Cool Yoga Tricks (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

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This delightful book by the author of Yoga for Wimps (2000) is chock-full of practical techniques to help the average person safely perform yoga poses. Austin has studied Iyengar yoga for several years, a style of yoga that often uses props such as blocks, blankets, chairs, and walls to deepen the experience of classic poses. In this book Austin shows both new and experienced practitioners how to use yoga props and provides partner exercises to improve the performance of poses. Clear explanations and numerous photos demonstrate how to make poses easier or more challenging. Having survived various injuries, some caused by overaggressive teachers, Austin seeks to make yoga fun and safe. She encourages the reader to trust the wisdom of the body. Her enthusiasm is infectious--it's almost impossible to read the book without getting up and trying some of her "cool tricks." Jane Tuma
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Review

?If the idea of stretching sounds about as relaxing as a tooth extraction, Miriam Austin hears your pain. . . . [She] knows how to coax flexibility from a steel girder.?
?O magazine -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345465415
• ISBN-13: 978-0345465412
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,987 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Iyengar Yoga based book more like 4.5 stars than 4, November 5, 2004

By	James E. White (Oak Park, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does a nice job of talking about and demonstrating many poses that people do in yoga classes and on yoga dvds. This book is broken up into sections (standing poses, seated poses, twisting poses, etc) and does a nice job with providing modifications for the poses. The advanced section towards the back of the book is also very good, and helps people who have a nice degree of flexibility (or who are looking for increased range of motion) to go a little deeper and try some tougher poses. My only problem with this book is that there were not enough seated poses. The book only covered Cobbler's Pose and Full Lotus Pose (I admit to being slightly bias because these are the poses I struggle the most with). While these are great poses to cover, adding a few more of the seated poses would made this book 5 stars for me. Otherwise, this is a great book, and I think anyone from any level or any style of yoga can get something out of this book.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modify, modify, modify!, February 17, 2004

By	Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is all about learning to modify yoga poses to make them work for YOU. It begins by helping you to become more aware of your body and how to control the way it moves. For example, many yoga poses include the instruction "roll your thighs outward"--how do you do that? This book doesn't just TELL you how, it SHOWS you how! Using a varitey of props such as blankets, straps, bolsters, chairs, and even helpful friends, you will learn to find comfort in some of the most common yoga poses, such as downward facing dog, standing forward bend, seated forward bend, and headstand. Yoga teachers and students of various shapes and sizes illustrate the many poses included in this book. This book is an excellent tool for anyone looking to further their yoga practice by attaining postures best suited to their ability.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with Great Instruction!, June 3, 2004

By	L. Hilliard "nettenet99" (Western NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have only flipped through this book since receiving it, but I am thrilled with the information in it! It is not just how to add props to a few poses, as I expected, but also has ideas for how to 'teach' your body what it should be doing in each pose. It does this first by explaining what is meant by concepts such as 'press the top of your thighs back', or 'rotate your upper arms inward', then provides instructions and photos for assisted exercises to achieve these concepts. Sometimes your 'prop' is another person (or two!) to assist your body in achieving these poses. This book has me looking forward to practicing more than any other book I've seen recently! While this book will not satisfy those looking for a traditional yoga instruction with spiritual and breath aspects, it is an excellent beginning and intermediate guide to the physical practice of yoga.