Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About [Paperback]

Steve Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2003

After studying yoga in India and traveling all over the world with traditional Vedantic masters, Steve Ross returned to his hometown of Los Angeles with a broadened point of view of what yoga could be. He was surprised to find that yoga classes at home were missing the humor, joy, and celebration that fueled his Eastern studies. Instead of expanding and enhancing the joy of being, Western yoga classes focused obsessively on correcting body positions and developing a picture-perfect physique. Determined to keep his yoga practice true to cultivating bliss and inner radiance, Ross started his own yoga studio and has created a yoga movement in Los Angeles that is, to put it simply, revolutionary.

Ross lives and teaches according to his belief that the secret to yoga is not obsessing over whether your feet are parallel or whether you can bend as far as the person on your left can, but about transcending the serious and allowing joy into your life, your body, your mind, and hopefully your yoga practice itself. It's about lightening up.

In Happy Yoga, Ross reveals that everyone is inherently happy, but that our true self is shadowed and concealed by the layers of worry that, through habit, become our daily thoughts. In each chapter, he examines one of our seven greatest human fears -- depression, ill health, loss of love, career failure, war, death, and emotional stasis -- and uses yoga wisdom to explain how to strip away these worries to reach your core of calm radiant joy. By sharing his system of yoga postures, diet, meditation, music, supplements, and philosophy, Ross has effected profound physical and mental changes in both his life and the lives of his students.

Ross's power is that he goes back to the source -- five thousand years of ancient yogic wisdom -- and decodes the abstract Eastern ideas for a Western audience. Happy Yoga is not just a set of movements and facts to consume, it is a way of shifting your awareness to bring the spirit of yoga into each movement, each meal, each relationship, each thought, and each breath.

With love and joyful abandon, Ross offers us a new way to practice and live yoga. The result is profound calm, a dramatic release of anxiety and pain, and the realization that there really is nothing to worry about.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Much more than a guide to the physical practice of yoga, this book-like yoga itself-is about life, and about how to exist happily with oneself and the external world. It's based on the premise that if one gets rid of wanting and worldly desire, one can achieve "uninterrupted happiness and a constant experience of joyful wonder." Ross, a yogi to the stars, believes that fulfillment can and should come from within, and he offers generally sound advice for how to move towards a state of happiness, discover true love and be always blissful. All this could easily come across as hokey, but many of Ross's points are surprisingly resonant and logical (if not always simple to follow). In the quest for love, for example, he reminds readers, "If you've ever been around someone who wants your approval badly and wants your love badly, you may have noticed that the more the person pursues you-or stalks you, as the case may be-the more turned off you become." Quotes from yogis, comedians and ancient proverbs reinforce many of his arguments, and each chapter includes photographs and explanations of yoga poses to support the chapter's lessons. Excessive use of exclamation points, an underlying L.A.-inspired assumption that most of the world thinks being rich and famous will bring inner peace and some over-the-top health and medical advice are distracting, but getting past these flaws will allow readers to access many nuggets of wisdom and sage guidance.
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About the Author

Steve Ross has been a yoga instructor for twenty years. Called Yogi to the Stars by InStyle, Ross has appeared in numerous publications including Vanity Fair and the New York Times. He is the host of Inhale, an early morning yoga program on the Oxygen network, and is a yoga teacher and retreat leader at Maha Yoga in his hometown of Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 edition (November 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060533390
• ISBN-13: 978-0060533397
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this book and get happy...really!, May 18, 2006

By 

O. Brown "Ms. O. Khannah-Brown" (Twopeas, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About (Paperback)

****
This is a lovely book ostensibly about yoga (and it is), but more than that, about life. It is about how ordinary people can learn from yogic wisdom and apply it to our mainstream lives. It is about how to be enlightened, simply and happily, rather than rigorously and with struggle.

Full of wisdom and strong opinions from the author (especially about veganism---the author is a vegan), you may not agree with everything, but you will enjoy this book greatly and learn a lot. It will make you think and examine your beliefs. It will also make you happy---the subtitle is "7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About". An example of one secret: "You Can't Get Happy (You Can Only Be Happy)".

There are brief questions for reflection throughout the book. It is well-organized.

People who will enjoy and benefit from this book are:
Those who practice yoga very seriously.
Those who have never tried yoga and who wonder what it's all about.
Those who think a lot and who spend time worrying.
Those who want to "wake up", sensing that they are sleepwalking through their lives and missing something.
Other very serious people.

This is a happy book, although I wouldn't call it light. It's not heavy, either, though. "Fun" and "deep" would be the best description...well..."happy"---and thus unique. I really enjoyed it. Oftentimes I'd feel happy and blissful just reading it and contemplating on the points the author would make.

The only negative about the book is that the yoga postures at the end of each chapter are very advanced---many at the contortionist level---with instructions not anywhere near beginner level. I just looked at the pictures. However, it would be very easy for an uninformed reader to injure themselves while attempting to follow the instructions and illustrations. It would also give a beginner new to yoga the misguided idea that they can't do yoga because it's too hard for them at their fitness level. Untrue! The yoga postures are not, however, vital to the book and can simply be skipped. Still, for this reason I give this wonderful book only four stars.
****

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There really is nothing to worry about!, January 3, 2005

By 

Rebecca Besbris "Homeschooling mom, avid read... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About (Paperback)

I discovered Steve Ross on the Oxygen network's morning yoga program, "Inhale." I had been cruising along with my light and lovely Suzanne Deason, the strong and gentle Rodney Yee, and the soothing tones of Patricia Walden--all happy members of my video and DVD yoga collection. While surfing through the TiVo listings one day, I came across Steve's yoga program, and my life hasn't been the same since.How happy I was to find Steve's book, Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About! I happened across it before going on a plane trip, and practically devoured the whole book on the to and from flights, using the yoga sequences listed in the book while on the ground. This book is not a yoga how-to manual--it's a yoga why-to manual. Yes, the poses are there, but this is not a book about getting the poses just so. The yoga Steve shows you is the essence of yoga, the essence of Self, and the finding of joy.The book gives you just what it says: seven reasons why there's nothing to worry about. The chapter on food alone makes the book worth buying, even if you never decide to be a raw foodie vegan (I'm not, but it sure was great, enlightening reading). In each chapter, Steve connects to yogic wisdom, real-world examples, and just plain common sense to give you a true guide to living a yogi's life, even in the hustle and bustle of 21st century America. As he says, anyone can be a deeply connected yogi in a cave in India. It takes talent to do it in the midst of our every day lives.Steve Ross is an irreverent yoga instructor and life guide--just what the "yoga industry" needs, IMO. Try the book, do the Inner Yoga exercises, and watch your life come more into focus. And don't forget to try the playlist selections conveniently provided at the end of each chapter. You'll never do yoga to New Age chanting CDs again!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Plain Happy, July 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About (Paperback)

I've been reading this book for the past 3 weeks along with practicing yoga using Steve's program and I do feel calmer and more at peace, as well as stronger and more comfortable in my body.
The book features lessons followed by suggested exercises (mental as well as physical) that can guide you on your journey. I've been to many yoga classes and found that they can be indimitading and pretentious to newcomers. This book explains the principles of yoga in a way that beginners can understand and feel in sync when practicing with more experienced others.
Every lesson had has inspired me - I can already tell that this will be a book that I pick up time & again.