Frank Rudolph Young - Yoga For Men Only / Франк Рудольф Янг - Йога Только Для Мужчин [1970, Scan - PDF, ENG]

Yoga For Men Only by Frank R. Young, D.C. is without question the very best book on yoga ever written. That's a very strong statement but it's true. The reasons are actually quite simple - he has a narrow yet powerful focus.

The first thing that Dr. Young does is make seemingly outlandish claims of what the practice of yoga can do for a man - that it can give a man vigorous life at any age. He discusses yoga secrets for self-mastery, self-protection, greater personal energy, powerful muscles, sex power, leadership, and youth. He combines yoga lore with chiropractic and what seems to be his own thoroughly unique, utterly efficient and surprisingly effective singular idea of bodybuilding that he calls yogametrics. I have read this book at least one hundred times since I purchased a first edition in 1969 and have practiced this brand of yoga ever since almost exclusively. It sings!

Virtually everything I've tried from this book does indeed work. I've used it for over thirty years. I have even used his self-defense techniques to a great advantage - mainly because it was easy.

I have read books on Kundalini or Raj, and Hatha yoga by many authors. These books usually diagram an asana - a yoga movement or position - along with a short explanation. These books expound the positive aspects of widening the openings of the body and stretching the muscles as a whole. Rarely will they speak of anything but stretching. I'm sorry but stretching will not work a muscle.

To work a muscle a person must contract that muscle. Stretching is good for warming up and widening some of the openings in the body is a paramount issue, but not for serious muscle health. Once in a while these authors will get into meditation, mysticism, or a little bit of anatomy.

Yoga For Men Only is the only book I know that even gives a definition of yoga! These yoga asanas help the mind tell the body what to do. Yoga means union. The union of the mind and body is the core of yoga. This book tells how to overcome hypertension, high blood pressure, and even wrinkles. Two years ago I got arrested because a Redwood City policewoman refused to believe that I was as old as my driver license stated - with yoga I erased my wrinkles. That is a true story.

Other books merely touch on how yoga differs from isotonics, isometrics and calisthenics. This book wades into it. Dr. Young - that's his real name - has invented yogametrics. He uses yogametrics not only for muscle building but also for controlling the blood supply to the mysterious youth-giving (or with misuse, taking) endocrine gland system. Dr. Young treats the endocrine glands in a scientific yet ancient manner - from a health perspective.

This book gives the most dynamic method for deep breathing ever devised by man. This doesn't get into the Kundalini breathing techniques or the variation that Edgar Cayce taught which opens the sevens seals, but it is practical and should be a must for any serious body builder. I used it to increase the girth of my chest by over three inches without gaining a pound in just six months with only half an hour a day.

Yoga For Men Only is not just for men. I believe that the title is more for catching the prospective buyer's eye - it worked for me. This book spends no time on mysticism, or meditation. For those items read books on Edgar Cayce. They are the best. Cayce's books treat the endocrine glands not only from a health perspective but also from a mystical viewpoint. Dr. Young does not treat the endocrine glands as chakras like Cayce or the yoga mystics of old, but from a very practical viewpoint instead. The asanas that Dr. Young describes with respect to the endocrine glands have interesting details. They show the muscle combines which in turn stimulate the specific nerve ganglia that control the blood supply to a specific endocrine gland. It is awesome. I myself have invented a handful of asanas using his ideas.

Richard Dowell