Yoga

I have been practicing yoga at home with videos for about 2 years from now, and Rodney Yee is my favorite instructor. However, I've heard some people criticize his videos as being too mystical or too fast-paced, especially for beginners. In this book, Yee makes yoga accessible to everyone in part by making HIMSELF accessible--ie, via the reprinted conversations with his co-author, Nina Zolotow. The interviews allow the reader to see Yee as a real person rather than the yogi "master" he is often considered to be (he even jokes about this title in the book!). Furthermore, although he does discuss Eastern influences in his own yoga practice, he places great emphasis on yoga being fun and enjoyable and encourages modifications rather than a strive for "perfect" form. In addition to talking about his craft, Yee offers eight varied yoga practices appropriate for beginning students; each practice focuses on a theme, such as "falling" or "breathing." Beautifully simple black and white photographes of either Yee or his wife, Donna Fone, performing the poses accompany each practice. In the last section, "Posing and Reposing," each of the 45 poses utilized in the practices is photo-illustrated and described in detail. Although this book is aimed at beginners, it will stimulate the thought of any aspiring yogi. Highly recommended!

I, like several others stated, did not expect to like this book when I got it. I can't even remember why I bought it as opposed to some other yoga books I was looking at that day. I probably liked the wonderful black and white pictures. This book is not just an instructional manual on how to start a yoga practice at home. The more attractive element of this book for me was the authors seem to attempt to answer the unspoken question 'why we practice yoga'. There are three types of sections in this book. The first are instructional, beginning level yoga asana practices. Another are the interviews between Rodney Yee and Nina. And finally, there are Nina's short stories. These three elements are interwoven throughout the book. So that you will have a one page short story, then an interview, wrapped up with a hatha (physical) yoga practice sequence. I was particularly fond of the interviews. They remind the reader that yoga is more than the physical practice of postures. They also talk about yoga's influence on the authors' lives as a whole. Since the interviews appear to have taken place over a somewhat extended frame of time (a few months to a year), you get a chance to see the authors grow over the course of the book.Anyway, because of this book, I later went on a retreat with Rodney Yee, which is an experience I recommend as well. This book was an unexpected gem.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, considering Mr. Yee's popularity. Being part of the latest craze and adored by Oprah could polute the good intent of even the most devout but I found this book remarkably candid and thorough. The mysticism of yoga is absent, replaced by caring detail. For instance, in the second section, Getting Ready to Practice, the parts of the body likely to be referred to in the book or videos are pointed out, clothing is suggested, props are explained and illustrated details are provided to improvise them, right down to how to properly fold a blanket. This sort of detail, the anticipation of each tiny question has been attended to in all parts of the book. The third section, Falling Into Yoga, is my favorite. It begins with a summary of the 8 practices included, briefly discusses timing, breathing and the like and then proceeds to the practices. The first practice, A Playful Practice, is very gentle with flowing movements for stretching, twisting and opening followed by relaxation. Each pose has a photo and "Instructions" and "One Thing" to the right of them. The "One Thing is usually a metaphor, visualization or something to help you get it. I like this level of attention and thoughtfulness. As an aside, if the prose in these makes you snicker, move on and pay attention to the instructions. Some will find them helpful and others will not. They do not detract from the book either way. Anyway, following the details of the practice are two pages with tiny photos of each asana to facilitate practicing without flipping back and forth.The conversations with Ms. Zolotow reveal Rodney Yee as a real person, not a celebrity or mystic. He has a personal life, a wife and children and the concerns that come with living, of having experienced a childhood and of being in this world. That he speaks so openly and modestly increased my respect for him tenfold. I have many yoga books and tapes but I can't imagine finding another as accessible as this one.

In the yoga world, Rodney Yee is a legend. his videos sell zillions of copies and his Oprah appearance was extremely successful. Yet, as a beginning yoga practitioner, Yee has never been accessible to me.Now, with his first book, I can finally incorporate his vast knowledge into my life. Yoga: The Poetry of the Body is an excellent guide for beginners (like me). based on 45 basic yoga positions, the book has helped me build a foundation for my yoga life. The useful photos and exercise descriptions, alone, would make this a 5 star book, but with all of the added content from Yee and co-author Nina Zolotow, the book is a must-have. The teacher-student dialogues sprinkled throughout the book are engaging, intelligent and realistic, Yee and Zolotow answered a lot of my questions and recognized some of the insecurities I had about starting yoga (even though I didn't know I had them!!)And for the expert practitioner, the philosophy is uniquely Yee and the book can become an excellent way to hone th craft. I can't say enough about how great this book is!!

First of all, I should tell you the quality of the paper alone is worth the price-- high quality pages with lots of artsy photos, and a cover designed to lay open. It's silly, but I was struck by that when I got the book home and began to flip through it. It's made to be read and read and carried around and abused.Second of all, despite Oprah's adoration of Rodney Yee ;o), after doing 'A.M. Yoga' a couple times and reading a couple other yoga books, I wasn't that impressed with "Rod". I felt like he was serving it up really watered down, if you know what I mean, even for a beginners' tape.But this book has given me a lot of respect for him, and Nina Zolotow. Between each yoga set there is an unusual thoughtful qoute and then a transcript of a conversation between the authors. I found these conversations to be really helpful in my quest to get into a regular yoga practice, both from the aspect of making me want to practice every day, and encouraging me not to be so critical of myself during practice.Also, with the tape I didn't feel like I was be given the ability to do yoga on my own-- I felt like I needed the tape, when I dreamed of going off into a field, laying out my mat next to a lake and practicing. The book is a nice break from that, I feel like it gives you the skills to practice without a voice directing every movement. (and you take a book into the fields much easier than a TV, he he).So, yes, I highly recommend this book. It has changed my opinion of Rodney Yee, made me glad I was introduced to Nina Zolotow and her 1-sentence stories, and really helped me to learn more about yoga, as well as help me to dedicate time to regular practice. Excellent for beginners, and great for those with some familiarity as well.