The Art of Yoga - Hardcover

Sharon Gannon has studied ballet, modern, classical and Indian dance, music, and Eastern philosophy and views art as a means for uplifting the soul. Since 1976 she has studied yoga with many teachers around the world, most noteworthy being Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Swami Nirmalananda, Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, Swami Shankarananda, Shyam Das, and Bhagavan Das. David Life spent several years as an initiate of a lineage of yogic monks, and has received initiation by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He has studied yoga around the world with many teachers since 1984, including Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, from whom he received certification in the advanced Ashtanga Yoga series. David has taught yoga all over the world. Photographer Martin Brading, whose work has been featured in magazines such as Elle, ID, and The Face, began his yoga practice in 1992 with Gannon and Life at the Jivamukti Yoga Center and continues to study intensely with them. Ravi Shankar was hailed by George Harrison as the godfather of World music. The legendary sitarist and composer is India's most esteemed musical ambassador and a singular phenomenon in the classical music worlds of East and West. Anoushka Shankar is Ravi's extremely talented 18-year-old daughter who has studied with her father since age 9.

Yoga reveals its astonishing, acrobatic side in this glossy art book of asanas. Gannon and Life, who developed Jivamukti ("living liberated" in Sanskrit), a challenging form of Hatha yoga, defy gravity and the strength of mere mortals-or so it seems-in the advanced positions shown here. Artfully shot over a 10-year period by British photographer Brading, also a disciple, the crisp duotone images express both the practitioners' physical skill and their spiritual concentration. Gannon and Life are masters: Jivamukti is recognized internationally; they've taught thousands of students in their centers around New York (including Madonna and Sting); even Ravi Shankar is a fan. Their starkly chiseled bodies are further proof Jivamukti is transforming: there's not an ounce of body fat anywhere. Added to this elegant volume are excerpts from Sanskrit texts and bon mots of spiritual encouragement. While this may not be a book for the average American coffee table, for yoga practitioners worldwide, it's bound to be genuinely appreciated. 150 duotone photographs.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.