Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments [Paperback]

Larry Payne (Author), Richard P. Usatine (Author), Merry Aronson (Author), Rachelle Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

East meets West as an assistant dean at the UCLA School of Medecine and a celebrity Yoga instructor show how to use ancient Yoga postures for treating dozens of common ailments.

Yoga has never been hotter in America, and now its benefits are being recognized far beyond the arenas of enlightenment and body sculpting. Yoga RX distills an array of postures into an easy-to-use regimen for anyone seeking relief for anything from back pain to the common cold.

Written by a highly respected professor of medecine and a renowned Yoga teacher and Yoga therapist whose clients include Warren Beatty, Ted Danson, and Dolly Parton, Yoga RX offers a holistic program based on the authors' research into the science of Yoga. Helping readers enhance their chances of disease prevention through increased circulation, strength, flexibility, and concentration, this accessible handbook also covers specific Yoga therapies for treating illnesses such as:

• Arthritis
• Headaches
• PMS
• Insomnia
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

In the tradition of The Pilates Body, this step-by-step, illustrated handbook is the ultimate prescription for healing body, mind, and soul.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Amidst a superfluity of enthusiastic but unspecialized "yoga-is-good-for-you" books, this volume stands out by focusing on yoga therapy, a system of using yogic exercises to relieve pain and sickness. The chapters are organized by anatomical system (musculoskeletal, circulatory, endocrine) and describe a sequence of poses to benefit each one. Usatine, a professor at UCLA's medical school, stresses that yoga therapy is a complement to traditional medical care; he begins each section with easy-to-read overviews of human anatomy and physiology, bolstered by practical advice on both Eastern and Western methods of treating ailments. The clarity and confidence of the yoga directions testify to Payne's many years as an instructor. But learning yoga from a book is difficult, and the novice would likely find this particular volume less forgiving than most. The photographs are fairly small, and for the most part, two must suffice for illustrating a multi-step pose. However, for those who practice yoga on a regular basis (and therefore won't need to parse out sun salutation's complex postures) and would like to refine their routines to improve their health, this book may prove a very valuable resource.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Payne and Usatine developed a yoga curriculum for the UCLASchool of Medicine, and now present a book that promotes yoga forhealth maintenance and as a complement to Western medicine fortreating common ailments. Inspired by the viniyoga (personalizedyoga) taught by Indian yoga master T. K .V. Desikachar, Yoga RXoffers simple versions of yoga postures and meditation and breathingtechniques for novices and students alike. Two core routines for basicwellness are suggested as well as numerous routines for specifichealth problems. The collaboration between Payne, a yoga therapist,and Usatine, a professor of medicine, yields a safe and balancedapproach to integrating yoga therapies with Western medicine as theauthors explain the functioning of various anatomical systems,devoting a chapter to each (musculoskeletal, respiratory, etc.), inwhich malfunctions are explained and simple healing yoga therapyroutines recommended. Jane Tuma
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767907493
• ISBN-13: 978-0767907491
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Well Written, Sound Guide and a Delight to Read, March 9, 2003

By 

John W. Kepner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments (Paperback)

As practicing Yoga therapist, perhaps my best recommendation is to note that I have spiral bound my own copy and some of the pages are becoming a bit dog-eared.

This is a well written, sound introductory guide to Yoga therapy, written by two of the Western leaders in this emerging discipline. The text has an elegant simplicity, reflecting years of experience. I especially appreciate the thoughtful allopathic medical advice and wise lifestyle counseling well integrated with the Yoga practices. I also appreciate the extensive resource guide and the many academic references. The book as a whole provides much insight for students, yoga teachers and other health care practitioners wanting to explore the many possibilities for Yoga for health and wellness as well as an alternative or complementary therapy.

As a teacher attempting to work with individuals as a whole, however, I remain somewhat uncomfortable with the connotations of the title of this book. Yoga therapy is not a set of mechanical prescriptions for common ailments. That sort of cookbook assumption does a disservice to the breadth of the discipline, the role of a teacher and the many dimensions to each student. The authors, of course, know this well. Larry Payne has done much pioneering work in Yoga therapy and in bridging this discipline to the allopathic medical community.

In my view, the practices in the book are more illustrative of general principles applied to specific individuals and situations at a point in time rather than prescriptions that can be easily generalized. In that sense, this book may be more appropriate for the experienced Yoga therapist who will be familiar with various caveats, alternative approaches and broader dimensions to Yoga practice.

For example, chronic lower back pain is probably the most common complaint brought to Yoga therapists. The practice suggested in the book should be helpful to many in "typical" situations and I have used it successfully with some of my own students. Few students are typical, however. For many students that particular sequence will be too strong, or too gentle or too long, or contains a contraindicated movement, such as the twist. In real life, many students will have other important health considerations besides unspecified lower back pain, e.g., a different limiting injury, excessive stiffness or flexibility, difficulty breathing, depression, perhaps even much experience in Yoga from another tradition, etc.

Many students will have, or will soon develop, other goals for practice besides pain relief. Increased physical & psychological strength and private spiritual support are two common, but much different aspects of Yoga practice that can be woven in or stimulated from therapeutic applications.

Finally, perhaps more than a technique, students may most need a relationship with a teacher who will see them as a whole, something they might not find in the conventional health care environment.

From those perspectives, there is no substitute for working with a well-trained and experienced therapist. Finding a qualified practitioner, however, may be difficult. This is common with many emerging CAM therapies, but perhaps especially acute in Yoga. There are no standards for Yoga therapists and few in-depth training programs.

An obvious companion to this book is Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow (from the same teaching lineage). Compare, for example, the much stronger sequence for working with the lower back in that book and the emphasis on case studies. Together, these two books provide a rich, complementary perspective on Yoga therapy.

For those interested in Yoga and complementary and alternative medicine, I recommend The Yoga of Healing by T. K. V. Desikachar and Dr. Arjun Rajabopalan. Also The Best Alternative Medicine by Dr. Kenneth Pelletier. For broader and deeper perspectives on Yoga from the same lineage, see The Heart of Yoga by Desikachar and Yoga for Body Breath and Mind by A. G. Mohan. Practicing or aspiring Yoga therapists should be subscribers, or course, to the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, co-founded by Larry many years ago.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what the Doctor ordered!, October 7, 2002

By 

Norma Levy (Malibu, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments (Paperback)

This is the best, most practical and useful book on yoga I have ever read. The text is so readable - personal & completely accessible; it really draws you in. What an inspiring, easy to use (and side-effect-free) prescription for healing and well-being. I think anyone who reads this book will find what they need to take their health and joy in living to a much higher level.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps Bridge the Gap Between Yoga and Conventional Medicine, February 8, 2003

By 

Suza Francina "Suza Francina, author" (Ojai, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments (Paperback)

Yoga Rx is a user-friendly introduction to how Yoga Therapy adapts the practices of yoga to the needs of people with specific health problems. It is an important book for bridging the gap between yoga teachers, doctors and other health professionals. Both busy doctors and their patients will benefit tremendously from reading Yoga Rx. As a companion to this book, I recommend Yoga: the Path to Holistic Health, by B.K.S. Iyengar, which illustrates the use of props in therapeutic yoga programs.I highly recommend Yoga Rx to teachers of all traditions. 100 Sun Salutations to Larry Payne and Dr.Richard Usatine for writing this empowering book! Suza Francina, author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause.