The key muscles of Hatha Yoga
       - a review by Brian Cooper PhD

“Having studied anatomy and physiology at university, I remember memorising countless names of muscles and bones and their related functions, only to forget everything hours after the exam. And so when i started Yoga teacher training courses, I made sure that the anatomy and physiology I taught was relevant to Hatha Yoga and that my students could directly link the anatomy to a real asana or movement. And equally important, the underlying concepts, once understood, could be applied to any asana the student came across.
Ray Long’s book THE KEY MUSCLES OF HATHA YOGA therefore comes as a welcome example of a Yoga-specific book dealing with major muscles involved in asana practice. The author is an orthopaedic surgeon and has practised Hatha Yoga for more than 20 years. This unique combination shows in the production of his book, which represents a new and growing trend of using the tools of modern science to study the ancient art and science of Yoga.
The author has avoided the pitfalls of putting readers off a technical subject by a combination of clever organisation and the use of 3D computer generated colour images which graphically portray the muscle groups related to a specific asana. The 3D depiction of a skeleton performing an asana provides the most stunning full colour graphics I have yet seen in a Yoga book. Muscles are depicted in dynamic 3D images rather than the static 2D images of most anatomy text books. This brings th muscles to life, without the need for lengthy descriptions.
The book begins with a section on terminology, which provides the language for a functional understanding of the key anatomic structured related to Hatha Yoga.
The function and properties of ligaments and tendons is described and illustrated with examples from the hips, shoulders and spine.
Muscle terminology is introduced with explanations of the terms origin, insertion, agonist, antagonist and synergist.
The rest of the book is divided into three parts: Part One covers the pelvic girdle and thighs; Part Two covers the trunk; and Part Three covers the shoulder girdle and upper arms.
Each Part is divided into chapters and each chapter covers one major muscle or muscle group...”

Brian Cooper has written a detailed review of the book THE KEY MUSCLES OF HATHA YOGA by Ray Long and published by BandhaYoga, and it continues with further information and some examples of the graphics used to illustrate it.

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