Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness

One of the best books on hatha yoga ever. There's nothing difficult to understand or apply. But the material will probably change the way you practice. It certainly did for me. I've been practicing yoga, on and off, for about ten years. I've taken classes with terrific teachers and even an agonizing series of 6 a.m. seminars with K. Pattabhi Jois. Yoga never got beyond the physical for me until I read Schiffman's book. Sometimes I wondered what the real difference was between a good hatha yogi and a contortionist. That question has been answered. Schiffman teaches the internals of yoga. His focus is on mobilizing the body's intrinsic energy--qi or prana--in each posture. The postures act as energy templates, he explains, but it's necessary to understand the lines of flow and circulation. He makes this very easy to understand and apply. And when you do, the external technique improves and you become precise without thinking about every distracting detail. Also, Schiffman's approach is beautiful. He teaches you to sense your limits and learn when you want to stay well within them, and when you want to push them. This is a method of gentle, "occasional healthy pain, tremendous gain." Schiffman is schooled in the Iyengar and Desikachar approaches. Precision is important to him. But he's taken it a quantum step farther. With Iyengar's Light on Yoga and Donna Farhi's Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, Schiffman's book completes a trinity of the three most impressive, helpful books on hatha yoga I've seen, regardless of which style you practice or your level of skill.

The spirit and practice of Erich Schiffmann is well transmitted in this distillation of Erich's classes turned into a book. His engaging personal style and deeply-held convictions about using yoga as a primary channel for self-knowledge and enlightenment make his book a great introduction to starting or expanding your yoga practice. This book opens a lot of doors. Erich's unique personal history with Krishnamurti and B.K.S. Iyengar contribute well to the common sense and precision of his theme of "Moving Into Stillness" and as a 6'4", 200+ lbs. XXL-sized teacher, Erich shows that yoga is not the exclusive province of the small and lithe. If your just looking for a book or video to show you the basic postures, there are plenty of sources that can fill the bill. If, however, you are looking for the why and how of yoga as deep resource for transformation, Erich's user-friendly guide is an invaluable vade-mecum to the journey. To get a taste of Erich's "voice", start with Chapter 11,"Listening for Guidance- The Aerial Perspective"pp.329-331.Let Erich help you join your mind to the Infinite Mind, which, after all, is the true goal of yoga.

If you buy only one yoga book, this is the one. By a mile. Practically glutted with commonsense advice, especially from the mental point of view, here at last is a book that can take you a long long way in the privacy of your own home. Particularly useful is the exquisitely detailed information on the poses. Information that may at first seem like overkill, but isn't. Instead what you have is a comprehensive system for progressing slowly, naturally, and correctly. I love the author's comments on "feeling your edges" and "lines of energy" which really open your eyes right up. Superb photos. And an outstanding description of ujjayi breathing -- a difficult concept to describe but done beautifully here. A brilliant book which took 10 years to write. Good things obviously take time. My only advice is when it comes to meditation, take a look at Lorin Roche's, "Meditation Made Easy." Or Roche and Maurine's, "Meditation Secrets for Women." With these three books in your possession, you'll be cooking.

I have many books on yoga, including Iyengar's "Light on Yoga". While I enjoy my other books, I have to say this one is my favorite. It explains the asanas (poses) in easy-to-understand language, yet it is very precise and true to the essence of yoga. I also like how the poses are referred to in their traditional names as well as their western names (such as downward dog, tree, etc.). It makes it easier to look up poses in the back, and integrate it with what you learn in class. The back of the book also has sample routines for beginner to advanced students. An all around great book!!!