Customer Reviews

Luna Yoga : Vital Fertility and Sexuality

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Luna Yoga
Adelheid Ohlig
Ash Tree Publishing 1994
P.O. Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 USA
PB 192
ISBN #096146206x
Reviewed by: Christina Francine

Women are women, not men, and deserve to follow their natural femininity. That's what Luna Yoga is about. The book isn't just about exercises; it's about attitude, an embracing empowering one.

This type of yoga isn't new. It's an old philosophy and healing art. Indications show the origins of yoga to be feminine, but today yoga is thought to be a man's expertise. In a man's world women learn to look, think, act, and walk like a man. Adelheid teaches that there is nothing wrong with being a woman with natural body movements, with our moody moods and freely moving hips.

Adelheid uses evidence with care and discrimination, but not everyone will be open to her theories. Some will call her a feminist and a New Ager, as if those are bad things to be. Some will refuse to hear her out. Luna Yoga is directed towards women seeking natural ways in healing and/or maintaining health, especially in the fertile and sexual areas.

Luna Yoga Contains (in this order):
*Introduction
*Publisher's Preface
*Editor's Preface
*Why Luna Yoga?
*Author's Foreword
*Part One - The Roots of Luna Yoga
*Part Two - Using Luna Yoga
*Part Three - Luna Yoga Exercises
*Part Four - Luna Yoga Healing Sequences
*Part Five - Sensuous and Sensible Additions
*Part Six - The End, and the Beginning
*Resources and Further Reading

Adelheid presents the reader with well-constructed work that covers theories from research along with experiences that instruct, inform, and empower. She discuses technical and factual information gathered about her experience. Adelheid brings classic yoga together with Aviva Steiner's menstrual calisthenics and provides detailed instructions for breathing exercises, sketched illustrations, tribal fertility dances, and recipes. Her content is original, her style of presenting and authenticity of facts - excellent. She wrote Luna Yoga in second person making her encouraging words come alive.

It began for Adelheid when a diagnosis confirmed cervical cancer and her search led to an alternative besides surgery. She studied her life style, lack of satisfaction with inner longings, and wondered if they had anything to do with the cancer growing inside her. "Cancer is a very strong signal. It shows you are bored with life." Therefore, Adelheid decided to quit her job, discover alternative medicine, and take time for herself. After she studied with Aviva Steiner, another test later revealed a class 1 PAP; healthy cells.

Excerpt From the Book:

"Luna Yoga works by stimulating and tonifying the endocrine system. With great probability, due to the intense concentration on our sexual organs, a feedback cycle is formed with the pituitary gland which directs our entire endocrine system. The gentle sensing exercises, the focusing of our breath o the sexual organs, and the dances all help to regulate our hormones."

Publisher Susun Weed says this about the book:
"I went to Adelheid's class expecting the usual breathing, stretching, and meditating. What a delightful surprise to find myself in the midst of a quiet revolution in the way yoga is offered to women."

Editor Amy Sophia Maroshinsky says this:

"Adelheid writes of the importance of menstruation and the need for women to heal and empower themselves."

I'd never tried yoga before, but Adelheid's book inspired me to place my body into unusual positions. At first, I felt apprehensive, but later found the exercises liberating. I suspect further examination into this style of yoga is in my future.

As a woman who believes women are as good as men, only different, I agree with her philosophies and

I hope it comes back into print. I avoided surgery and drugs using this book. I knew yoga well when I first got this book in 1997. But following the sequence and style, in just six months I went from threats of death by my doctors, to 100% well.

I use it to this day.

This book is repetitive of other books in the genre (healing wise woman traditions) but it is also an excellent book to have on reference for when you forget the stuff that you know you 'know'. There are comforting tea recipes, yoga poses (that don't make me feel like I have to compete with yogis in some class) and a mish-mash of information pertaining to women's healing. It's a comforting little reference book to have when I don't have the time or energy to flip through hundreds of pages of other reference books.

This is the first book on yoga that has appealed to me. Luna yoga was developed for woman by women. Adelheid Ohlig clearly intends to bring the philosophy, discipline, and healing art of luna yoga to the attention of women. I have only just begun to follow this practice daily and have high hopes for improved health and happiness.

This book reminds me of those fake books that are just advertising for some product, and not only was it advertising, but it was really poorly designed advertising. In this case, the product is the LUNA YOGA class. Now it may be that I will find some great benefit in taking a class, but I do not want to now that I have read 15-20 pages about how I should. A simple note in the foreward (along the lines of "You should really take a class to gain the full benefit of these exercises") might have done the trick.

The guide to poses was useful, although you could get the information from another yoga book (Yoga for Women by Paddy O'Brien for instance). The dances were the one piece of new information that I have not come across before... Anyhow, if you can get past all that, you might find something useful i this little book.

This book has a nice approach to women's health issues that can be helped via yoga. I recommend it if you're interested in trying yoga.

Fern Reiss, author of "The Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage"