Yoga is more popular than ever as a physical art, and Rodney Yee is one of its most visible teachers. A former ballet dancer and gymnast, he has practiced yoga for 20 years and is featured in more than 26 top-selling yoga instructional videos and DVDs created by Gaiam. In this user-friendly paperback, he offers his overview of the physical and spiritual dimensions of this ancient practice. More than 400 black-and-white photos lead us through eight full yoga sessions based on 45 of the most basic poses.
Writer Nina Zolotow, who studies with Yee, reveals how often he uses metaphors, repetition, and other poetic devices to bring to life the physical and emotional sensations of yoga. For example: "Let your upper chest flutter with the beat of your heart like a baby bird just out of its shell." He also celebrates the playfulness of yoga poses.
"One of the most profound effects of yoga is that people start getting comfortable with the body they have been given," Yee observes at one point. "More than just wanting to change it all the time, they come to a place of acceptance and even appreciation for the body they have." The poems, conversations, photographs, and instructions in this helpful paperback will spur many more men and women to take up this ancient practice and reap the benefits of flexibility, strength, and relaxation.
