Customer Reviews

Cool Yoga Tricks

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book does a nice job of talking about and demonstrating many poses that people do in yoga classes and on yoga dvds. This book is broken up into sections (standing poses, seated poses, twisting poses, etc) and does a nice job with providing modifications for the poses. The advanced section towards the back of the book is also very good, and helps people who have a nice degree of flexibility (or who are looking for increased range of motion) to go a little deeper and try some tougher poses. My only problem with this book is that there were not enough seated poses. The book only covered Cobbler's Pose and Full Lotus Pose (I admit to being slightly bias because these are the poses I struggle the most with). While these are great poses to cover, adding a few more of the seated poses would made this book 5 stars for me. Otherwise, this is a great book, and I think anyone from any level or any style of yoga can get something out of this book.

This book is all about learning to modify yoga poses to make them work for YOU. It begins by helping you to become more aware of your body and how to control the way it moves. For example, many yoga poses include the instruction "roll your thighs outward"--how do you do that? This book doesn't just TELL you how, it SHOWS you how! Using a varitey of props such as blankets, straps, bolsters, chairs, and even helpful friends, you will learn to find comfort in some of the most common yoga poses, such as downward facing dog, standing forward bend, seated forward bend, and headstand. Yoga teachers and students of various shapes and sizes illustrate the many poses included in this book. This book is an excellent tool for anyone looking to further their yoga practice by attaining postures best suited to their ability.

I saw this at the book store last night, and came to order it from Amazon. The person who wrote this book has taken some of the cool tricks from Iyengar classes and written them down. I have trained with some senior Iyengar instructors and forgot what they showed me, until I picked up this book. I think the book is honest to its title.

I have only flipped through this book since receiving it, but I am thrilled with the information in it! It is not just how to add props to a few poses, as I expected, but also has ideas for how to 'teach' your body what it should be doing in each pose. It does this first by explaining what is meant by concepts such as 'press the top of your thighs back', or 'rotate your upper arms inward', then provides instructions and photos for assisted exercises to achieve these concepts. Sometimes your 'prop' is another person (or two!) to assist your body in achieving these poses. This book has me looking forward to practicing more than any other book I've seen recently! While this book will not satisfy those looking for a traditional yoga instruction with spiritual and breath aspects, it is an excellent beginning and intermediate guide to the physical practice of yoga.

This book is chock full of helpful hints for those who want to take their practice to the next level. Or even for beginners who are looking for a genteler way to ease into certain postures.
Dog Tricks-lengthen your spine more fully with these Downward Facing Dog tricks, designed to relax your neck, shoulders, and back-and make your Dog Pose much more lovable.
Befriending Backbends-increase your preztebility with a little help from your friends-and from some garden-variety folding chairs.
Tweaking Your Twists-learn the techniques that will stretch your spine and give you more life energy.
Super Stretches-feel as limber as your average bowling ball? Gently coax your muscles to new lengths by practicing the routines in this chapter.

This book is totally cool, delightful and delicious, just like yoga! I initially bought this book for my 23 year old daughter, thinking she could relate to the title. I quickly saw that the "tricks", clearly illustrated by people of different ages, various body types and backgrounds, are techniques for safely deepening our yoga practice. The author, Miriam Austin, credits her most influential teachers, including Ramanand Patel, who is well known for his ingenious use of yoga props. I'm adding this title to my list of recommended books for older students and their teachers!

Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause.

Do you consider yourself "flexibly challenged"? Are you a yoga instructor who needs ideas on how to modify poses for your students? If you fall into either category, this is THE book for you. Miriam Austin, author of "Yoga For Wimps" and "Meditation For Wimps", has put together a brilliant book that can assist even the stiffest person achieve postures that they never thought possible.

Using props that you can find around your own home (chairs, blankets, etc.), Austin demonstrates many different ways to employ these 'tricks' to enhance your practice and master classic yoga postures. There are over 200 different methods revealed in this book - with precise directions and clear pictures. It is obvious that Austin is inspired by the yoga master, BKS Iyengar, who originated the use of props. Many of these ideas may not be 'new' - but they really do work!

This book is extremely valuable for yoga instructors - in classes, you will come across many people with many different limitations. It can be frustrating for a student if they think that they can't do a pose. With these 'cool yoga tricks' at your disposal, you can help them assume the pose in a way that is not only best for their body type but safe as well. It will truly enhance your skills and your students will appreciate you for it!

I'm not so fond of the title but when I opened the book I knew I'd found a gem. I think this book should be called , "Essentials for building muscle memory of proper alignment" - not remotely sexy but very accurate. Miriam Austin delivers a fantastic resource for those who want to dissect asana. My only complaint is that it's not bigger with even more info about more poses. I love this book and will use it all the time. ABSOLUTELY WORTH EVERY PENNY! GET THIS BOOK!

This book is just plain excellent. I have already given two copies to friends (actually, I had to replace my copy twice because my friends took my copy and refused to return the book).
Buy this book and use it.
Bob Spena

I took this out of the local library and found it so informative that I bought a copy. Don't let the title fool you, this isn't a bunch of ultra limber people posing - this is cool little tricks of the trade you can use to deepen your practice. Many of these techniques are taught by Iyengar instructors, and others as modifications, ways of opening the body, etc. Great little book at a veyr reasonable price.