This fine edition of the Gheranda Samhita is a very readable English translation. A seventeenth century classical manual, it speaks of a seven fold yoga and is considered the most detailed of the three classical texts of the Hatha yoga. Gheranda Samhita is a manual of yoga taught by Gheranda to his disciple Chanda Kapali. Unlike other Hatha yoga texts, the Gheranda Samhita speaks of a sevenfold yoga: Shatkarma for purification, Asana for strengthening, Mudra for steadying, Pratyahara for calming, Pranayama for lightness, Dhyana for perception and Samadhi for isolation.