Customer Reviews

The Pocket Idiot's Guide to 108 Yoga Poses

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This book is not intended as an instructional book for beginners, nor as your sole source of yoga instruction. It is meant as a reference guide for those who are already studying yoga in some capacity (you'll find it useful whether you're taking your first class or your twentieth) and who would like a guide to the poses, or asanas, for use when they aren't at class and don't have an instructor to guide them. This little book is also perfect for taking along to the office or on a trip.

While yoga is an extremely gentle form of exercise, doing it wrong (like any exercise) can be dangerous. So if you want to continue your practice away from home or class, it can be invaluable to have a guide to remind you of how exactly to do it. Also, with such a guide you won't be limited to the five or ten poses you can most easily remember. This book has a total of 108, and includes the Sun Salutation and several practices (series of poses to use as a single workout).

Each chapter (chapters are divided by type of pose, such as inverted poses or backbends) starts off with general alignment instructions and cautions; be certain to read these even if you're sure you know what you're doing. Additional cautions are sometimes included in small boxes next to individual poses. This to me is always a sign of a good yoga instructor who is mindful of the possible difficulties and medical issues of her charges.

This book gets into some very difficult poses, which makes it a reference you'll be able to use throughout your yoga experience. I do wish it had included more indication of which poses were more advanced and should wait until later, although if you assume that you should not practice any pose in this book until you've done it at least once in a class, then you'll be fine--and again, since this book is meant as a companion and reference guide, that would be appropriate.

One particularly useful aspect to this book is that it includes "preparation" poses for some of the more difficult postures, which can also be used as substitution poses if you don't yet possess the physical capability to perform a posture.

Despite some very minor imperfections (I prefer photos to drawings, although these are good drawings), this book serves as an excellent reference work. It's perfect for those who are at any stage of their yoga practice, and want a simple guide to the asanas to take with them wherever they might need it.

I've found this very useful: for travel, for a quick reminder of a pose, for inspiration. In addition to being a great How-To, it gives loads of information that I haven't gotten in classes, including wonderful explanations for physical and inner effects of, and safety precautions for, poses.

The "Yoga Speak" and "Be Mindful" sidebars are wonderful bite-sized bits of information. And the illustrations are the clearest, most elegant I've ever seen!

This book was a real surprise and delight to me. I figured it would just be a quick review / summary of the most basic asanas in yoga. It turns out to not only be that but to also have excellent drawings showing the postures, excellent descriptions of the postures, and a review of the basics that most yoga styles do not teach you. Namely, the rules of bodily mechanics taught to Osteopathic Physicians and used to heal people with Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, and which are integrated into the style of yoga called Anusara Yoga, are taught in this book. This of course makes this one of the best possible yoga books out there! And probably one of the cheapest also due to its small size. Buy it! Read It, Enjoy It!

I like this handy little book, simple, to the point and brings some of the Anusara concepts in. Currently there is no Anusara book on poses, which is to bad because it prevents the generally public from the benefit of that style.

I've been looking for a book like this for years. It's small format, and just a quick reference to many different poses. Diagrams are very good, and so are the bried the descriptions of how to do the pose correctly.

i teach pilates classes but like to add yoga moves into my classes. this book provides excellent step by step instructions for many poses. i like the clear drawings, unlike the other poster i actually prefer drawings because pictures can sometimes look outdated. this book feels current and "fresh". the book is small, i can trhow it in my gym bag for a quick reference.

the only enhancement i would have liked is to have each pose provide a brief statement on the benefits or parts of the body worked. as an instructor i really value that information and being able to pass it on to my students

perfect little book to use at home or on the go, plenty of poses, most all the poses a beginner to intermediate yoga student would need. descriptions/instructions are good, although nothing takes the place of a great instructor! it is definitely a plus to have taken classes from a terrific instructor before trying to wing it with any yoga book, otherwise you cannot get the full benefit of each pose.

I bought this as a companion book to Idiots Guide to Yoga. I recommend buying them as a set..the poses in this book are easy to read; I do wish that some poses would have been marked as difficult, or for advanced practicers..the size makes it easy to carry or pack in a bag, when you travel. I enjoy the Idiots book series, well-written, researched and worth the money.