Yoga: The Poetry of the Body
St. Martin's Press, January, 2002.
Trade Paperback, 368 pages.
ISBN: 0312273312
Yoga is more popular today than it ever has been. And one
of its most popular instructors is Rodney Yee, most recently
seen on Oprah teaching her millions of viewers how to
start practicing the ancient art. Yee, a former gymnast
and ballet dancer, began yoga classes twenty years
ago because he felt his lack of flexibility was holding
him back. He achieved such great physical and
mental results that he eventually quit the ballet to devote
his time to the yoga studio that he now owns with his wife,
Donna. Yee has incredible appeal as an instructor -- he has a
calming personality, with a subtle sense of humor and
a sense of real caring. That doesn't mean he's not demanding though;
he expects you to live up to your potential.
In Yoga: Poetry of the Body, Yee teams up with a student and former technical writer, Nina Zolotow to present a thorough introduction to the practice of yoga. The book contains more than 400 black-and-white photos which illustrate 45 basic yoga poses. It also takes students step by step through eight full yoga practices. Interspersed throughout are transcripts of Rodney's and Nina's discussions about yoga and how it can affect one's life. Rodney explains his particular approach to the discipline, which is quite poetic (hence the title of the book). He truly believes in a total mind-body experience, and his insights are quite enlightening (although we could have done with a bit less information about Ms. Zolotow's negative life experiences). This is a must-buy for anyone interested in the practice of yoga.
Yoga: The Poetry of the Body is available for purchase on Amazon.com
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This review was published in the March, 2002 of The Internet Writing Journal.
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