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Yoga
Yoga is everywhere these days: Hollywood stars take their personal instructors with them on location; newspapers and magazines hail yoga as the answer to the unrelenting stress in our society; and gyms everywhere are now offering a dizzying array of classes. The yoga we practice today in the West bears little resemblance to the yoga that began humbly almost 5,000 years ago, but in its rich and varied history, yoga has always evolved to meet the needs of the culture it serves. But what distinguishes this publication are the 400 poses, or asanas, illustrated by artful black-and-white photographs taken especially for this book, that demonstrate the physical postures derived from an ancient Indian tradition. With dozens of stunning foldouts, this book beautifully explores a wide range of yoga with an emphasis on how it touches more than the physical body; the flexibility and stamina achieved on the yoga mat will doubtless transcend to more important aspects of everyday life. Linda Sparrowe’s introduction traces the evolution of yoga, rooted in the devotional and metaphysical teachings of the sacred yoga texts including the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita, and progressing to an in-depth look at the philosophy of Patanjali, the father of modern yoga. Included are brief introductions to the twentieth-century yogis who were influential in making yoga a Western, and indeed a worldwide, obsession.
454 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 22, 2018
If you are a yoga practitioner who learns by visuals, there is no reason why you shouldn't own a copy of Yoga. It's in affordable paperback, making it that much more portable too. From sun salutations, standing poses, balance poses, backbend poses, seated poses, inversions to supine poses, Yoga has absolutely stunning photographs of teachers in their prime, captured in a moment of unbelievable alignment. It's inspiring to glance through its pages to see what the body can do, and to motivate your personal yogic journey.
Of equal value is the introduction, "The History of Yoga", by Linda Sparrowe. The former managing editor of Yoga Journal, Sparrowe did her undergraduate and graduate studies at UC Berkeley with a focus on Vedic and yoga history and the Sanskrit language, and her expert knowledge on the subject matter makes "The History of Yoga" an extremely helpful and concise explanation into the yogic tradition. Sparrowe traces yoga's earliest origins, delineating in a simple fashion, the traditions, texts and paths of yoga that have flourished throughout history. I expect I'll return to the introduction to refresh my memory from time to time.
What was of particular interest to me lies in the final section of "The History of Yoga" where Sparrowe answers the question of how and why we, collectively as a human species, have all understood yoga to be a transnational synonym for physical asana. The yoga tradition is much more than about physical postures and historically-speaking the focus was on seated postures! So why the discrepancy? Hatha yoga may have inspired the current manifestation of yoga as a primarily physical path, but Sparrowe points out how much the groundwork was laid out by the force of popular yogis and their teachings (T. Krishnamacharya of Mysore, Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh and their disciples) as well as their appropriation of European gymnastics. These twin forces played a pivotal role in rehabilitating yoga's former kooky image into a much more familiar one of healthy exercise backed up by the merits of science.
Sparrowe provides light to the reader into how much of a modern invention is the yoga practice we know and love today.
Of equal value is the introduction, "The History of Yoga", by Linda Sparrowe. The former managing editor of Yoga Journal, Sparrowe did her undergraduate and graduate studies at UC Berkeley with a focus on Vedic and yoga history and the Sanskrit language, and her expert knowledge on the subject matter makes "The History of Yoga" an extremely helpful and concise explanation into the yogic tradition. Sparrowe traces yoga's earliest origins, delineating in a simple fashion, the traditions, texts and paths of yoga that have flourished throughout history. I expect I'll return to the introduction to refresh my memory from time to time.
What was of particular interest to me lies in the final section of "The History of Yoga" where Sparrowe answers the question of how and why we, collectively as a human species, have all understood yoga to be a transnational synonym for physical asana. The yoga tradition is much more than about physical postures and historically-speaking the focus was on seated postures! So why the discrepancy? Hatha yoga may have inspired the current manifestation of yoga as a primarily physical path, but Sparrowe points out how much the groundwork was laid out by the force of popular yogis and their teachings (T. Krishnamacharya of Mysore, Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh and their disciples) as well as their appropriation of European gymnastics. These twin forces played a pivotal role in rehabilitating yoga's former kooky image into a much more familiar one of healthy exercise backed up by the merits of science.
Sparrowe provides light to the reader into how much of a modern invention is the yoga practice we know and love today.
September 18, 2020
Love this book! It's on my list for my yoga teacher training as a work of reference and a source of inspiration. It mostly consists of absolutely gorgeous pictures displaying 400 poses, including many variations. Each of these pictures is a little piece of art. There are no instructions as to how to do these poses, but there's no need to. These pictures should just be as they are beautiful.
