The Best Beginning Yoga Book Out There

In my opinion, this is absolutely the best beginning yoga book you will find anywhere. It is not a book about getting into perfect pretzel shaped postures; it is not a book pushing Eastern philosophy; and it is not just another fad exercise book. This is a serious, well balanced, and gentle introduction to yoga. It's focus is on teaching yoga movements and postures in a gentle way that is accessible to anyone, and on introducing yoga as a means to improving your overall sense of well being and health.

"Yoga for Your Life" is organized into a set of lessons that guide you gently from simple movements towards the more familiar postures you might see in other books, but at every step of the way, emphasis is placed on adopting the postures to your body. This makes yoga accessible to anyone no matter what their age or physical fitness level or body type.

The lessons are beautifully illustrated with color photos of real people performing the movements in each lesson. There are no dry stick figures; there are no yogis in loin cloths; there are no unrealistic models. Just real people demonstrating each sequence of poses.

One of the most helpful features of the illustrated instructions is the way one's breathing is linked to specific movements of the body. Many yoga books describe this in words, but "Yoga for Your Life" has incorporated the breathing very clearly into the photo sequences of the lessons. By linking one's breathing to the movement of one's body, the whole experience feels more purposeful, and focused.

Throughout the book sidebars and other commentary introduce you to the ways in which yoga can be integrated into your life beyond just the physical exercises, but as with the postures, emphasis is on adopting what works for you.

Having tried several introductory yoga books, this is the one that really clicked with me, and enabled me to actually make yoga part of my life. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beginning introduction to yoga book.

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A Great Find!

I wanted a book that would show me how to do the yoga postures. One that would focus mainly on the postures and less on the meditative aspects of yoga. I found both in this book. It has easy to follow step-by-step instructions which give you alternate forms of the posture if you are unable to achieve the posture at your range or level. The book gives you weekly workouts to let you know how long to try things before moving on to the more difficult postures. I have recommended this book to friends and family alike. A Great Book.

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Dean Ornish, MD on YOGA FOR YOUR LIFE

"Yoga is the most powerful system of stress management, but it is also more than that: it is a system for transforming our awareness and quieting down our mind and body to experience inner sources of peace, joy, and well-being. I highly recommend YOGA FOR YOUR LIFE as a practical and clear guide to getting started in yoga."

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