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Book Rant: Yoga Mind and Body
Jun. 29th, 2006 06:26 pmAs none of the Yoga books I have ordered from the library have turned up yet, I borrowed:
Yoga Mind and Body by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (Dorling Kindersley)
because it seemed like an introduction to Yoga from the blurb on the book, and Dorling Kindersley books generally have good pictures - which I thought would be a *very* good thing in a Yoga book.
I am disappointed, no, I am appalled.
There is very little introduction at all, the book goes straight into quite a strenuous sequence, claiming this is how all yoga classes start (well they might at the centre, but they don't say that) and the rest of the postures pictured in the book are quite advanced - to the extent that I would be worried about a complete beginner doing themselves an injury trying some of these.
The section on diet and detox isn't much safer either - especially the nose and stomach cleansing techniques. Again I think a complete beginner trying these without the supervision of a more experienced practitioner could make themselves very ill.
Some of the vegetarian recipies are rather nice, and I will make note of those ones, but the preachy tone towards how superior vegetarianism is, and the assertation that meat is bad for you (we are designed to be omnivores, not vegetarians, as this book claims), really irritates me. As does innaccurate information about the food chain (it implies we get more toxins because we eat animals that eat animals that have eaten animals that eat crops that have been sprayed - even though most food animals are herbivores). Nor does it take into account that some people farm animals because not all land is suitable for agricultural crops.
I really did expect better from this book.
Yoga Mind and Body by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre (Dorling Kindersley)
because it seemed like an introduction to Yoga from the blurb on the book, and Dorling Kindersley books generally have good pictures - which I thought would be a *very* good thing in a Yoga book.
I am disappointed, no, I am appalled.
There is very little introduction at all, the book goes straight into quite a strenuous sequence, claiming this is how all yoga classes start (well they might at the centre, but they don't say that) and the rest of the postures pictured in the book are quite advanced - to the extent that I would be worried about a complete beginner doing themselves an injury trying some of these.
The section on diet and detox isn't much safer either - especially the nose and stomach cleansing techniques. Again I think a complete beginner trying these without the supervision of a more experienced practitioner could make themselves very ill.
Some of the vegetarian recipies are rather nice, and I will make note of those ones, but the preachy tone towards how superior vegetarianism is, and the assertation that meat is bad for you (we are designed to be omnivores, not vegetarians, as this book claims), really irritates me. As does innaccurate information about the food chain (it implies we get more toxins because we eat animals that eat animals that have eaten animals that eat crops that have been sprayed - even though most food animals are herbivores). Nor does it take into account that some people farm animals because not all land is suitable for agricultural crops.
I really did expect better from this book.