'An indispensable companion for all interested in yoga, both scholars and practitioners' Professor Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson

Despite yoga's huge global popularity, relatively little of its roots is known among practitioners. This compendium includes a wide range of texts from different schools of yoga, languages and eras: among others, key passages from the early Upanisads and the Mahabharata, and from the Tantric, Buddhist and Jaina traditions, with many pieces in scholarly translation for the first time. Covering yoga's varying definitions, its most important practices, such as posture, breath control, sensory withdrawal and meditation, as well as models of the esoteric and physical bodies, Roots of Yoga is a unique and essential source of knowledge.

Translated and Edited with an Introduction by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton

The first collection of its kind- a compendium of source texts on yoga, translated, introduced and edited by two of the foremost yoga scholars in the world

About the Author
James Mallinson (Author)
James Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical Indian Civilization at SOAS, University of London. He has edited and translated several texts on hathayoga from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries CE. He has also spent several years living with traditional Hindu ascetics and yogis in India and in 2013 he was honoured with the title of 'mahant' by the Ramanandi Sampradaya.

Mark Singleton (Author)
Mark Singleton is Senior Research Fellow in the department of Languages and Cultures of South Asia, SOAS, University of London. He was a consultant and catalogue author for the 2013 exhibition 'Yoga: The Art of Transformation' at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, and has served as co-chair of the Yoga in Theory and Practice Group at the American Academy of Religions. His previous publications include three edited volumes of yoga scholarship and the book Yoga Body, the Origins of Modern Posture Practice.



Reviews
Forget everything you thought you knew about yoga history . . . these authors have charted the deep -- Matthew Remski * Yoga Journal *
Momentous . . . we can expect original ideas and substantial insights -- Georg Feuerstein * Author of The Yoga Tradition *
With all the myth and misinformation in the Yogasphere this research and the resulting book will be a much needed resource for yogis, practitioners, teachers and scholars -- Ganga White * Author of Yoga Beyond Belief *
Assembling in translation an unprecedented array of sources, many of which have been unknown or neglected, this anthology will be an indispensable companion for all interested in Yoga, both scholars and practitioners. -- Prof. Alexis G.J.S. Sanderson



Book Information
ISBN 9780241253045
Author James Mallinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 592
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 404g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm