Yoga for Bears: A Little Primer on the Unbearable Rightness of Bending

In this petite 85-paged beginner's guide to yoga, "Yoga for Bears" demonstrates 31 various yoga positions, each posture interpreted via two drawn bears. (The master is on the left; the beginner is on the right.) Although the bear drawings are cute and unique, I found some of the positions slightly more confusing and inaccurate by using the illustrations rather than human subjects. It was hard to tell what goes where (especially on the Triangle and Sitting Twist exercises), but at least there's a descriptive paragraph on every other page that tries to clarify the yoga position.There's also additional information in this tiny book (which, by the way, is easy to take with you almost anywhere), such as a recommended reading list, a brief intro to yoga (including the Sanskrit names of each exercise), hints and advice, and some useful addresses and telephone numbers for finding a yoga class (though they may be out of date by now)."Yoga for Bears" was given to me by my sister a couple years ago when she had gotten over her yoga craze. Although I've only used it once or twice (I'm not really into yoga), I'd still recommend this book to beginners, particularly ones who love bears; after all, these furry creatures detail the entire book. However, I'd still follow the bit of advice on page 14 if you're serious about approaching yoga properly: "find a good teacher and go to a regular class." You may run the risk of injuring yourself by practicing alone.

How sad it is that this little book has gone out of print! Yoga for Bears is a sweetly illustrated users' guide for yoga practioners. Cartoon bears, accompanied by brief explanations, demonstrate a variety of asanas.