There's a short history of yoga at the beginning of the book. It's clear and concise, and takes you as a student through all the periods and concepts that shape today's yoga. It's a pleasant read and provides a nice overview. I'm certain I will use this book often to craft my classes, but I would highly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in yoga!
There's a short history of yoga at the beginning of the book. It's clear and concise, and takes you as a student through all the periods and concepts that shape today's yoga. It's a pleasant read and provides a nice overview. I'm certain I will use this book often to craft my classes, but I would highly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in yoga!
December 26, 2007
This is the most beautiful book of Yoga photography. All in black and white and featuring some of the most famous/proficient teachers from around the world, it's a must have for anyone interested in yogic practice. Additionally, it offers great examples of advanced variations of basic positions, so as you practice you know what you're aiming for. I keep this in my car side door to entertain passengers when they get bored. Seriously.
June 5, 2012
Really cool coffee table type book. Amazing photographs. It doesn't have description on how to do the poses or anything, just the photos of masters doing them and the name of the pose. Also includes a nice history on yoga at the beginning of the book. It's not the type of book you want to learn form or figure yoga out, but it's truly beautiful as art.
November 20, 2012
This is a beautiful book of photographs of amazing yogis doing incredible poses! It makes a great inspirational coffe table book or gift!
January 1, 2017
I love this book. The pictures are beautiful and really inspirational.
January 7, 2020
Great Yoga book displaying yoga poses!
December 11, 2020
One of my favorite books. Why would they write "Not a Book" next to the author? The first 64 pages is a dense, articulate summary of Yoga history. Beautiful photos of art and yogis support the text. There
is a short bio for each of the yogis shown doing postures. There's an index, if you ever need it, as this is the iconic "Flip through book". I see I reviewed this book initially back in 2013, 7 years ago, and the book has still not been put into storage. It is now the best Dogeared, book that I love to flip through.
A book of revered yogis and yoginis executing flawless asanas, apparently effortlessly. The photographs are beautiful and fascinating in their detail and starkness. I pull it out for inspiration for my own practice and simply to enjoy seeing postures done so well.
is a short bio for each of the yogis shown doing postures. There's an index, if you ever need it, as this is the iconic "Flip through book". I see I reviewed this book initially back in 2013, 7 years ago, and the book has still not been put into storage. It is now the best Dogeared, book that I love to flip through.
A book of revered yogis and yoginis executing flawless asanas, apparently effortlessly. The photographs are beautiful and fascinating in their detail and starkness. I pull it out for inspiration for my own practice and simply to enjoy seeing postures done so well.
January 14, 2012
No words, of any review, can express the enthusiasm I've come to share with the creators of this marvelous introduction to Yoga. The book begins with awesome writings on everything Yoga that will leave you feeling blessed with a wholesome, unbiased education and inspired by the dedication behind it. The majority of the book however, is a beautifully photographed display of superbly selected yoga positions that serve as the ultimate quick reference for further research, inspiration, and hopefully not too much self experimentation.
Cheers.
Cheers.
December 21, 2014
Having done a bit of yoga, I can recognize how much strength and body awareness a lot of these poses require, and it's an impressive collection, though some of these seem too complicated to be useful, but then again, my yoga practice is admittedly fairly basic. No step-by-step instructions here, just a series of inspiring black and white photographs. It would be a lovely gift/coffee table book for a yoga enthusiast.
January 15, 2012
Love this book for so many reasons. The beautiful bodies in beautiful poses offered via good sized photos. I'm inspired in so many ways.
January 18, 2008
A beautiful and replete assemblage of asana photography.
July 12, 2008
A beautiful book with all the yoga poses that I can only apsire to do one day. I have this book on my coffee table.
July 22, 2008
how the hell did they get into that position? -
pictures! And some interesting blurb on key poses
i.e. balance, standing, inversions etc, with
inspiring quotes/mantras
pictures! And some interesting blurb on key poses
i.e. balance, standing, inversions etc, with
inspiring quotes/mantras
February 4, 2009
I actually haven't "technically" read this book. But the photo's are AMAZING and so inspiring.
December 3, 2010
It changed my life, my way of thinking about yoga, my perspective on yoga.
March 14, 2012
Linda Sparrowe ;) g0oD job....fiNd it littlE diFFicUlt buT intErEstinG....
September 22, 2012
this isn't a book you read and put back on the shelf. I will read, reread, reference and learn from this forever. Wonderful facts, history and lessons. Amazing and beautiful photography.
October 29, 2012
It's helps the mind to heal, when you are trying to get in shape.
December 8, 2014
Love this book. Reread it once a year. Pictures are fantastic and I learn more about yoga each time I read it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews