Rating: 
Summary: A fine introduction
Review: Granted, I've only begun to practice yoga in the past 3-4 weeks (!), but this book strikes me as the next best thing to live instruction.* It deals with both the physical and spiritual/mental aspects of yoga without being "preachy" or totalitarian about some behaviors (e.g., meat-eating) that most people aren't willing to give up. * It demonstrates a wide variety of postures without picturing extreme variations that no beginner could ever hope to achieve. * It can be read cover-to-cover in just a few hours. Readers looking for a thorough, basic introduction to yoga will treasure this book; those already immersed in yoga will probably find it less helpful (but then, they aren't the ones for whom "Idiots" and "Dummies" books are written.)
Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know . . .
Review: I am a yoga instructor and I have found this book to be a wonderful resource for my individual practice and my classes. I would recommend it to the beginner and the advanced alike. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and have gained much information from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Does not meet expectations
Review: I picked up this book with great expectations. The book does not necessarily shatter all that, but must say am not much impressed. Some breathing techniques appeared to be inaccurate while most yoga postures are not for real starters. Also, step-by-step posture with better and more pictures would be really good. In general, I think this deserves average rating.
Rating:
Summary: Great for beginners
Review: I recently got the urge to try yoga and figured a good place to start would be this book. I was right! It's written for anyone, it's instructions are easy to read and follow and the illustrations are great. They also sprinkle it with a little humor to lighten things up. They make learning yoga less intimidating and make it more likely for you to actually try it and keep doing it. If you're wondering about yoga and don't know where to start, then this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: A complete guide to take you from Beginner to Intermediate!!
Review: I recently read this book and I must say it was a pleasure. This series is written as a "Complete Idiot's Guide," meaning the material is not only supposed to be easy to understand, it's also supposed to be comprehensive. This book is both, and it is nicely put together to boot.
For starters, I thought the pictures and illustrations were pretty good considering the difficulty of capturing certain Yoga poses. The good quality of the paper stock and clarity of the pictures get extra bonus points.
In addition, the book does have extensive comments on the meaning behind the Yoga poses. Some people may not be as interested in this kind of information, but for me knowing the names of the poses and some of the meaning behind them helps me to remember them better. So I enjoyed that extra research. For those who don't want that level of detail, there are a number of nice picture guides that simply show you the basic routines.
What I really like about this book is that it not only helps you get your feet wet as a beginner, it can take you up to intermediate and perhaps even advanced understanding of Yoga. The book is so full of good info that after you read it the first time, you can continue turning back to it for a long time to come. As a beginner, it's good for me to know that my investment in a book will become a nice reference when I'm done reading it.
I hope you enjoy this book. :)
Rating: 
Summary: I'm a complete idiot for buying & reading this book!
Review: I was just starting my yoga practice when I bought this book. I got through chapters 1-8 waiting for the book to tell me something I didn't already know. The book picks up in chapters 13-16. Do yourself a favor, go to a book store or library, and read only "the least you need to know" at the end of every chapter in this book - after that you'll have all the info this book has to offer and you'll save the 2 weeks of reading time. I did like the Sanskrit terms. This book could of easily been edited down to 50 pages of real content - The rest is wordy fluff! If you want to get started in yoga spend the [money] on "The All-Day Yoga Workout - A.M., Stress Relief, and P.M. Yoga for Beginners" (avail on DVD & video), & sign up for a local class. Namaste.
Rating: 
Summary: The only idiot is the author....
Review: I've been doing yoga from DVD's for about 3 months now. I wasn't having any trouble or anything, I just thought maybe if I got a book I could gain some insight into proper form on poses. This book was really a waste of money. First of all, I hated the writing style and illustrations. There were so many corny puns and the drawings were really ugly and weird. The author was trying to be all serious and then she'd use some stupid pun - it didn't lighten the mood, it just turned me off. The first 12 or so chapters go on and on about what I call "yoga nonsense." This is the stuff that turns first timers away. Since this book is for "idiots" (ie, people who don't know anything about Yoga) if I had been the author I would have gone a little bit lighter on the nonsense. Everyone can agree that Yoga helps with flexibility, muscle tone, lung capacity, and stress, and can even be a good Cardio workout if you do a flowing series of poses. The "nonsense" is all the jibberish about chakras (supposed spots of energy in your spine), kundalini (a energy snake that lies coiled up in the bottom of your spine), etc. Come on, I'm a college educated person who made A's in Anatomy, and I promise you my spine has no chakras or kundalini. The author also says "Yoga isn't a religion", but she spends 100 or so pages going on and on about the religious aspects of it. She tells you at the end that you don't have to follow everything to benefit, but after reading her saying how integral all the nonsense is, it's kind of hard to believe that. I also don't like how she keeps reminding you that it's NOT OKAY to praise yourself for doing well. She says "If you find yourself saying, 'Wow, look at me touching the floor' - cut it out, ego is not allowed." I understand the message behind that, but I still think it's crummy. I don't think there is any harm in feeling good about yourself for being more flexible than when you started. I understand that it's not just the author making this up, that this might really be Yoga Philosophy, but if so, I'm not reading anymore books. I'm just going to keep stretching along with my Philosophy-free DVD's (Crunch The Perfect Yoga workout), and feel the benefits the way I want to- and yes, I'll be proud of myself when I can touch the floor.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction and reference book to yoga
Review: It really has everything you need to know about Yoga! I loved this book. From the history of yoga, yoga philosophy, yoga way of life, to the proper practice of each asana, this book covers all with humor and wit. Not only is this book informative, it is also inspiring. If you are only going to read one yoga book, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: A great work -A visionary work, making yoga accesible to ALL
Review: Joan & Eve have done a wonderful thing in this ground breaking
work, by making yoga accesible to a wider population through their
humor and unique ability to make the complex seem simple. In an age
when stress is the number one cause of disease and death, we need more
visionaries that can offer the power of these ancient and profound
health tools in ways that are meaningful and tangible to our modern
lives. The way you made these tools FUN is such a powerful act,
because in the end if people don't enjoy yoga, they won't DO yoga.
And it is in the daily enjoyment of the art that its full and amazing
potential is realized. Thank you two for creating a rare treasure.
The world owes you two heart felt "atta-girls". Thanks for
the gift of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding of a Very Old and Honored Practice
Review: Joan Budilovsky and Even Adamson have done a remarkable job of explaining the fundamentals of Yoga with intelligence, humor, and warmth. Ms. Budilovsky is to be commended for creating the bridge to clear and simple understanding of a very old and honored practice.
| 
