Beginner's Resources
Hatha Yoga Illustrated
By Martin Cook, Brooke Boon and Daniel DiTuro
There are
many basic primers on yoga now available and choosing among
them
can be a daunting task. Hatha Yoga Illustrated, for greater
strength, flexibility and focus by Martin Kirk,
Brooke Boone and Daniel DiTuro
is
one of the best. For anyone who wants an introduction to what
yoga is and how to do many of the most common poses, this is
a great choice.
The book offers
instruction and lots of clear color photographs for over 70
popular poses and variations.
The writing is clear and to the point and includes tips
for proper alignment. Also included is good information about
benefits of the poses, suggested
counter-poses
and contraindications.
There is a short solid chapter that gives a brief
history of yoga and touches on pranayama (yogic breathing),
clothing, props, mudras (yogic hand gestures), how and when to practice and
meditation. The
stage is now set for the main events in this book which are
the wonderful explanations and the guidance on doing poses. There is a chapter
with numerous
postures in
each of the following categories:
Standing
Postures,
Balancing Postures,
Arm-Balancing Postures,
Inverted Postures,
Backward-Bending Postures,
Twisting Postures,
Forward-Bending Postures,
Sitting Postures,
Reclining and Relaxation Postures
All this is followed by an excellent chapter
with 11 suggested routines composed of the postures in the
preceeding chapters. At the end, there are useful indexes in English and Sanskrit
plus resources for
further study and sources of yoga paraphernalia.
Martin Kirk is a senior Anusara Yoga certified
instructor. Also a biomedical engineer Kirk has a gift for teaching yoga anatomy
and
therapuetics. He is co-director of Yoga Village yoga center in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Brooke Boone, RYT is the founder and director of
Holy Yoga which uses yoga to help students to connect individually with Christ.
Daniel DiTuro is a commercial and portrait photographer
who is a regular yoga practitioner.
High Praise for Hatha Yoga Illustrated:
"Hatha Yoga Illustrated makes the theory
and practice of hatha and Anusara Yoga accessible so everyone can experience
the healing, creative, and empowering journey of self-practice. The section on
various vinyasa sequences is a hard to find gem." -
Shiva Rea
" Hatha Yoga Illustrated is a complete
and practical introduction to the physical practice of yoga that serves as a
fantastic starting point on the road to both physical and emotional wellness."
- Baron Baptiste |
