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Rating: 
Summary: A wealth of wisdom
Review: As a woman entering menopause, I have found this book to be packed with valuable information. Francina does not merely make claims for yoga postures -- she backs up those claims with scientific explanations, and goes into great detail describing the effect menopause has on the on the different glands of the body, then recommends postures to help deal with different situations (hot flashes, insomnia, etc.). I recently had comprehensive bloodwork done by my M.D., which indicated poorly functioning adrenals. My M.D. had no advice to give to correct the situation -- but lo and behold, Francina's book addresses the specific problem, saying that it's a common occurrence during/before menopause. She prescribes specific asanas (postures), which I have been doing regularly. I find them to be energizing and enormously helpful in reducing stress.
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Summary: Students' response to the sequences
Review: For almost two years, I have been teaching Iyengar yoga to mostly seniors. The average age of the students is 75; the age range runs from 25 to 84.The classes the city offers last ten weeks, and last week was the last week in one of these ten week sessions. Since the last week usually has lower attendance, I promised the class we would do a sequence from Francina's book for fatigue and adrenal exhaustion. To make a long story short, I forgot what I had promised and didn't have all the props I needed in this larger than usual class. Boy, did the students let me know that I had promised them this sequence. I shouldn't have been surprised.Whenever I have used a sequence from this book, the students have loved it and commented on the "good class." From an instructor's point of view, the book is well organized, the content is explained well, and makes a wonderful reference.
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Summary: New to yoga
Review: I am totally new to yoga and I found this book to be helpful and confusing at the same time. The first person accounts were interesting although it seems that most, if not all, of the women had been involved with yoga for years so I couldn't relate to that part of their story. I could relate to their menopausal experiences, though.
I think I will be able to do the yoga poses just from looking at the pictures and reading the explanations. I think I will be able to do many of the poses even though I have arthritis in my knees. I am glad about that because I tried to do yoga by following a yoga instructor on a video and I could not do many of the poses because of pain in my knees.
Most of the above is positive, but I do have a problem with the book. The author made charts listing the best poses for different symptoms of menopause, but did not put the page number of the poses that she listed in the charts. She had poses pictured throughout the book and then a comprehensive set of pictures of all the poses at the end. The book could have been smaller and less confusing if she had just pictured the poses once and put page numbers on the charts showing where the poses could be found.
I was glad the book did not go into a lot of the spiritual side of yoga but wondered why she did not go into more detail about the proper way to breathe during the poses. She talked about how important proper breathing is but I did not see a good explanation of what she means by that. ( I have not read every word of the book, so may have missed that, but it wasn't in the same place as where she talked about the importance of breathing, which would be the appropriate place.)
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Summary: Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause
Review: I read Suza Francina's book, "Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause" because I am a yoga student and a menopausal women. I am also a nurse working in women's healthcare. I was pleasantly suprised to find that this book helped me on a personal level as well as a professional level.
The book is a wealth of information that can answer many questions regarding menopause and what our bodies might endure.
The book explains how yoga can support one's health during the menopause transition. Topic's discussed are hormonal balance, fatique, hot flahes, pelvic health, osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. The book shows how yoga can help women with any of these health concerns. The yoga poses suggested to relieve side effects of menopause are clearly described and illustrated with photographs.
This book is very inspiring and I highly recommend it to my associates, clients and friends.
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Summary: A Soulful Namaste' to Suza for sharing her Wisdom!
Review: It is an honor to write a review for Suza Francina's new book Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause. I began my yoga practice with Suza over 20 years ago. Her inspiration led me to train as an Iyengar yoga instructor. After practicing with her through our pregnancies,we even gave birth on the same day! Now at the threshold of our menopausal years,I find her newest tome to be an invaluable resource for myself as well as many of my students.Her experience,along with many of her students personal stories invite the reader to feel less isolated and at ease as we make this transitional journey together. The technical aspect of the book is superb with clearly defined directions and the use of supportive props,thereby encouraging the deep restorative effect while remaining in the pose for a longer period of time. Suza has also chosen a variety of models who represent all body types. This dispells an old myth of the "perfect yoga body."Again, this illustrates her inclusivity as she celebrates and invites all women from every walk of life to nurture and balance themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. I have watched her over the years experiment, resarch and gather her material to write this enlightening book. She has come back up from the depths of her study with an extraordinary pearl.
Rating:
Summary: A Soulful Namaste' to Suza for sharing her Wisdom!
Review: It is an honor to write a review for Suza Francina's new book Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause. I began my yoga practice with Suza over 20 years ago. Her inspiration led me to train as an Iyengar yoga instructor. After practicing with her through our pregnancies,we even gave birth on the same day! Now at the threshold of our menopausal years,I find her newest tome to be an invaluable resource for myself as well as many of my students.Her experience,along with many of her students personal stories invite the reader to feel less isolated and at ease as we make this transitional journey together. The technical aspect of the book is superb with clearly defined directions and the use of supportive props,thereby encouraging the deep restorative effect while remaining in the pose for a longer period of time. Suza has also chosen a variety of models who represent all body types. This dispells an old myth of the "perfect yoga body."Again, this illustrates her inclusivity as she celebrates and invites all women from every walk of life to nurture and balance themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. I have watched her over the years experiment, resarch and gather her material to write this enlightening book. She has come back up from the depths of her study with an extraordinary pearl.
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Summary: Yoga and the wisdom of menopause
Review: The book contains wonderful stories of how yoga has helped women before, during and after menopause. The stories put a personal and real touch on the face of menopause and related health issues, such as osteoporosis, arthritis, and recovery from cancer. It's an inspirational book that helps us understand how yoga can transform -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. A definite keeper.
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Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: Whether you are premenopausal, menopausal or post menopausal, Suza Francina's newest book has something for you. "Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause" offers advice and specific yoga poses to practice for hormonal changes, mood swings, fatigue, hot flashes, osteoporosis, stress and heart health among others. I was adamantly opposed to HRT and feel practicing yoga during my premenopausal years made my transition so much easier. I loved Suza's first book, "The New Yoga for People Over 50", and this new one is filled to the brim with her research on menopause and how yoga can be used as a tool to balance the effects of the natural hormonal and glandular changes of menopause. I consider it an excellent resource and highly recommend it for women seeking alternative methods of dealing with this natural mid-life transition.
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Summary: A Must Have for Women of All Ages
Review: Yoga and The Wisdom of Menopause is a great companion and asset to have as I approach and soon start to cross over that menopausal bridge. I especially liked the photos of real women our age and their testimonies.
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Summary: An Amazing Gift!
Review: Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause is an amazing gift! It is so rich, well researched, sensible, and insightful. I hope women everywhere read it. This book will be the bible for women everywhere moving into their power years.
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