Customer Reviews

Insight Yoga

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I have been waiting a long time to read Sarah's new offering to the world of yoga. She didn't disappoint. I highly recommend Insight Yoga to everyone who loves Yin Yoga. However, the book is not just about Yin. It is a complete book on Yoga, both the active, dynamic yang style and the deeper, allowing yin style. Sarah's eloquence shines through in her writing as clearly as it does in her classes.

Insight Yoga offers a very good description of the Daoist philosophy of chi and the organs. Sarah does a great job of explaining the role of the organs from our Western understanding and from the Daoist view of their importance to our physical, mental and emotional health: it is the best description I have come across. Many students are curious as to which organs are related to which emotional imbalances. Their questions are answered clearly here. Sarah also does a wonderful job of showing how the various postures affect the meridians and their related organs. There are several flows that anyone can follow: both yin and yang. The yang sequences range from easily accessible to challenging. The photos are large, clear and very helpful in describing the postures and variations.

This book is not just about postures, energy or Yin Yoga. Sarah also blends her unique meditative teaching into the full yogic journey. She explains pranayama and meditation. She has a complete section on mindfulness training preceded by an introduction to the teachings of the Buddha (Buddha Dharma). This book should be on the shelves of every yogi, whether a yinster or a yangster. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Sarah Powers takes us to the next level where yoga can truly impact many aspects of our lives. Her intelligence, eloquence and beauty shine through on every page in simple, clear text alongside informative pictures of her innovative poses. Central to her Insight Yoga are the connections between our body, emotions and mind. Through a customizable mixture of yoga -- Yin (invented by Sarah and Paul Grilley which targets joints, tendons and ligaments and is more passive with poses held for about 3 - 5 minutes) and Yang (Hatha which targets our muscles and is more active) as well as Mindfulness Meditation, she makes it easy for us to self-regulate our energies and self-heal physically and emotionally. For anyone who wants to radiate from a core of well-being, Insight Yoga is a must.

This is a book I can grab onto as a guidebook for developing my Yoga practice, as well deepening and expanding my practice. The photos allow me to have a clear vision of each posture and modifications of the pose. That really helps me and answers the questions of how to do the poses correctly. Everyday, when I roll out my yoga mat I open Sarah's book as a security blanket and a guide. Sarah has a way of helping me to learn about myself on all levels, by being curious and continually inquisitive. She invites you to experience mini-meditations in the yin yoga poses, stimulates your mind by explaining Chinese meridian lines and how we can affect them; and she offers creative ideas for a flow series to compliment the long, slow holds of yin yoga.
Sarah clearly reveals her development and passion for yoga. She invites the student to create a practice that can stir deep feelings of what being vibrantly alive really means.
Learning about the Chinese meridians and how yoga poses can clear, open and increase the amount of energy moving through the body, is invigorating and calming at that same time.
This book is terrific. I like that there are poses and sequences of poses, Chinese Meridian and organ health theory; and a collection of Pranayama breathing techniques to work with.
Sarah's explains mindfulness training clearly and gives guideline including the Four Foundations of Mindfulness explained in depth. This book is a MUST in your yoga library and yoga studio and by your yoga mat. It weaves an understanding of Yoga, Chinese Medicine and Buddhism into one guidebook that is a joy to open and explore again and again I learn something new every time I open Insight Yoga.. It is a wealth of practical and personal information for increased healing and well being.

As a Yoga Instructor, I found this book refreshingly easy to read and understand, not to mention the accuracy of the information presented. The uses of Yoga as therepy and as an adjunct to other forms of Yoga is presented with pictures and helpful guidelines for even the beginner. I would highly recommend this book for any person interested in Yoga whether a beginner or beyond.

Sarah Powers melds together pieces of philosophies and practices that she finds to be insightful. I love the blending as this is what I've naturally been drawn to doing throughout the course of my life, and I am more inclined to read a book that is not so strict regarding lineage or a "set way" of practicing.

She clearly explains the theories behind Yin Yoga, just as marvelously as Paul Grilley & Bernie Clark do-- but then she also provides excellent, though brief, info on pranayama and Buddhist meditation practices. What Powers ends up providing us readers is a multi-layered practice that incorporates many aspects of yoga: asana (yin & yang), pranayama, & meditation. Practiced in this way, daily, we can cultivate mindfulness, strength, and fluidity.

