Yoga is not a fad. It has been around in the United States for over a hundred years and has a history of approximately five millennia. It is clearly here to stay. Yoga has brought health and peace of mind to millions of people. It can do the same for you.

The benefits of Yoga are many. When adopted as a lifestyle, Yoga extends over the entire day. Find out how this can be done and why Yoga is so often loved by people who are

• Interested in becoming more fit and flexible
• Looking for stress relief
• Seeking to live a more peaceful and joyful life

Yoga For Dummies guides you slowly, step by step, into the treasure house of Yoga. And it is a fabulous treasure house! You will find out how to unlock your body's extraordinary potential and enlist your mind to do so, and in the process strengthen your mind as well. This book covers the following topics and more:

• Five basic approaches to Yoga
• Selecting a Yoga class
• Practicing Yoga safely
• The mechanics of Yogic breathing
• Classic foundational postures
• Exercises to target problem areas
• Putting together your personal routine
• Yoga for special situations

The focus on this book is on Hatha (pronounced haht-ha) Yoga, which is that branch of Yoga that works primarily with the body through postures, breathing exercises, and other similar techniques. When necessary, the book provides helpful photos or illustrations to help you better understand the exercises or postures.

One author (Georg Feuerstein) is internationally recognized as a leading expert on the Yoga tradition and has authored many seminal works on it. The other author (Larry Payne) has a thriving practice as a Yoga teacher in Los Angeles, where he teaches and responds to his clients' specific health challenges. In this book, their combined 55 years of experience have merged to create a reliable and user-friendly introductory book that can also serve you as a beginner's reference work on an ongoing basis.

Average Customer Review: ( 31 customer reviews )
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I had the privilege of being a guest in one of author Larry Payne's Malibu Yoga classes (only the second time I ever attended a Yoga class) and after reading Yoga for Dummies I was inspired to sign up for a class locally. Being a user of Larry's book "Healthy Back: Exercises for high stress professionals," (I have a bad case of sciatica), I was pleased to see one of the chapters focus on Yoga for special situations. This has a section on Yoga for people with back problems. The other chapter I like is the one on designing your own Yoga program based on the amount of time you have each day to invest in doing the routines. The photographs, illustrations and posture directions are all very clear and of high quality. Both authors did a tremendous job of presenting their knowledge and years of experience with Yoga to the reader.

105 of 120 found the following review helpful:

Wonderful, Simple, Instructional and InspirationalJul 26, 1999

I have never used any of the ___For Dummies series and felt silly buying this one, but lost all regret once I cracked it open. The most approachable and useful book on yoga yet. I drag it with me on all my travels and am secure it merits the additional weight in the carry on. Most definitely worth the investment in money and time, an instructional book that actually instructs!

87 of 99 found the following review helpful:

At last, a Yoga book I really like!Apr 04, 2001
By Joanna Daneman
I've done yoga off and on my whole life. It does keep you flexible. But I don't want to read about yoga philosophy or metaphysics. I just want to do yoga to keep flexible and fit. And I don't want to get hurt doing it. This book really helps.

Yoga for Dummies lists all kinds of yoga postures, has helpful information on protecting your back (really important.) It also has a lot of clear photos and even a section in the back with many yoga resources such as websites, magazines, teachers, videos and more.

This is by far my favorite yoga book!

70 of 84 found the following review helpful:

Yoga for DummiesMay 03, 2000

I thought the book was wonderful for anyone wanting to learn more about yoga; either the beginner or the accomplished can benefit from this book. The health benefits of putting yoga into your daily life are many; and the book explains them in simple terms. The book is easy to read and understand, the illustrations and pictures are wonderful. I also like the humor put into the chapters every so often. A great book for a great price.

44 of 52 found the following review helpful:

Informative, simple to understand, comprehensive in coverageApr 20, 1999

This book was extremely well-written so that even a novice yoga practitioner could understand the descriptions. Special attention was given to protecting a sensitive back, valuable information for our population in which most everyone suffers back problems at some time. The illustrations were very clear and appropriate to the text. This is truly a book that would be able to inform even a "dummy" yet it is still appealing to a more experienced yoga participant. Overall very intelligently written and entertaining.

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