Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Yoga at Home for Beginners: An Insightful Review of My Yoga Book

Wow, it has already been just over 4 months since I publisehd my beginners yoga book!  I wrote this book for a specific reason:  to encourage people who may have considered starting a yoga but have been intimidated by all the extremely difficult poses splashed across magazine covers or beginners classes that are too fast-paced.  I neglected to share a wonderful review I received in July.  I am posting this review now because it's as if the reviewer read my mind and really "got" what I say in my book.  I hope it inspires people out there who have considered yoga to finally check it out!

 

"Alonzo (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoga at Home: Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day (Paperback)

 

Laura Rodriguez' book manages to fill a gap on the yoga bookshelves. Hard to believe that there IS a gap on the yoga shelves, granted, what with so many books about yoga having been published over the last decade. But it's true. Here it is: What if you aren't an athlete, or someone who's hugely flexible? What if you're someone who'll never make it out of beginners' class? And what if you don't want to devote your entire life to yoga? How much is it still possible to benefit from yoga? 

Many yoga teachers (as well as people who write about yoga) have a hard time communicating with such people. It makes sense, given that many yoga pros have backgrounds as athletes and dancers. Whatever their many virtues, they often have a hard time imagining what yoga's like for those of us who don't share their gifts, or their devotion. 

That's where Laura's book has its originality. She's here to say: You can be a not-particularly-gifted-person in a physical sense yet still get a lot out of yoga. And she's here to compare notes with you and help you do that. 

Laura describes herself as "the consummate klutz." Afters years of regular practice, advanced postures continue to elude her. Yet -- and here's the important part of her message -- so what? Yoga calms her, it leaves her feeling upbeat and cheery, it helps her look and feel good physically -- Laura, who's in her 50s, looks great in the book's photos -- and it helps keep her stress levels in a manageable range. She does her 20-30 minutes nearly every day, and in a disciplined way -- but, hey, it's only 20-30 minutes a day. She hasn't spent years in India, devoting herself 24/7 to worshipping a guru. She just does a half hour of yoga at home. Yet look at the benefits she reaps. 

It's a cheery, helpful, sweet-natured, and eager-to-share volume, well-written, well-illustrated, and very well-produced. It's full of tips that we-the-not-particularly-talented can profit from, and it has many personal touches that make the whole yoga-for-the-untalented experience easier to relate to. Laura doesn't just provide instructions for poses and for meditations, she shares her own stories and frustrations. In its tone and its focus -- its "voice" -- I imagine that "Yoga at Home" exemplifies what yoga does for Laura. That makes the book doubly convincing and inspiring. 

All in all, a lovely, valuable and refreshing work."

THANK YOU so much, Alonso, for your well-written and thoughtful review!  I will share some more reviews over the next few days.

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

 

 

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: What to Expect When You Start

If you are starting to learn yoga in a class or at home by DVD or a book (I am writing my own  e-book on hatha yoga for the beginner -it's still in the draft stage), you must take the same precautions as you would with any other physical regime. 

Assuming you are in relatively decent health and have periodic checkups, if you have no injury, disability, medical condition requiring medication, you're probably good to go.  But, as every other exercise program advocates, check with your doctor if you have any concerns or questions.

Regardless of your chronological age, any new stretches and exertion of muscles that you haven't been using will likely trigger some response - okay - maybe a little rebellion from your body..  But, the advantage of hatha yoga is that because the movements are slow and most poses are static, if you progress gradually,  you really should not experience pain. Although some Hatha yoga poses can be quite strenuous, they are performed gently and progressively.  If you follow this approach, you should definitely not feel the tremendous type of soreness that you often experience with other forms of exercise that can be exhausting and sometimes an assault on your body!

I first started hatha yoga in my teens.  I picked it up again much more consistently just over a year or so ao.  I really didn't notice too much of a difference.  I was stiff in both periods when I attempted to touch my hands to the ground and my head to my knees.One of the first realizations I had, besides noticing how little I could stretch in certain poses (e.g., the head to knee pose), is that right hand or left hand domination affects our entire body.  You will likely notice this difference also.   Be patient, practice consistently, and you will start reaping numerous rewards!

Yoga Quotation of the Day:  "Always follow what your body is telling you to do."  ~Yoga instructor Lourdes Cantu