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 If you want a really good intro to the practice of yoga and you have at least attended a class with some instruction, this is a great book to get you started on daily exercise. It covers most of the primary positions you need to learn to work your way into more advanced postures. Furthermore, after 28 days of this program, you will have a new body! Try it!
I can attest to the value of the practice by saying that I never felt better in my life than when I made this a daily practice. The benefits are holistic: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Do follow his direction and stretch ONLY to your extreme. This extreme will increase in due time, trust him. Do consult with a doctor if you are having a problem with any particular area or areas of your body. You can very well cause more damage if you are not careful. You may need to omit something or approach it with a physician-recommended modification. There are different approaches to or styles of yoga. This one is gentle and slow moving, causing the least amount of trauma to joints and other areas of your body. (See caution in above paragraph, however.) Although I originally picked up the book after following the televised program, the book does document each of the asanas (exercises) very well by including a vast number of photos. To facilitate following the three-day cycle of asanas-for-life that is printed at the end of the book, I copied them into a spiral notebook, using two lines per letter. This allows me to stand it up within my field of vision and read the now "large print version." I did locate videos of the television series but decided that they were cost-prohibitive. Do an internet search on Richard Hittelman or Yoga for Life and you should find them. I do recommend that you read the short essays after each day's practice. These are informative about the practice, lifestyle, philosophy and nutrition and serve to reinforce that the practice extends to benefit one's entire being. Note: Cheryl, the "model" in the book, was also his student and the person to demonstrate the asanas on television. Joining her was another woman who was not as advanced. This served to encourage us neophytes who could follow along while watching one who was not too far advanced from us while aspiring to achieve the extremes that the other could assume. Enjoy!
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I bought an old hardback copy of this book at a library book sale, and started using the program. After the first session, the radiating ever-present pain in my back went away. My back still has pain from time to time, but never like before. My whole body is changing. It's wonderful. Buy this book. You won't regret it.