I've been recommending this book to all of my fellow yoga teachers!

Insight Yoga is a wonderful fusion of Yin/Yang Yoga, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Buddhist philosophy. Many detailed photos of specific poses to balance and focus on each meridian. Overlay of meridians on photo of body, including internal branches help you to understand how the pose affects that meridian. Interesting insights on each organ and it's related meridian in the body. Modifications given for each pose make it available to students of Yoga of all levels.

An ambitious undertaking, and even more impressive that so much information is covered in 192 pages, albeit oversized.

This is not the first offering for Yin Yoga (a synthesis of Hatha Yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine which sequences postures based on the targeted meridians and requires postures to be held for up to five minutes). What makes her unique is her offering of both Yin- and Yang-style yoga. A smart move, because while quieter, yin styles of yoga have started to regain some popularity, most of the yoga still being practiced in classes is of the vigorous, yang style, and most of it's participants will probably still want to find a way to include that into their practice in a time-efficient way. In addition to offering instruction for a variety of postures in both styles, she also offers several sequence suggestions at the end of the book to start tailoring your personal practice.

I have been a yoga instructor for several years, so while I found the instructions for the postures technically accurate, there wasn't too much new information for me. What I really enjoyed reading about was the information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, particularly Meridian Theory (lines of energy linked to organs of the body). In addition to information about the physical and energetic attributes of each meridian pairing, Powers also gives diagrams for where the meridians flow from, through and to. These are worth close study, because some of it is not intuitive (for me, anyway). After that, Powers goes on to provide a practice specific to each pairing, where she also superimposes lines to make clear why a certain posture is appropriate for that pairing.

Yin Yoga has started to be included in practices not only to physically balance against more vigorous Yang Yoga, but also because it more easily invites quieter, meditative states, making it easier to balance the mind and the body. As such, Powers includes information about pranayama (breathing techniques), meditation and even basic Buddhism. Much of this was very easy to read, although there were one or two places where the language didn't flow as well.

None of her topics are covered exhaustively, and most readers who find this interesting will probably want to investigate some of the sources she lists (and others) further. This is, however, an excellent start appropriate for novices as well as experienced practitioners, and should keep everyone busy for some time.

Sarah Power's long awaited book is well worth the wait. Throughout the book, the written word matches her clarity, precision and depth that is so evident in her teaching. This is a wonderful, clear practical guide for anyone who wants a profound and integrated approach to the practice of Yoga. And yet it is much more than that. It is a text that integrates the subtle and complex workings of chinese medicine, Taoist thought and the understanding of the energy meridians in the body
Sarah explains and demonstrates through pictures and text how different yoga asanas and sequences are beneficial for the main meridians in the body and for the overall health of body, mind and spirit. I found the individual chapters that outlined a yoga practice for each of the meridians very helpful, clear and thorough. Not only is her writing lucid but the beautiful photos make it very easy to follow her asanas and sequences.
Throughout the book Sarah shares her depth of wisdom that she has developed through her broad study of Buddhism, Taoism and yoga. Her approach to asana practice is very refreshing because she is able to explain the deeper spiritual dimensions of yoga and how it is not just a path for physical health but ultimately a path to awareness, insight, wisdom.

I highly recommend Sarah Power's insightful and lucid guide to the practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation. Her clear explanation of the different threads of Hatha and Taoist yoga, as well as, the foundational ideas of Buddhism and mindfulness meditation are poetic and inspiring. She has the ability to translate Eastern thought without loosing the spirit of the teachings. In fact, she has a wonderful knack for making such teachings more accessible to the western mind. This book is great for beginners and experienced yogis alike.

If you've ever studied with Sarah Powers, you won't be surprised to learn that her new book is a gem--a clear, deep, inspiring, and nondogmatic guide to her unique synthesis of yoga philosophy and practice, Buddhism, and Chinese medicine. If you're new to her work, you're in for a treat. In her own fresh and precise language, she skillfully integrates and illuminates the underlying principles of these ancient systems for the healing and transformation of the body, heart, and mind. Her insights will inspire you to practice--and once you're on your mat, her clear and well-designed sequences of postures and techniques will make it easy for you to tailor your personal practice to meet your unique needs each day. Highly recommended!