38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding, January 11, 2007
This review is from: Yoga for Christians: A Christ-Centered Approach to Physical and Spiritual Health through Yoga (Paperback)
This book is exactly what I've been waiting for. It is full of advice for Christians on incorporating prayer and Scripture meditation into a hatha yoga practice. For the movement part, there are chapters for each of four different phases of an asana practice, warm-ups, balance, strength, and surrender (floor), where each posture is explained and pictured. Lower or higher intensity levels are sometimes shown as well as helpful information given regarding some postures which should not be practiced under certain physical conditions. there are also included a few flowing sequences to pick and choose from based on how you feel that day as well as chapters on practicing with children and partners. A nice full length workout DVD is included. Susan's charming, downhome personality really shines through in her writing style. What a sweet lady. This book presents a Christ-centered approach to yoga which is focused on quieting and stilling (not emptying) the mind in order to deepen your relationship with God. I see no reason for anyone who is secure in what he or she believes to be offended.
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82 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book is helpful, DVD is not..., March 24, 2007
This review is from: Yoga for Christians: A Christ-Centered Approach to Physical and Spiritual Health through Yoga (Paperback)
As a Christian who has also discovered the physical benefits of yoga, I was delighted to stumble upon this title. I appreciate Susan Bordenkircher's writing and thought the book did a good job of addressing concerns Christians may have as they embark on practicing yoga.
Theologically, though, I get a little nervous with people who say God "gave" them a particular revelation, when that revelation isn't pretty directly tied to Biblical text, so her statement that in January of 2002 she "heard" God express to her heart "His long-term vision for the ministry of Christ-centered yoga," seems sort of bizarre. I'm not saying she didn't feel something or that her ministry is not pleasing to God, just that I think Christians (in general) are way too casual about attributing stuff to God that is really, more accurately, just what they wanted to do anyway. Making it "from God" tends to add weight to the statement, that may or may not be appropriate or accurate.
Anyway...I think her explanations of the yogic postures are great, the pictures are good in the book, and her suggestions for incorporating my faith in Christ into the time I spend on the yoga mat are wonderful.
But, one major reason I bought the book was for the accompanying DVD. I was hoping to find a perfect guide to my daily yoga practice. Unfortunately, there are some production-type issues that keep me from liking it enough to
do it very often.
Susan's voice, with a higher pitched Southern drawl, while surely pleasant enough for conversation, becomes somewhat grating during the workout. There are times where it feels almost like she is shouting...it's just too loud or high-pitched or something...but instead of being able to concentrate on what she is saying, or on worship, I find myself distracted by her voice. If compared to, say, Lara Hudson's voice in the "10 Minute Solution Yoga" DVD, it is just irritating. Lara's voice in that DVD is soothing and professional.
About the first 15 minutes of the DVD are instructing you in some of the opening poses (Cobra, Downward Dog, Fold) and then, after that instruction, there is about a 4-5 minute segment where she just runs through them without so much instruction, which brings the first part of the DVD to about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, during that 4-5 minute segment where we run through the poses, the background music sort of comes to the fore (see below). There is no chapter break here, I just noticed that the activity changes. At that point they move into more postures for balance and strength (for about another 25 minutes), and it concludes after about 45 minutes total.
The other thing I found really distracting was the background music. Again, in another setting I might like it, but the guitar & strings, while definitely mellow, is sometimes a little percussive for what I am trying to do in my practice. Worse, is the vocal line that sometimes comes through. How am I supposed to pray and meditate and think with these singers vocal coming through loudly and clearly? The text of what they are singing is his:
Be still and know that I am God,
Crawl into my lap and let Me love you.
Makes me think there is a good reason for the neutral, shimmering, Asian-style music featured in many yoga DVDs. I had not really thought about this before, but it makes a big difference in how much I can concentrate during the practice. It just did nothing for me and I found it distracting.
So overall...if I had only had the book, I think I would have rated it higher. Having been primarily interested in the DVD, and having been disappointed with it, my review falls to 3 stars. The yoga content of the DVD is fine, it's just the other stuff that bothers me, and that other potential buyers might want to know about. If you are looking for a book on Christian yoga, this might be it. If you want a good DVD, there are tons of other ones on Amazon that you will find more conducive to a good practice, and with many of them, you can use the Christ-centered techniques that Susan emphasizes seamlessly with those DVDs.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A+ Content, A+ Writing, November 4, 2006
This review is from: Yoga for Christians: A Christ-Centered Approach to Physical and Spiritual Health through Yoga (Paperback)
Having enjoyed Susan Bordenkircher's yoga workout tapes for over a year, I had to order her book. I was happily surprised at the very strong content and particularly the lovely writing voice and style Susan has. I say surprised because usually someone so strong in one area (yoga instructor), isn't necessarily strong in another area (writer). This is an A+ product all around! It contains a thoughtful and beautifully-written explanation of Christian yoga practice, outstanding photographs and pose descriptions, a great yoga session on the DVD, and best of all, a lovely and heartfelt call from the writer to draw close to "God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit within us."
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