30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers [Paperback]

P.T. Judith Hanson Lasater Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

In 30 Essential Yoga Poses, Judith Lasater draws on her wealth of yoga practice and teaching experience, as well as her training as a physical therapist, to present this comprehensive guide for beginning students and their teachers. The author discusses yoga's ancient eightfold path and its relevance in today's world, and goes to the heart of yoga—the all-important student-teacher relationship. Thirty essential yoga poses (asana), their variations, and breathing practices (pranayama) are also provided, with guidance for the student practicing at home, and points for the classroom teacher. Sequences are presented with photographic charts for easy visual reference, and a "Mantra for Daily Practice" and glossary of anatomical terms and resources for further study are also included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rodmell Press; First edition (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930485042
• ISBN-13: 978-1930485044
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judith Lasater has taught yoga since 1971. She holds a doctorate in East-West psychology and is a physical therapist. Dr. Lasater is the president of the California Yoga Teachers Association, and serves on the advisory boards of Yoga Journal and the Yoga Research and Education Center.

Her yoga training includes study with B.K.S. Iyengar in India and the United States. She teaches ongoing yoga classes and trains yoga teachers in kinesiology, yoga therapeutics, and the Yoga Sutra at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco. In addition, she leads workshops and retreats throughout the United States and abroad.

Dr. Lasater writes extensively about yoga. Her feature articles, columns, and essays appear in numerous books, magazines, and anthologies. She is the author of Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times (Rodmell Press), the first book devoted to the supported yoga poses and breathing techniques called restorative yoga.

Judith Lasater lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful yoga book with a wide appeal, February 24, 2004

By 

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers (Paperback)

This is a wonderful yoga book for those just beginning to practice yoga, intermediate practitioners who would like to enhance their practice, or those looking to make the transition from yoga student to yoga teacher. For each of the poses described, author Judith Lasater suggests variations, offers tips on alignment, and provides information for how teachers can work with their students on the pose. As an advanced beginner, I even found reading the sections intended for teachers to be useful, as it gave me ideas about how to make changes in my own practice. At the end of the book, the author describes various ways to incorporate the postures into a daily practice, from a short practice to practices for each day of the week to practices to meet specific needs (eg, for energy, for relaxation). Judith is an excellent instructor, and I only wish that she had illustrated the poses herself (I found the model used throughout the book to be a bit severe-looking). Still, this book is a must-have for starting or adding to a yoga library.

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reader-friendly, neatly designed and explained, March 26, 2005

By 

Mohamed F. El-Hewie "Mohamed F. El-Hewie" (Hackensack, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers (Paperback)

Although there is no shortage of books written on yoga by talented people, this book is unique in its reader-friendly display of information and illustration. The author strived to organize the book in a style that calming and soothing to both the eyes and the mind. Each pose spans five or so pages, starting with a full-page photograph, description of the pose, its sequencing, benefits, cautions, variations, teachers' notes, and 3 to 4 photographs that show how the pose is performed. The fine choice of soft colors for the text and photos eases the task of reading the book and understanding its message.

The thirty poses constitute the foundation of yoga stretching and strengthening. They fall into standing poses (such as mountain, tree, triangles, warriors, side and forward bends, and lunges), lying down poses (such as cobra, bow, elevated legs, lying twist, and relaxation poses), seated poses (such as seated twist, hero-heroine, seated angle, child, and meditation poses), head and shoulder stands, up-plank, and bridges. These are also included in seven days plan at the end of the book. For regional anatomical therapy, the author had added a detailed section on "Theme Practice" that categorizes various poses for the lower back, hips and hamstrings, upper back, balance, strength, energy, fatigue, and relaxation.

Like many talented yoga practitioners, the author chose her photographs thoroughly to demonstrate the emphasized angles and posture of the body. This has greatly conveyed invaluable visual information that could hardly have been expressed by words in such memorizable manner.

For the price of $22.95 you are getting great lessons on getting and staying fit, learning the art of planning practical and safe yoga training, and enjoying a well written and designed book.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie,
Author of
"Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training".

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Essential' is right., July 20, 2006

By 

Sarah Wilder (Rocky Mountains, CO) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers (Paperback)

I have been practicing yoga for close to five years and teaching for less than one. This book is the best instructional yoga guide I have ever seen. The asana directions and descriptions are clear and concise, the variations are good and the anatomical focus notes for teachers are also excellent for students. If I were going to recommend one yoga reference book, this would be it.