Customer Reviews

Writing Yoga: A Guide to Keeping a Practice Journal

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Intrigued by the idea of yoga, I picked up this book the other day and opened it to a page at random and began reading. I surprised myself. I ended up reading 33 pages before looking up to find a chair to sit in. The warmth and honesty of the writing just simply drew me in. At this point, I turned back to page one and started at the beginning. As the title suggests, this is a guide to keeping a journal on the practice of yoga, but the book is just as much a memoir of Bruce Black's experiences trying yoga for the first time and then, as he continued with it week by week, the changes that took place in him physically and emotionally. When I finished this book, I not only better understood what yoga is all about I was also much less apprehensive about trying it myself. This is a wonderful introduction to the practice of yoga and the benefits of exploring the experience through writing.

Beautifully and evocatively composed, "Writing Yoga" succeeded where years of cajoling by friends, family, and physical therapists failed, finally moving me across the divide from passive curiosity about yoga to active exploration. I couldn't be more grateful. In Bruce Black's sensitive hands and through his perceptive eyes, one not only discovers the art and practice of yoga but the joy of journaling about that discovery. His relaxed, forthright conversation about his midlife journey makes what might seem an abstruse endeavor eminently approachable and richly rewarding. Elegant and spare, "Writing Yoga" deserves to take its place among such memoirs of interior journeys as John Elder's "Following the Brush" and Doris Grumbach's "Fifty Days of Solitude."

Here is a beautifully written Yoga book that is not by an athlete or a pop culture celebrity or even a famous Yogi. It brings Yoga, the true meaning of Yoga to everyone. Here we see a regular guy, doing yoga and discovering with growing delight an intimate and intense opening of the heart, the development of an inner life alongside the blossoming of a body at peace. Best of all this is neither a technical manual of yoga poses, nor a tract on Tantric philosophy nor a work of new age hoo-hoo. there is no new age hoo-hoo here. Bruce Black is the real thing. An elegant beautiful man awakening to the divine power inside, without a hint of pretense. I am reading it over and over, writing along with Bruce and giving copies to those who do Yoga, and most exciting of all to those who dont...yet.

When you sit down with Writing Yoga, you feel as if you are sitting down with a good friend. Author Bruce Black is a gentle guide through the journal-writing process. Whether you've kept a journal before or not, his personal reflections on yoga and life, along with the writing questions and topics he provides -- offer a new way of approaching a journal. Loved the peace and possibilities of this book for my own life.

Writing Yoga incorporates two of my favorite activites - yoga and journal writing. Unfortunately, I often fall short when it comes to incorporating both activities as one or the other usually falls by the wayside.

Having said that however, I have felt totally inspired, not to mention enthused, about some of the suggestions that I read in Writing Yoga - which makes me excited about the entire process.

I particularly love the exerpts "from my journal", which makes me feel as though I am getting a secret glimpse into the author's life and his own practice.

My favorite chapter is "Trusting the Process" which I found myself rereading 3 times.

Very well written for both yogis and beginners alike, this book is loaded with great ideas, but is also a fun read, making yoga interesting and very challenging.

I am keeping this book as a reference guide which I know I will be using over and over again.

Bruce Black writes in such a down to earth way. Each chapter opens up his thoughts and feelings and allows you to reflect on what you have read and explore what it means to you within your own life. This is the perfect gift to give yourself that will allow you to look at the world around you in a different light as well as taking a look at yourself and see yourself in a different light.

Thank you, Bruce Black! Your Writing Yoga guide gave me new insight into my own yoga and writing process and helped me to complete a yoga memoir.

I wholeheartedly agree with what this book highlights so beautifully, that a journal is another prop -- like a block, belt, bolster or blanket--to use in your yoga practice.

Writing Yoga validated my habit of keeping a journal within reach of my yoga mat so that I can scribble anytime, to my heart's content, after, and even in the midst of, my yoga practice.

Yogis, like most mortals, need encouragement to write their truth about the whole of life, their whole yoga practice, on and off the mat. They also need a muse to pull them by the hair onto their mat. This book delivers both--I highly recommend it!

--Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for Healthy Aging, and other books for yogis at midlife and older. Teacher, Writing and Yoga Workshops.

SuzaFrancina.com

Although Writing Yoga is meant to be used with yoga practice,and my understanding of yoga is limited, on Monday, intrigued by this "part memoir, part writing guide", I started a yoga journal. All week, following the larger, universal messages in the book's journal practices, I have filled it with drawings, words, and memorable quotes. Starting my morning with reading and journal writing primed me for my other work. I felt better equipped to deal with the anxiety that sometimes seeps into my creative process. And last night, Writing Yoga motivated my stiff middle-aged body to attend a Gentle Yoga class. Thanks to Bruce Black's honest recollection of his first yoga class--one of the many tender, funny, and deeply personal experiences he shares in his book--before entering I knew to take my shoes off and leave them by the door.

I had planned to complete all the chapters and all the exercises before writing this post. But Writing Yoga isn't that kind of book. It's not a race. It's a journey I want to take over time. There are chapters I want to read again, journal practices I'd like to revisit and new ones I hope to explore when I am ready.

Writing Yoga has earned a place by my studio reading chair. It is a great resource for anyone struggling to hear their own voice in a very noisy word. With Bruce Black as your guide, it's hard not to feel confident of achieving that goal.

Michelle Edwards, A Knitter's Home Companion

This is another "one person's yoga journey" story, not really a handbook or manual on how to write about yoga, or how to use journaling to enrich your yoga. There are some "exercises," but they are minimal and not all that creative. If you want a writing handbook, read "Writing Down the Bones." If you want a yoga confessional, try "Poser." It's much better.