It is estimated that more than 20 million Americans have practiced some form of yoga, yet almost none of them have heard of yoga's early teachers or their insights. While we are familiar with yoga's physical benefits, the original purpose of yoga as a path to inner freedom and enlightenment is embodied by only a few students in the West. Handed down to us throughout the past 5,000 years, the mental and spiritual disciplines of this complete philosophy for living are in danger of vanishing forever. Now yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein immerses you in The Lost Teachings of Yoga, the first comprehensive audio curriculum about yoga's original spiritual wisdom and practices. A leading scholar and practitioner of yoga in the West for more than 30 years, Feuerstein introduces you to the wonders beyond yoga's postures and breathing techniques, and points the way to the inner strength and mental peace that is yoga's first objective. Taught by Feuerstein himself, this full 12-session, seven-hour course reveals the true history of yoga, the gifted masters who brought it to the West, its many branches and the rich fruit they yield, yoga's virtues and disciplines that flower into enlightenment, subtle anatomy and the energy of prana or life force, the origins of asanas, and much more. Georg Feuerstein has said that today in the West, we need yoga more than ever. Not simply because we want to develop strong, flexible bodies, but because yoga's vast spiritual heritage can help us uncover the deeper purpose of life. Discover for yourself yoga's ultimate achievement and your foundation for a more effective daily practice with The Lost Teachings of Yoga. Highlights: India's gift to the world: yoga, its history, purpose, and practice The 10 basic principles of all yoga Asanas and the split between body and mind The seven branches or schools of yoga, from Hatha to Karma Kundalini-shakti: the serpent energy Principles of dharma: morality, law, and virtue Living the yogic path in a nine-to-five world Enlightenment: the aim of all-true yoga Chakras: organs of your energetic body Brain chemistry and body toxicity: yoga's role The seven stages of self-purification in yoga Yogis and paranormal powers: the truth Patanjali's five principle moral disciplines, and how to practice them A full seven-hour curriculum of insights and teachings from yoga's great tradition