Customer Reviews

Guiding Yoga's Light: Yoga Lessons for Yoga Teachers

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been teaching yoga for just over one year, and, like yoga teachers everywhere, am continually striving to learn and grow.

Part of that quest is through reading. While I learn something from almost every yoga book I read, I have never before found so much clear, honest, easy-to-use information altogether in one book.

Ms. Gerstein has assembled and distilled a lot of essential core yoga information into bite-sized bits that are perfect for use in the yoga class setting.

One of the things I learned early on as a teacher is that you can only weave so much information into a single yoga class, and that less is often more.

This is where Ms. Gerstein's work truly shines -- her finely crafted sentences convey so much, and do it in a simple, direct, honest, natural language.

Beginning teachers (especially those who are a bit nervous) can read sentences or paragraphs as is, while more experienced teachers might chose to simply use her language as a rough guide, preferring to ad lib. I prefer a blended approach -- having a sentence or two written down ahead of time as a talking point, and then elaborating with my own unrehearsed words.

I was also struck by how useful this book would be to those who are not teachers, but rather students who crave a bit more than what they learn from their own teachers. Any yoga student who is seeking to develop his/her own home practice would find this book to be interesting and engaging. They could easily find a "lesson" of interest, read it, incorporate the suggested postures into their home practice, and meditate over the message/theme of the lesson throughout the practice and beyond. The book would easily provide a full year of home lesson material.

I have two small criticisms of this book.

First, each lesson has an "approximate length" listed. Usually this is 2-6 minutes. It obviously doesn't include the time for the suggested asanas.

The "how to use" page of the book says: "The length of each written lesson. If you want to add or edit the lesson please note that any changes or added pauses will change the approximate length of the script."

This seems too obvious to even be stated. I honestly cannot see the value of these length approximations. Any teacher can look at the number of words he or she decides to use in a class and guesstimate how long it will take to cover the material. And really, does it make a huge amount of difference if it takes four minutes or six?

I would prefer deleting these approximate time notations and using the space to add one more lesson!

Second (small) criticism: I noted two instances so far of "it's" appearing in the text when "its" was meant. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that books should be carefully edited for correct spelling and grammar.

All in all, an excellent, useful book!

Please note that the information in the book is mainly philosophical and spiritual. She also covers chakras and breathing (breath control/pranayama) quite well.

However, this book does NOT directly deal with the teaching of asana (posture). Some asanas are suggested with each lesson, but it is assumed that you already know how to perform and teach and modify these asanas.

(If you are looking for books to help you teach/learn asanas (postures) of yoga, may I recommend these two wonderful volumes: "30 Essential Yoga Poses for Beginning Students and their Teachers" by Judith Lasater. Excellent book. Every new teacher would find much to appreciate. Second, "Cool Yoga Tricks" by Miriam Austin. Unfortunate name, very excellent book which deals with how to modify postures and tricks for teaching and doing a wide variety of postures.
Both books are clear and easy to follow.)

I've been teaching yoga for almost 4 years, and I've never come across a book like this. Every "lesson" has a purpose or intention, a script to read to students, and postures to go with each lesson. The lessons range from teaching breathing to dealing with fear to learning the chakras. Ms. Gerstein has even made suggestions as to how to take the lesson into your everyday life. I have used some of the lessons in my classes and it has made a huge difference in my students' understanding of yoga postures and yoga as a lifestyle. If you're a teacher, this is the book you won't want to do without.

This book is a good 'idea' book for yoga instructors. Putting together a yoga class requires a lot of work and some creativity. It is challenging to come up with themes. Many times, it is easy to rely on our comfort zones when teaching. Nancy Gerstein's "Guiding Yogas Light" has some good, basic lesson plans that can inspire an instructor.

The format of the book is nicely laid out. Gerstein's writing is poetic and clear. I have been able to use some of these ideas very easily in my classes. The only complaint I would have with this book is that I wish there were some longer practices. Many of the scripts here are for 5 minutes or less. This is a good place to reference from, but a little more would be nice.

STATUS: I HAVE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT PRE ORDERS OF THE NEW EDITION ARE BEING SHIPPED NOW, JULY 25, 2008. Check Amazon or author's website often for availability. This is a wonderful resource for teachers and students. The author does a superb job of setting a focus for the class, guiding you through the practice, and leaving you with reflections for life off the mat, which is when and what yoga is all about. This book is a wealth of information and inspiration. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR NEW AND SEASONED PRACTITIONERS.

I have been teaching for 3 years, and thought this book would be a great addition to my yoga library, something I could turn to for inspiration in my teaching.. However, while there are a few inspiring points in this book, the title of it is "Guiding Yoga's Light: Yoga LESSONS for Yoga Teachers"--and I found the actual lessons to be very brief and lacking. But the topic of this book is a great idea, and I am glad someone has at least thought of the idea to write on this subject.

I am a new yoga teacher and am always looking for new insight and a different way to pass on yoga to students. Very interesting and helpful.

I have been teaching yoga for many years. Sometimes I run dry on inspiration and, when I do, this is the first book I think of turning to. It's not that you can't find another book that offers ideas for yoga poses -- there are plenty of those. But this book speaks to teachers. It's a very practical book. Nancy Gerstein has put together some very thoughtful yoga lessons. As another reviewer noted, more poses could be suggested for each lesson. But truthfully, I don't think these are meant to be scripts but more a jumping off point for teachers to embellish and round out each class. Additionally, the number of postures a teacher will use in a class depends a lot on the style of yoga. More than just a creative series of postures, Nancy's classes seem to also be about deepening students' connections to themselves and encouraging a curiosity about the aspects of yoga that are often missed in action-packed classes. As a teacher, I have found it helpful to read about how Nancy puts some of the more esoteric concepts of yoga philosophy into language that I think a lot of students will be able to understand and integrate. I've been using this book for about 5 years now and it's gotten more use than any of the other yoga books on my shelf. I think I will probably be checking out her new, expanded edition that came out recently.

I use this book all the time for developing new classes. The lessons are fabulous. The downside is that it does not list nearly enough poses that go along with the lesson. It's a great starting point but you will need other resources to develop good class sequences to accompany the lesson.

A helpful tool for students as well as teachers. Each concept ceases to remain redundant.

This is just what my daughter needed. Although it was hard to obtain, I got it from one of your sub-sources. It is beautiful!