Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant! Everyone should own this book!
Review: As soon as I started reading this book, I felt like here is the help I have been looking for, finally!! Baron really reaches you through his book. I've only done the yoga for three days but already I feel the benefits, quite amazing. I am so inspired by him to continue the yoga and to follow the Cleansing Diet principles. After feeling 'numb' for two years, emotions I have held in are coming out and I can finally have a good cry! It's so good to feel again. I am so grateful for this book. Thankyou Baron
Rating: 
Summary: PJ
Review: Baron Baptiste is an amazing yoga teacher. While I've only done one of his yoga videos, his technique is superior to all others.
Journey into Power offers a condensed version of Baron Baptiste's weeklong "Bootcamp" and gives readers the tools for complete physical, mental, and spiritual transformation, including: *Rewiring your thinking, because all change begins in the mind.
*Daily power Vinyasa Yoga practice, the heart of the program.
*Cleansing diet habits, which includes "water-rich" foods and how to live to be 100 by breathing more and eating less.
*Meditations for truthful living.
*10-minute tune-ups that help you boost energy, get centered, de-stress, and much more! For anyone who is interested in yoga or improving their health and wellbeing, this is a book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Wake up the power inside yourself
Review: Baron Baptiste is an amazing yoga teacher. While I've only done one of his yoga videos, his technique is superior to all others.
Journey into Power offers a condensed version of Baron Baptiste's weeklong "Bootcamp" and gives readers the tools for complete physical, mental, and spiritual transformation, including: *Rewiring your thinking, because all change begins in the mind.
*Daily power Vinyasa Yoga practice, the heart of the program.
*Cleansing diet habits, which includes "water-rich" foods and how to live to be 100 by breathing more and eating less.
*Meditations for truthful living.
*10-minute tune-ups that help you boost energy, get centered, de-stress, and much more! For anyone who is interested in yoga or improving their health and wellbeing, this is a book for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Companion To Baron's Videos and by Itself!
Review: For those of you who may already have experience with Baron's approach to yoga this book is a must have! His language is crystal clear, his knowledge is very deep and his approach very practical. The book is laid out in a very user friendly way, with alignment tips highlighted in blue print at the end of each more detailed explanation. This "summary" of alignment details is such a great idea that I wish all Yoga books would do this. I don't know if I would use this (or any book) as my sole guide to yoga as it's hard to practice with any book. I would suggest getting one of his videos so that you can be led thru the sequence (I'm not sure if there is a video that does the exact routine in the book but "Soul of Strength Live" is pretty close). Then you can use the book to get into all the subtle elements of the poses. Plus, having a book like this is an excellent reference to be able to go back to again and again. Of course nothing can beat studying with a live teacher as well, but I do yoga every day and can only make a class once a week and find videos are a great way to be able to have a "guided" yoga practice. Also, the videos are very motivational and help with the sequencing of poses. This way you can concentrate on the inner qualities of your practice rather than trying to "flip pages" in a book or trying to put a sequence together (though Baron does make the sequencing part easy as he has the complete routine laid out along with ways to modify it to make it shorter). The section on The Cleansing Diet has been incredibly influential on my own life. The impact it has made has really taken me by surprise because I thought I was in good shape in that dept and didn't think that part of the book would have much impact. The approach he takes to diet is very practical and it works. I've modified my diet considerably since getting this book (and also his video "Transform Your Life, Yoga W/ Baron Baptiste" which is a documentary (PBS) that takes you on one of Baron's Bootcamps in Hawaii, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!, it also has a 20 minute routine at the end of the documentary so you get a nice short Power Yoga Practice ("Power Yoga Basics" is the title of that section). Anyway, I already had a pretty clean vegetarian diet but learned how to improve my diet tremendously through the approach in the book. It's not a laid out diet plan with recipes etc. but more of an approach to how to eat and understand one's relationship to food, not only physically but psychologically. While I haven't done the 100% pure fruit fast yet (though I plan to), I have replaced many of my processed "carb" foods with fresh fruits and vegetables and feel much better! I never would have tried this without the influence of the book (and the video). Just to clarify, his idea of the fruit fast is to detox yourself. Whether or not it is scientifically valid or not I can't say, but the main idea of the fruit fast is to give your body a chance to clean out your body and mind for a few days. So much of eating is psychological and you can see in the video "Transform your life" (which follows the plan laid out in the book) how people who never could have imagined that they could live on fruit only for three days not only "survive" it, but totally thrive on it and feel great after 3 days of fruit. Still, Baron says that the "Fruit" detox part of the cleansing diet is only a small part of his approach to diet, his main focuse is on the way one would eat in their day to day lives and their relationship to food. He also doesn't "Forbid" folks to indulge occasionally, his approach to diet and everything else is not fanatical at all but very practical and possible for anyone who really wants to empower themselves in so many ways. Anyway, this book is outstanding and I am grateful to Baron for making this available to those of us who are interested in taking a life changing "Journey into Power". Namaste
