The Science of Yoga

related fields. The list makes no claim of being comprehensive but simply offers entree to a growing literature that draws on demonstrable fact and reasonable inference to illuminate yoga.
    Michael J. Alter. Science of Flexibility , 3rd ed. Champaign, IL.: Human Kinetics, 2004. The inside story on extreme bending.
    Loren Fishman and Carol Ardman. Relief Is in the Stretch: End Back Pain Through Yoga. New York: Norton, 2005. A guide and rationale.
    Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall. Yoga for Arthritis. New York: Norton, 2008. A strategy and how it works.
    Judith Hanson Lasater. Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana. Berkeley: Rodmell Press, 2009. A tour of the inner body for better practice and teaching.
    William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, and Victor L. Katch. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance , 7th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. A bible of sports science that features hundreds of informative graphics.
    Timothy McCall. Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing. New York: Bantam, 2007. A thoughtful guide rooted in science and personal observation.
    Mel Robin. A Physiological Handbook for Teachers of Yogasana. Tucson: Fenestra Books, 2002. A classic—only 629 pages long.
    ——. A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers: The Incorporation of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Anatomy into the Practice. Tucson: Wheatmark, 2009. The updated classic—only 1,106 pages!
    Robert M. Sapolsky. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers , 3rd ed. New York: Henry Holt, 2004. A lucid examination of how prolonged stress can result in major afflictions.
    Richard M. Schwartzstein andMichael J. Parker. Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. The scientific basics from physicians at the Harvard Medical School.
    Mark Singleton. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. How Hindu nationalism and early health fads helped create modern yoga.
    Hugh B. Urban. Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religion. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Light on the world of yoga eroticism.
    Amy Weintraub. Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga. New York: Broadway Books, 2004. Beautifully written advice on mood lifting and how it works.
    David Gordon White. Kiss of the Yogini: “Tantric Sex” in its South Asian Contexts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. High scholarship on early sexual rites and centuries of misrepresentations.

Further Reading
    Here are some recommended books on the science and historyof yoga, as well as a few selections from related fields. The list makes no claim of being comprehensive but simply offers entree to a growing literature that draws on demonstrable fact and reasonable inference to illuminate yoga.
    Michael J. Alter. Science of Flexibility , 3rd ed. Champaign, IL.: Human Kinetics, 2004. The inside story on extreme bending.
    Loren Fishman and Carol Ardman. Relief Is in the Stretch: End Back Pain Through Yoga. New York: Norton, 2005. A guide and rationale.
    Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall. Yoga for Arthritis. New York: Norton, 2008. A strategy and how it works.
    Judith Hanson Lasater. Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana. Berkeley: Rodmell Press, 2009. A tour of the inner body for better practice and teaching.
    William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, and Victor L. Katch. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance , 7th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. A bible of sports science that features hundreds of informative graphics.
    Timothy McCall. Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing. New York: Bantam, 2007. A thoughtful guide rooted in science and personal observation.
    Mel Robin. A Physiological Handbook for Teachers of Yogasana. Tucson: Fenestra Books, 2002. A classic—only 629 pages long.
    ——. A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers: The Incorporation of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Anatomy into the Practice. Tucson: Wheatmark, 2009. The updated classic—only 1,106 pages!
    Robert M. Sapolsky. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers , 3rd ed. New York: Henry Holt, 2004. A lucid examination of how prolonged stress can result in major afflictions.
    Richard M. Schwartzstein andMichael J. Parker. Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. The scientific basics from physicians at