Product Description

Yoga is many centuries old, but hot yoga, developed only in the 1960s, has already proven a beneficial and popular variation on the ancient art. Hot yoga-also known as Bikram, after its originator, Bikram Choudhury-is a method for working out in rooms heated up to 100 degrees, thus enhancing muscle suppleness and aiding body detoxifica-tion. This heavily illustrated book describes each of the 26 progressively more challeng-ing hot yoga postures. Aided by color photos, the author gives detailed instruction on all hot yoga poses, which she claims unite mind, body, and spirit when performed in rigor-ous but enjoyable workouts. Each pose is preceded by information on its specific bene-fits. Practitioners are advised to end each session with cool-down techniques that relax both mind and body. The book concludes with recommendations for hot yoga as treat-ment for complaints such as back pain, sports injuries, and stress. Hot yoga helps its practitioners explore their limits and enhance their physical and mental well-being. Ap-proximately 50 color photos and more than 100 line drawings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163255 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Released on: 2003-12-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764125287
• Condition: USED - GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Back Cover
Back cover
It?s the latest and most powerful exercise routine to take America by storm. Bring the transformative effects of hot yoga into your life to re-energize and revitalize your body. You practice hot yoga in rooms heated up to 100 degrees, the high temperature enhancing muscle suppleness and releasing your body?s toxins. Practice hot yoga regularly, and you?ll discover that it is an effective treatment for complaints that include back pain, sports injuries, insomnia, and stress.

Hot yoga will improve your muscle tone and help you enjoy vibrant good health and well-being.

Front flap
Drawing on many years? experience and working with different schools of yoga, Marilyn Barnett shares health secrets that can transform your life. Explore ways in which your mind and body work together, and learn the meanings that underlie hot yoga?s body positions and movements. This instructive volume will help you discover the 26 postures that are key to hot yoga success.

Customer Reviews

Explains Bikram Method Yoga better than Bikram himself.
I have been using this book as a companion to my Bikram method practice. It is well written with succint explanations and great pictures of the 26 asanas in the Bikram method. The author also details the bio-mechanics of each asana including alignment under the Hot Tips section. All in all, the book's a good value and does a far better job of explaining the how-to's of each asasa compared to Bikram's own book. Highly recommended for Bikram Yoga practioners.

Excellent supplement to Bikram practice
I write this review as one who actually practiced at the downtown NYC studio owned and operated by Ms. Barnett, (before she relocated back to the Southwest last year, sadly). Ms. Barnett's closing of her studio was sad for me because not only was it merely four blocks from where I work, but it was a wonderful little studio with an intimate atmosphere. I've enjoyed practicing at other studios, but they tend to be bigger and to lack something of the feeling Ms. Barnett's studio engendered. Not only was Ms. Barnett an excellent instructor, but she had assembled a terrific team of teachers, each of whom brought his or her own unique positive energy to class. Ah, well.

Ms. Barnett's book displays the same virtues as her actual instruction: patient, detailed, in-depth information to help students at every level go further in their practice overall and in each posture specifically. I do not think this book replaces Bikram's own, but it stands as a worthy supplement to it; his book offers sufficient but more generalized instruction, and is best employed as a home teaching aid for one who is practicing at a studio. Ms. Barnett's book is written from the perspective of a Health professional, (Ms. Barnett is a nurse), and her knowledge of anatomy allows her to give precise instructions as to what to do with one's body to better allow one to advance toward greater achievement of the ideal postures. Her book, I think, will be best comprehended by someone who has practiced Bikram yoga for a little while, or who is already familiar with Bikram's own book.

Also, the models in Ms. Barnett's book are not just idealized physical fitness models hired to illustrate the poses, but were actual students at Ms. Barnett's studio. Although I'm not as familiar with the female model, the male model seen here was often in classes I took at the studio, and he was quite good at his practice. A note of encouragement for any who think they may lack the aptitude to practice this yoga, or who may think they're neither strong nor limber enough to go very far with it: the male model, good as he was at his practice, would occasionally fall out of his poses and have to start over, just as any of the rest of us would. The point is, we're all at OUR point along the journey to achieving a better practice, and the only way to grow in our practice is to push ourselves past our comfort zones, and try to go beyond what we know we can do. Inevitably, we will stumble and fumble in our first efforts to step past our established levels of achievement, but, with practice, we will find ourselves comfortable and able to do that which was previously too difficult for us.

Any practitioner of Bikram yoga is well advised to have this book in their home library.

Will help in your practice of yoga
Have been going to hot yoga classes 4-5 days a week for the past three months, so you can classify me as a novice. What I have noticed is this book really helped me attain better form as I incorporated it into the verbal instructions given in the class. One area I think that could be improved on, however, is all of the pictures are taken from a side view and clearly a front/back view of the positions would help. Also, some of the text instructions are hard to decipher when it comes to understanding a position. Overall, this book has helped my practice and I refer to it often.