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for developing or enhancing a home yoga practice
Review: I've been practicing yoga at home for a little over two years without ever taking a class. In an effort to enhance my home practice, including perfecting my form and moving into some more challenging poses, I previewed many different yoga books from the library, and Journey Into Power is the one I eventually purchased. In this book, Baron does an excellent job of explaining how to incorporate a regular yoga practice into your life. Although the book is broken into several sections, including one on a cleasing diet, what I found most helpful was his descriptions of the poses (asanas) themselves. Baron groups the poses into about 12 different categories--sun salutations 1 & 2, balancing poses, hip openers, abdominals, backbends, etc--and then explains how to either mix and match the groupings when time is limited or do the entire 90 minute program. In his explanations of the individual poses, Baron is clear, precise, and thorough. He begins with a "connecting vinyasa" which explains exactly how to move from one pose to the next. For each pose, Baron talks about setup, allignment, breathing, risk factors, and finally, a suggestion for meditation. What hooked me on the book is that after I read his instructions for Crow pose--a challenging arm balancing pose--I was immediately able to do the pose for the very first time! Baron's descriptive style reminds of Brooke Siler's in The Pilates Body, as he has a similar enouraging and non-intimidating manner. If you are looking to develop or enhance a home yoga practice, you will not be disappointed in this book--and at this great amazon.com price, how can you lose?
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for developing or enhancing a home yoga practice
Review: I've been practicing yoga at home for a little over two years without ever taking a class. In an effort to enhance my home practice, including perfecting my form and moving into some more challenging poses, I previewed many different yoga books from the library, and Journey Into Power is the one I eventually purchased. In this book, Baron does an excellent job of explaining how to incorporate a regular yoga practice into your life. Although the book is broken into several sections, including one on a cleasing diet, what I found most helpful was his descriptions of the poses (asanas) themselves. Baron groups the poses into about 12 different categories--sun salutations 1 & 2, balancing poses, hip openers, abdominals, backbends, etc--and then explains how to either mix and match the groupings when time is limited or do the entire 90 minute program. In his explanations of the individual poses, Baron is clear, precise, and thorough. He begins with a "connecting vinyasa" which explains exactly how to move from one pose to the next. For each pose, Baron talks about setup, allignment, breathing, risk factors, and finally, a suggestion for meditation. What hooked me on the book is that after I read his instructions for Crow pose--a challenging arm balancing pose--I was immediately able to do the pose for the very first time! Baron's descriptive style reminds of Brooke Siler's in The Pilates Body, as he has a similar enouraging and non-intimidating manner. If you are looking to develop or enhance a home yoga practice, you will not be disappointed in this book--and at this great amazon.com price, how can you lose?
Rating:
Summary: Covers all facets of yoga in one book
Review: If you can only own one book on yoga, I believe this is it! This book covers it all--meditation, poses, and diet--in an easy to read format, and is equally suited to those new to the practice and to those who have already become lifetime practitioners. The language here isn't 'woo-woo' at all--Baptiste's writing style is sound and easy to follow. His advice on meditation, diet, and on anchoring each pose, then pushing it to the edge (holding it for that extra breath, or stretching that extra quarter inch) made perfect sense. Even if you tend to skim yoga books, you'll find yourself reading this one intently. It's jam-packed with good, solid information. The highlight of this book--for me--was Baptiste's incredible attention to the poses themselves. Not only are the poses pictured clearly enough that you can see how to perform them, but the modifications are also pictured. And the descriptions include the steps you can take to get into a pose, how to 'grow' within a pose, making it gradually less difficult, and where your focus should be during each pose. Baptiste also outlines a program that makes practice at home easy, even for beginners. He repeatedly tells readers to do what feels comfortable, and that 'mere contortions' are not the goal. It's finding your *personal* comfort level. Several poses that have been challenging for me are now much improved--just reading Baptiste's descriptions of how to think through a pose made it click inside my head. I've read Journey into Power through three or four times already, though I've only owned it two weeks. I own a whole shelf of yoga books, but have a feeling this will be the one that stands the test of time as an overall guide to a lifetime practice. I'm thrilled with the progress I've achieved from this book, and can't recommend it highly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Great "power yoga" book, but is hatha yoga better...?
