Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just as Good the Second Time Around, March 19, 2002
I discovered this book in a second hand store about 15 years ago. I had no thoughts of practicing yoga at the time, but the book looked interesting. I bought it for a few cents, and became motivated. I used Stearn's book to teach myself hatha yoga. Despite obvious benefits, I fell away from yoga after a year or two. Recently, I decided it was time to take up the practice again... but my ragged old paperback book had long gone missing.Perusing the local bookstores revealed plenty of books about yoga, but none that struck my fancy the way Stearn's book did. I could not find a copy in Vancouver, but luckily, Amazon had a new edition in stock. I now have a brand new copy and I'm putting it to the same good use I did 15 years ago. There's something about this book and Stearn's style of writing that I like. If you're thinking of taking up yoga, this one's worth a look.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I have been teaching for 27 yrs. This book got me started, June 1, 1999
The black and white photos of Marcia Moore doing the major Yoga Asanas are what inspired me to study and practice Yoga as a sixteen yr. old. This was in 1965, though the Photos have not suffered in the paperback edition.I have been teaching Yoga since 1972 (I have a degree in Physical Education) and have sat at the feet of many masters over the years, and I still think this is one of the best books out there for beginners or otherwise for learning postures and breathing. Jess Stearn did a kind thing to share his experiences at Marcia Moore's Ashram, and to chronicle how Yoga practice helped him overcome the effect of years at his desk as a Daily News Reporter. And Frank Stork's photos will make you want to stand on your head, etc. . . Namaste Marcia Moore! (We honour the light within you).
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
35 years later...., June 12, 2004
...I still think this is the best book to teach anyone yoga from scratch. I have done many types of yoga, in excange for the space, or the job, or the study, but they all had serious problems. The worst of them were downright dangerous. Learning in a class, even from an experienced teacher, a tape, or one-on-one, will have you listening to something other than your own body, and is, more often than not, injurious. Gather the information first, practice slowly and meticulously, and you will improve faster than any other way. The best thing about this book is that it stresses the how and why, rather than the usual, "Do this!" As with everything, it's not as much WHAT you do...it's HOW you do it. Plow your way through the rest of it for the occasional tip, rule, or instruction, and you will be amazed at the benefits.
I first read this book because it was the only book in English that I hadn't read, in that part of Japan, during the Vietnam war. As a 20-something agnostic-by-mind, atheist-by-heart, all I was interested in was getting in shape physically, and, perhaps, controlling my own emotions. Imagine my surprise when, 3 months later, I found I had become an entirely different person! Not only was I physically more capable than I had ever been in my life, but I had the courage and the confidence to change my life into what I wanted it to be. My vision had been 20/200, it was now perfect, as an example.
You won't find the instructions for that in the positions illustrated in the back, or the pictures. You must read the text....with a notebook or a highlighter and dog-earred pages, but it's there, in language even a child can understand. The stories may entertain you, they may irritate you, but everything is there that you need. No one knows what your body needs but you, so do it alone, without distractions, when it is best for you. (I had 2 pre-schoolers then, so I did it late at night.)
Guaranteed, everything you need, for the rest of your life, is in there.
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