Close to Om: Stretching Yoga from Your Mat to Your Life

by Andrea Marcum

Andrea Marcum's Close to Om is a beautifully illustrated, practical and philosophical, yoga book that promotes and teaches mindfulness in both your yoga practice and your everyday life.

Before Marcum was a sought after celebrity yoga teacher, she was someone who thought she couldn’t do yoga because she couldn’t be still. Now after sixteen years of teaching yoga, she works with network executives, global brands, Hollywood actresses, and everyone in between.

Yoga is the yoke of body, mind, and spirit, and in Close to Om , Marcum offers a guide to teach all three aspects of yoga showcasing Marcum’s signature unique style, this program combines the teaching of poses with the exploration of yoga philosophy and insight into meditation and mindfulness.

By the end of Close to Om , readers will not only know a lot about yoga and its poses, but they’ll also know more about themselves: who they are, what they want, and how to get there―on and off their mat. The progression in Close to Om is the architecture of every yoga practice―and will show readers that how they do their yoga is how they do their life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Health, Personal Development, Spirituality, Self Help, Meditation

224 pages, Paperback

Published December 26, 2017

Reviews

[Stephanie Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

It becomes a blur at times as to how you connect with new people. If you get an internal cue that you need to reach out to this person, you should listen. I recently connected with new author, Andrea Marcum, who has been teaching yoga for over 20 years. This Los Angeles, California author recently sent me her new book, Close To OM, which is a fun and approachable book for anyone who needs to stretch past where their feeling limited both in their practice and out in the world.

I’ve always felt the authenticity of someone who is a shoot-from-the-hip kind of soul and Marcum embodies this real and straightforward sensibility. The essence of the book leads you beyond the physical, mental and spiritual things that are keeping you from doing and being what you want. How empowering!

What really resonated with me is her encouragement to always cultivate a beginner’s mind, looking inside yourself for answers and then taking that off the mat into your day. I especially like her tips and ideas for creating an internal and external environment for positive change. As with most of the yoga teachers featured here on this blog, Andrea also shows you the wisdom in your “mistakes” which we both know are just beautiful opportunities to learn.

Just between us: the “Stuckat list” is a super powerful tool for transformation. My favorite chapter, though, was all about creative space. Let me know what your favorite chapter was.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mainly read this book before teaching yoga classes for inspiration and ideas. It helped get me in the right mindset and had many practical teachings I could weave into class. I know I'll be referring back to it for sequence, meditation, and philosophy guidance.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable exploration of bringing yogic philosophy into your life and practice. I enjoyed the routines and prompts, but found the American enthusiasm a little grating at times.
Still, I will refer to the practices and hold myself to the goals I've set.

[Jennifer Lauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I particularly enjoyed the narratives about Joni Mitchell, becoming bendy and lessons from Gwen Marcum on how to be adventurous and open. The yoga cues are thoughtful and considered. This book is such a lovely culmination of her work and I can’t wait to read her next one!

[Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, with some doable yoga for old beginners like myself. I made copies of a few pages in this book for further personal use. A lot of the philosophy behind yoga also.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read this book over and over again. Simple yet completely relatable and engaging stories woven into yoga pose descriptions that helped me think differently about my (lack of) practice and where to go from here.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! This is a joyful, informative, honest book of Marcum's journey with yoga and I found it inspiring. Andrea's easy, smart writing and authentic voice made this a pleasure to read. Equally exciting is the partnership between the book and her website help for continuing to explore the work off the page. Hey, it made me get to yoga 3X last week. :)

Full disclosure: Andrea is my friend, and I am so proud of her new book!

[Melodie Chant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author presents information well - this is both instructional as a yogi student as well as informative about how to apply spiritual learnings from the mat to regular daily life scenarios. Good illustrations and references to a website which is useful for timing and clarity about poses. Beautiful quotes which helped make theory resonate for me. Author has a fresh honest and real approach that is pleasant and entertaining to read.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really thoughtful book for those looking for the connection between the asana and spiritual side of their yoga practice.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the many authors who have their books available on Kindle! As someone with vision issues, I'm in the process of purging my book collection. I own this on Kindle as well as a paperback. The paperback is going to a friend's daughter, who is about to start yoga teacher training.

This book is lovely physically and in spirit. It features many full-color photos on a great paper that won't fade with age.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend if you want to immerse yourself into learning more about yoga, both physical and mental. The author weaves real life stories within this book so you can have a relatable insight as to how yoga can change your life.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be good for a new teacher, even a student of yoga looking for more insight, more ideas, this would be your book. Appreciate her honesty.