Review: If you would like to play the vinyasa game, this book is probably it. Mr. Baptiste, like Beryl Bender Birch, claim that he invented "power yoga." However, others, like Bikram Choudury, claim it is useless and doesn't even exist. They maintain yoga is hatha yoga, and other authors/yogis are pretenders. I tend to agree with him quite frankly.
For those new to power yoga, ashtanga yoga, blah,blah,blah yoga, it claims to be far superior than hatha yoga (despite hatha yoga being perfected over 5,000 years) because of its focus on tai-chi-like connecting movements betweent the individual asanas. Furthermore, they claim that this type of yoga offers a superior physical workout in both strength and cardiovascular effort because it is meant to be performed in a heated studio or room (90 degrees for Mr. Baptiste). I doubt it, and it has not been my experience. (I have done hatha yoga 90-150 minutes daily for over three years, I lift free weights three times a week, and I'm a long distance runner) Power Yoga is beautful to watch and entertaining to do, but PLEASE, stop with the wild claims people. Don't tell me that because the room/studio is oppressively hot that you get a superior workout for the heart. (Thy NY Times in August 2004 questioned if it is actually dangerous to do yoga in that type of heat) The book (and Birch's) goes on and on with these arrogant statements.
Mr. Baptiste's order of asanas seems logical and it does produce a great workout.
More generally, I find the wild health claims that Mr. Baptiste and other yogi/authors make to be VERY irresponsible. They all seem to believe that yoga cures depression, hypertension, anxiety, hypothyroidism, asthma, etc.(you name it, they claim yoga cures it). Oh, and it's THE best form of fitness for weight loss, too. That is simply not true. A combination of strength training and cardio (along with a sugar/trash carb restricted diet) is the best way to get fit. Yoga as a complimentary addition is great, too. Introducing fitness--any kind--into a non-exerciser's life will improve their health. Yet, other authors don't make the reckless health claims.
As for "dietary advice," Mr. Baptiste recommends fasting and to consume whole or natural foods. He offers little evidence of the necessity and benefits of fasting which led to a rather stern rebuke from the editors of Yoga Journal when they reviewed his book.
The yogis are correct of course, you should not eat trash, no-fiber foods, sugar, and fattening foods. Most yogis are vegetarians and against dairy consumption. Yet, they offer little to no advice about how someone will meet their protein needs when observing this weight management system, especially those that run and lift weights like myself whose protein needs are greater than just a yogi or yogini.
I like Mr. Baptiste because he brought passion and energy to yoga, not to mention marketing. I just wish he was more careful about the health claims he makes.
Again, if you are interested in a unique yoga workout, Mr. Baptiste is a great instructor and his books and DVDs are excellent.
Namaste,
As always, thank you Amazon for the excellent service.
Rating:
Summary: Great on the yoga, however some parts questionable
Review: This book is predominantly about yoga with small chapters on diet and meditation. The yoga section of the book is excellent. The book covers power yoga, which is a very vigorous, dynamic form of yoga that is quite demanding on the body. All the poses are illustrated using colour photographs. These are accompanied by very detailed descriptions. Each pose has a section on proper body alignment, risk factors, suggested modifications and a "spiritual focus". The text gives a description of how to connect the poses together and overall I was very impressed with this part of the book. The nutrition section of the book is also very sound on the whole. Baptiste doesn't prescribe a diet as such but provides sound guidelines on how to improve your eating habits. However he talks a lot about going through a "detox" which involves eating only fruit. I find this questionable and I don't believe it is backed up by any logic or research. The section on meditation is good reading especially if you haven't done any sort of meditation before. It offers some very practical advice that will help you get through the hectic pace of modern day lifestyle. As a yoga book I was very happy with my purchase. Almost all of the information is very valuable, and aside from a few minor points in the nutrition section this book is thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommended for anyone interested in vigorous yoga.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: this is a Great Yoga Book , I didn't remember I paid that price though,its basically like his tapes just longer, good explanation and beautiful pictures too. I didn't bother to finish, but there also a chapter about diet and meditation.
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