Customer Reviews

Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A few years ago, I had the good fortune to take a class with a Kripalu teacher. I had heard of it but was very unfamiliar with the style. The class was a pleasant surprise - there was no ego in the class - not with the teacher or the students. We were all very different with various abilities and limitations - but rather than dwelling on it, we were encouraged to embrace ourselves exactly as we were. The emphasis was on acceptance - not some lofty physical goal.

"Kripalu Yoga" by Richard Faulds captures the spirit of Kripalu yoga in a beautiful manner. Kripalu means 'compassionate' and this is an apt description of this style of yoga. Named after Swami Kripalu, a guru whose teachings were brought to America in the 60's by disciple Yogi Amrit Desai, this gentle yoga form encourages breathwork, inward focus and meditation in motion.

Faulds gives clear instructions to help the reader begin to apply these principles to their own yoga practice. Breathing exercises are featured and here you'll find the ujjayi breathing (ocean breathing or "victorious breath") clearly explained. For some, this is a difficult breath to master - but the techniques in this book help anyone comprehend how to tap into it.

There are many pictures of poses along with good instructions. Routines are included as well. I also enjoyed reading the stories of other Kripalu student's experiences. It certainly will convince you of the benefits of yoga! Also featured in this book is information on chakras, fasting, yoga philosophy and spirituality, and meditation. While this may sound like a lot to process, Faulds explains everything an easy going and gentle manner. There is nothing here that feels intimidating at all.

No matter what shape you are in, no matter what background you come from, no matter what spiritual belief system you are tuned in with, Kripalu is the most accessible form of yoga. I would especially recommend this book for people who are new to yoga and a bit put off by the acrobats that are now dominating the current yoga scene.

This is my second book on kripalu yoga, the first being Megan Garcia's MegaYoga. I also bought the companion DVD, and really enjoyed the poses. I bought this book to learn more poses, rather than as a guide for "off the mat;" I'm a practitioner of my own religion, so I admit to skimming some of those parts since I wouldn't practice them anyway. What I like best about the book (and kripalu yoga in general) is the recognition that not everyone is flexible enough to bend into a pretzel. In fact, the book emphasizes that it will not teach the plough, full-lotus, or full headstand poses, as those are not part of kripalu tradition in that they may cause injury. The photos and description of poses were helpful, even for ones I was already doing.

What I disliked was some of the pseudo-scientific explanations about disease, such as references to Candace Pert's discredited work (she left the NIH many years before the book was published; she pretty much left mainstream science for personal reasons but I digress), references to alternative medicine as if they provide cures (when they do, they are called merely medicine), and so forth. I thought yoga is its own discipline, and does not need to refer to anything else. In addition, some of the quotes from practitioners were pretty trite: "I was overworked and yoga changed my life" was the common theme. Yes, yoga is great (I wouldn't practice it nearly every day for an hour), but a little profundity, a little depth in the quotes chosen would have helped this reader understand more about what is special about yoga. My last problem is with revering Swami Desai, who was caught in a sex scandal with 2 female disciples (revealed in the Afterword). At least, exclude him and just include the quotes from Swami Kriplau; they actually had a lot of depth. Still, I give the book 4 stars because, I got out of it what I wanted very well, and that is an illustrated guide to more asanas in kripalu yoga, and more in depth discussions on the technique.

Along with affirming the other reviews on this book, I would like to add that I have recently begun teaching yoga and have found this book to be an excellent tool for developing my class formats and information sharing. There is a wealth of information, presented in clearly stated, understandable and comprehensive text, that I can quickly commit to memory to share with my students, or jot down in an outline to reference during class instruction. Having purchased and read volumes of books on yoga, this is the first I have come across that has been helpful in that regard. Kripalu is a beautiful form of yoga that brings the true essence of the practice to life.

This book captures the full essence of Kripalu Yoga. I am a Kripalu Yoga Teacher and Meditation Teacher (feelbetternowyoga.com), and I think Richard Faulds has done an amazing job of explaining what Kripalu yoga is and what makes Kripalu yoga unique.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who teaches or practices Kripalu yoga.

I have doing Kripalu yoga for 3 years. However, I have not had access to a teacher nor could I travel to the headquarters. Therefore, I only had the videos. I have been waiting for a book on Kripalu yoga for some time. This book more than adequately met my need for additional understanding.

This book offers good instruction for beginning yoga practicers such as myself as well as more advanced poses. It includes complete steps to correctly acheiving poses while taking care to help the user protect his or her body in the process. There are also modifications for some poses. The benefits to particular areas of the body are included. I enjoyed the testimonials and found some helpful to me. The book also includes the spiritual/body connection aspect of yoga. I found this book to be very helpful and interesting.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to practice yoga while attending college in the 70's; I never forgot leaving that hour and a half usually feeling the best I ever felt. Yes, it was a physical experience, but witout explaination or introduction, it went beyond the physical. Just recently (age 59), I decided to get reacquainted with the practice.

As I studied and searched, I came into contact with Stephen Copes fantastic book "Yoga and the Quest for the True Self". This fantastic book led me to learn about and come to understand the Kripalu yoga method [ yes folks there is much more than just the hatha yoga we all seem to come into contact with]; this great practice is a combination of the physical hatha yoga and meditation. Please don't be overwhelmed; it's, in my book, the perfect combination.

As one who finds himself progressing on a daily basis, I highly recommend these two books. I suggest the reader, searcher, learner to explore a basic hatha yoga book or experience while reading "Kripalu Yoga" and branching out to Stephen Copes book for the "icing on the cake".

Stephen Cope, by the way, is one of the Senior teachers at the Kripalu Yoga Center.

I'm pleased to make this discovery myself and even happier to share my experience.

Namaste ........

As a Kripalu Yoga Teacher I had been waiting for a book that summarizes yet comprehensively explains the Kripalu Yoga tradition. Without minimizing the asana practice the book manages to cover the essence of Kripalu Yoga and taking the practice off the mat to encourage a healthy and spiritually rich lifestyle. I must mention that Kripalu Yoga is accessible to people of all ages and levels of practice. It can be as gentle or rigorous a physical practice as one wants it to be but it can also be as spiritual a practice as one wants it to be. This is the beauty of Kripalu Yoga and the book, Kripalu Yoga, makes this abundantly clear.

This is a practical guide for new and seasoned Yogis. It includes the basics for breathing, meditation, and even provides two home practice flows along with a template for adding variety. There are inspirational personal experiences, step by step asanas, and much more for all ages and Yogi levels. My new copy has become my personal Yoga guide and has inspired me to develop a home practice which I began after buying the book 8 weeks ago. Now I practice daily.

This book has a ton of information but is reader friendly. I read it before yoga teacher training and used it throughout. It is now a go to in my resource library.