Totally Useless Bordering on Obscene

The book starts out with how wonderful this Dharma Mittra is (by the editors). Then Dharma Mittra tells you how wonderful he is and barely scratches the surface of a Yoga practice that is compatible with a busy life. The rest of the book is pictures of Dharma Mittra in yoga poses. His gentialia are so prominent in most of the poses it is obscene. I am not a prude after 25 years of nursing but please! When I tried to use the book as examples of what poses should look like all I got was laughter. Even from my supervisor!

There are no explanations of how to get into or out of the poses safely. No suggestions to adapt the poses and no pointing out the nuances of a pose, breathing suggestions, or even a notation of what conditions the poses may help with.

This book doesn't deserve a star at all but rather a parental warning label.

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excellent

I was suprised to find that there are postures not included in this book. The photographs are clear enough. There is no instruction. I suppose as an adjunct to some other material it is of great value. The one concern I have is about the durablility of the book itself. Since it is rather thick with a lot of pages, it might be worthwhile to purchase the hardcover edition instead.

Rating:


Beautiful

Asanas collects 608 of black-and-white photographs, each accompanied by the English name of the pose and the Sanskrit characters, brief commentary, and specific combinations for Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Iyengar practice. There are suggestions for beginning, intermediate, and advanced yoga practitioners, as well as a list of poses beneficial for particular health problems and chakra relationships. Because it builds on basic postures, Asanas will appeal to students of any of the 100 yoga styles. This would make a wonderful gift for anyone who is interested in yoga.

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