Yoga is gaining increasing acceptance throughout the world because of its health benefits and even some hospitals and doctors are also employing yoga as a complementary system for healing. Though there are several publications on yoga, the scientific evidence regarding the benefits of yoga is not adequate. This book 'A Medical Understanding of Yoga' by Dr. Prakash Malshe is a good attempt to scientifically validate several yogic exercises. Dr. Malshe is a rare blend of a medical doctor who has also studied and practiced yoga in depth. Hence, he is able to explain many of the yoga techniques in relation to physiological processes of the body. He presents several new and provoking concepts like intermittent hypoxia during pranayama, filling of intestines with air during 'Suryanamaskar', hibernation during underground samadhi etc. However, these concepts need to be further confirmed in larger studies. The book also describes for the beginners how to start yoga and meditation in a very simple fashion and is well referenced. Overall I think that this book should be extremely useful for doctors and scientists and for anyone who is interested in looking for scientific evidence of yoga practices.