Rating: 
Summary: Makes one think
Review: "Jivamuykti Yoga: Practives for Liberating Body and Soul" is a wonderful book that reflects the path of Yogis David Life and Sharon Gannon. Although the couples views on Ahimsa (non-harming) are controversial (and to many readers somewhat extreme), they most certainly make one think.
I have had the pleasure of practicing Jivamukti Yoga (not with Sharon and David, but with their students) and find it to be an energetic and well integrated style of Yoga. Like all yoga, Jivamukti's asanas and philosphy will not be for everyone. Yoga is a personal path and each of us that embark upon that path must invariably find their own way.
What I enjoyed most about the book was that it is a detailed description of two people that clearly have found their path. Many find their path extreme, but that is for the reader and individual Yogi to decide. Ultimately you will recieve from the book what you need and put aside that which does not serve you.
I definitely recommend that yogis read this book in order to clarify their own path.
Rating:
Summary: Life Work
Review: David and Sharon have shared their life long learning and passion for yoga with us in this wonderful book. I particularly love the part where they tell us about their gurus. Beautifully written, lyrical, poetic, full of stories, examples, and quotes. This book is a handbook, resource, inspiration, and a reflection of two people that believe in the transformative power of yoga to make our world a better place by making each person a better person. And their reflection comes from over 15 years of practice and study.
Rating:
Summary: A real gem!!!
Review: I cannot praise this book enough! I have never written a review on Amazon before but this time I had to. This book is one of a kind, integrating traditional Yoga - with all its colour, sounds, and mystique - with a modern day approach that far from detracting from the essence, truly brings Yoga up to date. So many other books skim over the other limbs and don't indicate how they can be integrated into every day life. In Jivamukti Yoga however, we are given differing methods to do just this! One of the real inspirations for me was that you don't have to live in perfect surroundings, you don't need to have serene, silent, idyllic conditions in which to practice; you can practice in the middle of a busy urban background and become an `Urban Yogi'! I can heartily recommend this book for anyone who wants to practice Yoga how it was meant to be practiced! Buy the book, put some tunes on and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I recently attended David's workshop and prior to the workshop, read Jivamukti Yoga in a matter of two or three days. I have incorporated the beautiful sequencing into my own practice and my teaching. My students love it. I also have asked my students to go beyond themselves for their intentions for their practice. I am seeing such a difference in the peacefulness and focus present in the students. I am re-reading Jivamukti Yoga for the second time and often refer to it as I plan my classes. I highly recommend this book to both students and teachers of yoga. Many thanks to Sharon and David for this very beautiful and spiritual work.
Rating:
Summary: This book is worth BUYING because . . .
Review: I refer to it all the time. Whenever I want to engage my practice off the mat, but am not sure which direction to turn in, their book provides plenty of inspiration. I'm grateful that they have presented traditional aspects of yogic philosophy in a way that makes sense for the modern yogi :) They state from the beginning that their intention with Jivamukti is to INTEGRATE the old with the new and your practice with your life. It will not collect dust on your bookshelf. It will become worn from use as a reference and as an inspiration! My first yoga teacher recommended this book to me and described Sharon and David as "yogis gone bad!" It is the first book I recommend to my friends who are interested in starting to practice.
Rating:
Summary: This book is worth BUYING because . . .
Review: I refer to it all the time. Whenever I want to engage my practice off the mat, but am not sure which direction to turn in, their book provides plenty of inspiration. I'm grateful that they have presented traditional aspects of yogic philosophy in a way that makes sense for the modern yogi :) They state from the beginning that their intention with Jivamukti is to INTEGRATE the old with the new and your practice with your life. It will not collect dust on your bookshelf. It will become worn from use as a reference and as an inspiration! My first yoga teacher recommended this book to me and described Sharon and David as "yogis gone bad!" It is the first book I recommend to my friends who are interested in starting to practice.
Rating:
Summary: YOGA IS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE .....
Review: Read the thank-you list in the back of the book and you'll get the general idea. While Jivamukti Yoga is indeed a great style to practice, the hipper-than-thou tone and quotes from the likes of Russell Simmons (I'm sorry, but Def-Jam proprietorship doesn't make one a yoga expert) put this book into the worst of the worst of NY hipsters with massive egos. If you want do buy it strictly for the poses, the pictures are tiny. Try their audio CDs instead. I'm sure it will get lots of great reviews from their worshipping crowd, but honestly, if you want to learn yoga from a book, go for Bikram.
Rating:
Summary: Find Happiness in Yoga
Review: Sharon and David have done an amazing job with this book! They have compiled years of Yoga teachings to offer us the simplest method to practice Yoga in our modern world. It's an inspirational book that is also a source for me when I start to lose track of my practice. Thank you for this wonderful gift, both of you have truly transformed my life! Om Shanti.
