The procedure and utility of some selected yoga techniques (traditionally grouped under the asanas, mudras, and kriyas) for maintaining the health of an individual. We shall include here only those techniques which can very well form a part of the daily routine of an average individual. Our endeavour, as indicated earlier, would be to reduce the number of the techniques to a possible minimum, giving due consideration at the same time to the fact that the techniques included in our list should render sufficient exercise to all the body parts, taking care of all the various functions going on in the body. In other words, our list should make a fairly complete set of exercises fulfilling the needs of every particular organ and function of the body.
There seems to be a tendency among contemporary writers on yoga to give a very long list of the postures, inventing many modifications, and giving them very complicated names. This may, indeed, serve the purpose of making a book more impressive, and making the reader feel that the author is a great expert of yoga. The present book, however, as its very title would indicate, is aimed at bringing out the utility of yoga in one’s daily life. But it can be claimed with a fair measure of certainty that an individual who practises only these techniques every day need not do any other exercise for keeping himself healthy and fit. And all this should not take more than forty minutes a day. It is doubtful if many people would afford or care to spend even this much time every day for the practice of yoga.
Of course, there are a few yoga enthusiasts whose interest in yoga is not just marginal, and who would be interested in having proficiency in yoga. For the benefit of such persons we shall describe some further yoga techniques involving more skills and practice.