirty-two postures.

These thirty-two asanas form the second limb of Gheranda's sevenfold discipline, or Saptanga Yoga. The body is first purified through the shatkarmas, then strengthened and steadied through asana. From there, the practitioner proceeds through mudra, pratyahara, pranayama, dhyana, and samadhi.

In this system, the postures are not endpoints.

They are foundations for the deeper work of yoga.

The thirty-two asanas include seated postures, forward folds, spinal rotations, backbends, arm balances, inversions, locked positions, and restorative forms.

This volume follows the textual sequence of Chapter II of the Gheranda Samhita and presents each posture from both a classical and practical perspective.

Inside this volume, readers will find:

• All thirty-two asanas of the Gheranda Samhita
• Classical descriptions and traditional purposes
• Step-by-step practice instructions
• Alignment and anatomical guidance
• Contraindications and safety considerations
• Suggested classical pranayama pairings
• A structured seven-day practice program
• The seven chakras and subtle anatomy
• The shatkarmas, mudras, and pranayamas
• Meditation and the classical yogic approach to diet
• A discussion of karma, fate, and human effort
• Sanskrit terminology and bibliography

Each posture begins with the classical source and is followed by an expanded practitioner's guide designed to make the traditional method intelligible to the modern student.

The suggested pranayama pairings follow the logic of classical Hatha Yoga: seated and locked postures are connected with practices emphasizing steadiness and concentration, vigorous postures with heating breaths, and restorative forms with cooling or balancing techniques.

This is Volume II of the Anantika Editions Classical Hatha Yoga Series. Where Volume I explored the fifteen asanas of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, this volume expands the study to the complete thirty-two-posture system of the Gheranda Samhita.

This book is for practitioners who want to move beyond abbreviated modern sequences and encounter a complete classical system. It is for teachers seeking a carefully organized reference and for students of yoga philosophy who understand that these postures were never intended merely as exercises.

They were part of a larger discipline—the shaping of the body so that the subtler practices of breath, withdrawal, concentration, and meditation might take root.

The 32 Asanas of the Gheranda Samhita brings that classical system together in a detailed, accessible, and practitioner-oriented guide.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Independently published
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798185352625
• Reliure: Paperback
• Nombre de pages: 269
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible