| As a yoga
teacher, my yoga students
often ask me for recommendations and reviews on yoga books and videos, and I try
to present information that helps them to select items based on
their preferences and interests. Some students are happy with
one or two books in their library, while others (like me) would like
to have every book on yoga ever published if it were possible and I
try to take that into account when presenting a review of a book or
video. Having said that, the first book to be reviewed is Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice
by model and yoga devotee Christy Turlington.
Like Turlington herself, Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice
is aesthetically pleasing and is also deeper than meets the
eye. This book is a beautiful tribute to spirituality in
general, and in it Turlington gives an overview of yoga philosophy,
Hindu and Buddhist teachings, her practice of Christianity and
Catholicism, and her spiritual journey to merge to many aspects of
her spirituality. The photography of spiritual icons and
personalities is beautiful, and the glossy pages and vibrant colors
make the topics she discusses reach out to the reader. She
describes the university classes that she has taken and her journeys
to India and studies of spiritual teachings. From my knowledge
of yogic philosophy and the teachings I have received from those I
consider highly learned in the field, the information she presents
seems very accurate and clear, although I have to admit wondering if
the book was co-written or edited by a unnamed expert. The
forward of the book was written by a professor of eastern studies,
but I kept wondering if his role went beyond that, and hoping that
it did and I could rest assured on the accuracy of the information
presented.
Turlington, a "supermodel"
and an avid yoga practitioner for fifteen years, describes her life
story, and how yoga has been incorporated into her life. I
enjoyed getting her perspective, and getting a bit of her biography,
although I found it a bit odd that after going in the great depth
that she did about her life as a public figure, that she
specifically leaves her also public figure fiancé unnamed. I
have read some criticisms that the book is too much about her, but I
find it gives depth to the writing to know something about the
writer. There are so many books about yoga today that I think
an individual writer's own perspective helps the reader to think
about the material in a new light and to show how that person has
applied the concepts in their life. As a person who has been
raised Catholic and has also given a lot of thought to Eastern
philosophies and the overlap of the two, I would have liked more
detail on how Turlington reconciles the two philosophies, although
her true love of the spiritual in all depictions is evident.
Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice
is sprinkled with lovely photographs of Turlington in various more
advanced yoga postures which are accompanied by a brief explanation
of how the postures benefit the practitioner and some general
guidelines. I don't feel that there is enough material on the
physical practice to really help a person develop their own
practice, but is more of a sampling to show what is available in
yoga (especially to those who are willing to commit a lot of effort
to the practice).
In my opinion this book is an
enjoyable book which would most appeal to a yoga aficionado who is
seeking to expand his or her knowledge of yoga beyond the basic
physical postures, and to learn more about the philosophy of yoga;
and to those who love yoga dearly, are addicted to reading about it,
enjoy beauty of a physical and spiritual nature, and who never seem
to get enough books in their yoga libraries. (Non-greed...one of the
tenets of yogic teachings, but that will be discussed later in Yoga
Philosophy).
For more about books on yoga, health
and spirituality books on a wide range of topics, click on Yoga
Books.
For more in depth information of
specific types of yoga, click on Styles
of Yoga.
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