Yoga For Dummies

The long-awaited update of the trusted yoga book

A decade since its initial publication, Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition has been updated and revised to include coverage of the newest concepts and practices that have emerged in the yoga community over the past ten years. Still maintaining its emphasis on safe approaches to the physical practice of yoga, Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition breaks down the concepts and poses, making yoga easy-to-understand and easy-to-apply for everyone.

Yoga has been bringing health and peace of mind to millions of people for five millennia-and it can do the same for you. Turn to Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition to find out how to unlock your body's extraordinary potential, while strengthening your mind as well.

• Focuses on Hatha Yoga, which works primarily with the body through postures, breathing exercises, and other techniques
• Specialized yoga instructions for all ages, as well as partner yoga
• Practicing yoga during pregnancy, as well as yoga relief for women in mid-life
• Using restorative yoga and yoga therapy to combat chronic aches and pains

Whether you're a beginner or a yoga guru, Yoga For Dummies, 2nd Edition gives you the tips and techniques you need to experience the health benefits of yoga as part of a complete wellness and exercise program.

Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., and Larry Payne, Ph.D., are internationally recognized yoga experts. After explaining how to prepare your body and mind for yoga--including warnings about how to practice safely--they jump straight into the postures (asanas), instructions for which make up the meat of book (relaxation, breathing, movement, sequencing, compensation, sitting). Feuerstein and Payne carefully and in great detail lead the reader through every step, although they do advise first-timers to supplement the book with actual classes until they have the basics down. Throughout the book, clear explanations accompany black-and-white photos and drawings. (Unfortunately, following the written instructions is hard enough when your feet are in the air or your head's down by your ankles, and the book would have been improved if the pictures always appeared on the same page as their instructions.)

Readers then learn about tailoring a yoga program to their needs; using props; practicing "Yoga Throughout the Day"; incorporating yoga into sex, meditation, menopause, and pregnancy; using yoga to treat back problems and PMS; and practicing yoga with kids. The book also covers yogic ethics, philosophy, and resources. It's not all asanas and pranas, though--Yoga for Dummies is sprinkled with the humor characteristic of the For Dummies series (a section explaining that the ego is the ultimate source of stress is titled "Wherever ego, I go") and practical advice (the Forgiving Limbs maneuver allows you to bend your legs and arms a bit rather than try to fully extend them, so that you can perform postures you're not yet quite limber enough for). This is both an excellent beginner's guide and a good reference for more advanced yoginis who want a brush-up course. --Stefanie Durbin