Gheranda Samhita the foundation of Modern Yoga

Book excerpt: Of all the Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga texts that enumerate various Asana and Pranayama and Meditation, the one that explains body postures and breath control with crystal clear clarity is the Gheranda Samhita. Gheranda Samhita is also known as Ghata Samhita which means “Health & Fitness through stretching and molding the clay-pot like anatomical Body in different ways”. Gheranda = name of a Sage Samhita = proper collection of his Teaching Ghata = clay pot = anatomical body The text is called saptanga or seven limbed, and closely models the eight limbed ashtanga of Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Also notice that Goraksha Samhita teaches the same in six limbed shatanga, while Hatha Yoga Pradipika discusses it in four chapters chaturanga. Gheranda Samhita is in the form of a dialogue between · Gheranda Muni the preceptor and · Chandakapali the pupil Here we give a factual description of the Asanas and Breathing techniques as popularly practiced today and relevant for the common man who is seeking to learn Yoga for his betterment, upliftment and overall success in life. -------------------------------------------- contains photos and explanations for all the 32 Asanas. contains a well-formatted Index of the Techniques. contains original verse in Sanskrit with a Latin transliteration and lucid English commentary.