I had to pick this book up because of the 1980’s day glow leotards, and matching ensembles.  I was scared by these and did not want my past prejudices to rule me.  Sadly, I was not impressed by the content of this book, even though the outfits are freaking awesome if you want to go retro.  The title leaves a bit to be desired as well – what is a fabulous shape? and how long is forever?

The postures don’t resemble true asanas, in several instances mimicking the poses as shown could actually have deleterious outcomes – Warrior 1 where the knee is moving towards the toe, lunging where the knee is past the toe, garudasana hunched over – and most forward folds without lengthening the front body, and a

myriad of other postures that just don’t look right, especially headstand (looks as though she is more on the forehead – tucking chin to chest – a common theme in other poses when the chest should be lifting, not the chin tucking).

I didn’t care for the introduction which stated yoga is only for healthy people, those who are pregnant, etc. will need a doctor’s note – as if being pregnant precludes you from being healthy.  She also has a small section in the introduction dedicated to pregnancy, stating that even for a person who has practiced yoga for years there are several asanas that are "all forbidden".  Sorry, yoga doesn’t really work that way, and Surya Namaskar is something I do every day – if needed there are modifications, I really don’t like when people interject fear into yoga because of their own ignorance or desire to dissuade certain groups from practicing (here being liable if a pregnant lady used the book and were injured – why not say – I’m not trained in prenatal yoga, or this book does not address the needs of a pregnant woman).

There are not enough instructions that pertain to alignment and correct posture for the poses, a lot of emphasis is given to "do not strain" when more should have been given to how to attain a stretch.  A lot of subliminal negativity overall in the book.

So I have my own personal problems with the wording of the book, issues professionally with the information and photos and overall believe this should have been marketed or titled as a book for calisthenics, though some of these would still be dangerous..

I give this book 1 star out of 7.

November 4th, 2008 | Tags: Book Review | Category: Daily Post, Fitness, Review, books | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL