Yoga

Introduction

Part I: The Five Main Methods of Yoga

I:    Hatha Yoga--Reintegration through Strength
II:    The Two First Steps of Hatha Yoga
III:    The Third Step of Hatha Yoga
IV:    The Muscular Contractions (Bandhas) and the Gestures (Mudrâs)
V:    The Six Purificatory Acts (Shat Karma)
VI:    The Fourth Step of Hatha Yoga
VII:    The Fifth Step of Hatha Yoga
VIII:    The Last Three Steps, or Inner Stage, of Hatha Yoga
IX:    Raja Yoga, or the Royal Way to Reintegration
X:    Mantra Yoga, or Reintegration through Hermetic Formulae
XI:    Laya Yoga, or Reintegration by Mergence
XII:    Shiva Yoga, or Reintegration into the Lord of Sleep

Part II: Other Forms of Yoga

XIII:    Karma Yoga, or Reintegration through Action
XIV:    Jñâna Yoga, or Reintegration through Knowledge
XV:    Bhakti Yoga, or Reintegration through Love
XVI:    Kundalini Yoga and Asparsha Yoga

Part III: Initiation--Mode of Living--Obstacles

XVII:    The Guide (Guru) and Initiation (Dikshâ)
XVIII:    Rules Relating to Food and Mode of Living
XIV:    The Obstacles to Yoga


Appendices

Appendix A: The Subtle Body
Appendix B: The Siddhis, or Attainments
Appendix C: The Eighty-Four Postures and Their Effects
Appendix D: The Main Sanskrit Treatises on Yoga
Appendix E: Footnotes in Sanskrit

Index

One of the most distinguished living Orientalists, Alain Daniélou spent more than twenty years in India studying music and philosophy with eminent pandits of the Hindu tradition. Of special interest is his insight into the unique requirements and capacities of today's aspirant and the specific practices appropriate to Western students. Daniélou is also the author of the acclaimed Gods of India, Shiva and Dionysus, and While the Gods Play.

"[Yoga] will appeal to the serious student of yoga in any tradition. It is not a fluffy yoga exercise manual. It contains the distilled knowledge of thousands of years, but is totally relevant to the present day."
Jennifer Hoskins, New Dawn

YOGA / PHILOSOPHY

“It is by studying the microcosm that we can understand the macrocosm; it is through our own impermanent being that we can reach the Universal Being. It is in the cavern of our heart that we can realize the immensity of spaces, and by controlling our own vital rhythms that we can escape the power of time. It is by reaching the source of life that we can escape the power of death. It is by exploring the unknown spheres within ourselves that we can visit the celestial and infernal worlds.”
--The Author

One of the most distinguished living Orientalists, ALAIN DANIÉLOU spent more than twenty years in India studying music and philosophy with eminent pandits of the Hindu tradition. In this book he gives a fully authentic account--based entirely on original published and unpublished Sanskrit sources--of the methods of Yoga in its different forms, including techniques of the more challenging “left-hand” paths. Of special interest is his insight into the unique requirements and capacities of today's aspirant and the specific practices appropriate to Western students. Daniélou is also the author of the acclaimed Gods of India, Shiva and Dionysus, and While the Gods Play.