“A true work of art that explains the transformational power of classical yoga science in clear and practical terms.
A manual for creatively meeting the challenges of everyday life.”
LILIAS FOLAN –– Author & host of the groundbreaking PBS yoga series, Lilias!

Yoga is one of the fastest-growing trends in America––at the forefront of the mind-body-spirit exercise movement. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning union. Yoga is based on practices that encourage the union of body, mind, emotions, intellect and spirit. Yet, for most of the more than 15-million yoga enthusiasts in this country, the focus has been primarily on the physical aspect of the practice.

Now, after 30 years of studying the complete science of yoga, gifted meditation teacher and practical philosopher Leonard Perlmutter shares his encyclopedic knowledge in THE HEART AND SCIENCE OF YOGA, A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom from Fear. Perlmutter teaches the entire science and philosophy of yoga––not just the popular aspect that deals with physical postures. “All yoga,” says the author, “begins with an understanding and coordination of the mind. Meditation is the keystone of every form of yoga.”

“The ancient sages discovered that if we can learn to use the mind to access our inner wisdom,” says Perlmutter, “that wisdom will intuitively suggest which thoughts, words and actions will always lead us for our highest and greatest good. When our mind, action and speech are in harmony with our inner wisdom we experience freedom from all worry and fear.”

Co-written with Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, THE HEART AND SCIENCE OF YOGA is both the record of a personal journey and a transformational teaching. It includes easy-to-learn meditation instruction, breathing practices, a user’s guide for the mind, teaching stories from the world’s great spiritual traditions, techniques for gaining intuitive wisdom, an introduction to ancient Ayurvedic health principles, a holistic program of easy-gentle exercise and an extensive glossary and index.

Perlmutter explains that the daily practice of yoga science builds a bridge connecting one’s inner wisdom to the outer action that will lead to the greatest good in each moment. Because these are ageless truths, people of every culture and generation have realized the freedom of enlightenment without ever hearing the word “yoga,” or knowing anything about the 5,000-year-old Eastern philosophy. America’s founding fathers, Perlmutter believes, aspired to this universal wisdom during the rebellion of 1776, by basing our nation’s freedom on the recognition of the noble truth that all people are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and happiness.

In 1996 Leonard Perlmutter founded the American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy in Averill Park, New York, where he regularly offers classes and retreats. He has served on the faculties of the New England Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine in Boston and the International Himalayan Yoga Teachers Association in Calgary, Canada. He has studied in Rishikesh, India, and is a direct disciple of Shri Swami Rama of the Himalayas. He graduated from American University with degrees in Political Science and International Relations and attended the George Washington University School of Law. He is currently an adjunct professor at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, where he teaches yoga and meditation.