Rating: 
Summary: Yoga in practice
Review: This book is unique among Yoga books as some topics come out in more detail with more of the Author's personal experience. Such as Karma (action), Ahimsa (Non-violence), Prana (life force), Vinyasa Krama (the act of sequencing), etc. The coverage is more extensive than most of the typical yoga books. A whole chapter is devoted to each of these topics and more. The authors state that the book itself is not really about the postures but what (all) is essential in liberating the soul (Jiva mukti - life/soul liberation).
A very unique chapter is about the Guru. This chapter eloquently highlights the characteristics you should look for in a Guru. The authors point out the fact that your intuition apart from the intellect itself must play a role. Another point you don't read often is the fact that a Guru must have attained enlightenment. While very few teachers in the modern age have attained enlightenment, Sharon and David point out the need for the Guru to be in close touch with the scriptures as a substitute.
Being strong proponents of non-violence and animal rights you can expect a good deal of coverage on ahimsa. Very few Yoga teachers prescribe a vegetarian diet; Sharon and David prescribe it as an must for a true Yogi.
The book is complete with a superb collection of photographs and many charts of asanas for different focus - backbending, forward bending, twists and such. A quite comprehensive reference list and a comprehensive translation of sanskrit terms ends the well written and eloquent presentation.
The cover photos while beautiful is needlessly catchy! In all, an eloquent discourse on many aspects of Yoga. It would be a complete book if the authors had an as in-depth commentary on the other yamas and niyamas, the rules and observations as some of those in the book.
Rating:
Summary: A really different book about Yoga!
Review: This book Jivamukti Yoga is very different than most yoga books in that it is about Yoga in a more holistic sense. It has some material on asana sequencing (very interesting I might add), but that is the smallest part of the book. I would also agree with others that the photographs have a lot to be desired in their size and the way they are cropped. Not user friendly at all. It seems as they were willing to sacrifice clarity for the sake of being "artsy". Jivamukti Yoga is more of an overview of the more spiritual aspects of yoga and puts the asana practice in the context of this more complete picture. It truly treats asana as just one limb of yoga practice. While I enjoyed it on many levels, I must also say that there are many times where I felt the authors got very preachy and sometimes seemed a bit off base to me. For example, Gannon and Life's view of "Ahimsa" compared to other authors on the subject. Most writing on this concept of non-harming that I've read also stresses not harming oneself, Gannon and Life don't give very much importance to this aspect of it which has a bit of a "martyr-like" attitude to it. In Desikachar's book "The Heart Of Yoga" he says (I'm paraphrasing) that "Ahimsa also means acting in kindness toward ourselves". and goes on to say for example that " if one is a vegetarian but are in a situation where one must eat meat in order to survive then one must do what they need to do so they can continue to take care of their family and other responsibilities" and goes on to say that "it would show a lack of consideration and arrogance to become stuck on one's principles". Gannon and Life often seem to be stuck on their principles which I found to be a bit of a turn off. Even Buddhist Metta practices start with the idea that one has to love themselves in a healthy way(not in a hedonistic or egotiscal way) before they can truly have space and peace in their hearts for others. Only then can people love in a pure and unconditional way as that love expands outward. How can one give what they don't have? Anyway, besides occasional somewhat "fanatical" attitudes throughout, I enjoyed this book immensely. I am currently reading it for the second time and can see that I will go back to it and re-read it many many times in spite of my occasional disagreements with the authors. I have read some complain of a lack of "thoroughness" regarding the "yoga philosphy" in this book, but in fairness to the authors, this book isn't a scholarly book on Yoga philosophy but rather an introduction that will surely open many eyes to Yoga as a broader practice than just the asanas. Most people new to the more philosophical and religious aspects of yoga practice are not going to start with Patanjali but would be better off getting the overview from a book like this. As mentioned above, for those interested, I would highly recommend Desikachar's "Heart of Yoga", which does have the "Yoga Sutras" translated at the end of the book. It is preceded by an overview of yoga philosophy prior to presenting his translation of the "Yoga Sutras" (as well as some chapters on yoga "asana" practice) to give the reader some background. Desikachar himself is the son (and student)of the late Sri T.Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya himself was also the teacher of Pattabhi Jois (the primary Guru and Ashtanga yoga teacher of Gannon and Life and THE most well known proponent of Ashtanga Yoga). Krishnamacharya also taught BKS Iyengar. That should be enough of an endorsement to convince anyone of Desikachar's "Yoga lineage" and credibility which would in my eyes put him in a different class than Gannon and Life. Sometimes it seems that some Westerners tend to "romanticize" their experiences in India whereas someone like Desikachar is not apt to do that since he is a native of that land. Still, regarding "Jivamukti Yoga", I still think it deserves a five star rating and Highly recommend it for those interested in this very interesting approach to yoga. Namaste
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