30 Essential Yoga Poses: For Beginning Students and Their Teachers

One of the best yoga books to assist the beginning instructor on how to adjust and assist the student. Wording is descriptive and to the point. Wish there were more poses than 30. Maybe the author will come out with a second book with 30 more poses...

I have been practicing yoga for close to five years and teaching for less than one. This book is the best instructional yoga guide I have ever seen. The asana directions and descriptions are clear and concise, the variations are good and the anatomical focus notes for teachers are also excellent for students. If I were going to recommend one yoga reference book, this would be it.

I'm the proud owner of this book and use it every day. While yoga is not exactly brand new to me, I still consider myself a beginning student. Most helpful have been Lasater's clear instructions, as well as the many beautiful photos throughout. I particularly commend the model, Theresa Elliott, who has executed each pose so beautifully. She makes it all look so effortless, which is as much an art as it is a practice. I would recommend this book without reservation to any yoga student, at any level.

Although there is no shortage of books written on yoga by talented people, this book is unique in its reader-friendly display of information and illustration. The author strived to organize the book in a style that calming and soothing to both the eyes and the mind. Each pose spans five or so pages, starting with a full-page photograph, description of the pose, its sequencing, benefits, cautions, variations, teachers' notes, and 3 to 4 photographs that show how the pose is performed. The fine choice of soft colors for the text and photos eases the task of reading the book and understanding its message. The thirty poses constitute the foundation of yoga stretching and strengthening. They fall into standing poses (such as mountain, tree, triangles, warriors, side and forward bends, and lunges), lying down poses (such as cobra, bow, elevated legs, lying twist, and relaxation poses), seated poses (such as seated twist, hero-heroine, seated angle, child, and meditation poses), head and shoulder stands, up-plank, and bridges. These are also included in seven days plan at the end of the book. For regional anatomical therapy, the author had added a detailed section on "Theme Practice" that categorizes various poses for the lower back, hips and hamstrings, upper back, balance, strength, energy, fatigue, and relaxation. Like many talented yoga practitioners, the author chose her photographs thoroughly to demonstrate the emphasized angles and posture of the body. This has greatly conveyed invaluable visual information that could hardly have been expressed by words in such memorizable manner. For the price of $22.95 you are getting great lessons on getting and staying fit, learning the art of planning practical and safe yoga training, and enjoying a well written and designed book. Mohamed F. El-Hewie, Author of "Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training".

This is a wonderful yoga book for those just beginning to practice yoga, intermediate practitioners who would like to enhance their practice, or those looking to make the transition from yoga student to yoga teacher. For each of the poses described, author Judith Lasater suggests variations, offers tips on alignment, and provides information for how teachers can work with their students on the pose. As an advanced beginner, I even found reading the sections intended for teachers to be useful, as it gave me ideas about how to make changes in my own practice. At the end of the book, the author describes various ways to incorporate the postures into a daily practice, from a short practice to practices for each day of the week to practices to meet specific needs (eg, for energy, for relaxation). Judith is an excellent instructor, and I only wish that she had illustrated the poses herself (I found the model used throughout the book to be a bit severe-looking). Still, this book is a must-have for starting or adding to a yoga library.