Book Review - Yoga Cures

I received a copy of Yoga Cures by Tara Stiles for review, courtesy of Crown Publishing Group.

What I Liked

In general, I agree with much of what Tara Stiles has to say. I'm already picking out readings for my classes. I like how she's taken some really important key things in Yoga and made them more approachable.

I like that the routines for various ailments are short. It's much easier to "lure" people into Yoga with a few poses than an 1.5 long routine.

I love the section on Retreats and can't wait to practice them with some at-home retreats this summer.

I like the look and feel of this book. That may seem superficial; but I use a good Yoga book over and over for reference so that can become a pretty big factor over time.

Where I Thought the Book Missed

I teach a lot of full-figured students and am a full-figured Yogini myself. I think that Tara's book has a lot of good poses and there are good reasons behind the poses she picks. However, in many cases I think she might have forgotten that we're not all her size. I am blessed with great flexibility, but not all of my students have been. This is where the downfall comes of only have a small number of poses in each routine. In the routine for Sugar Cravings, there are 4 poses and 3 of them would not be possible for many of my students. In the routine for Diabetes, there are 2 poses (Plow and Shoulderstand) and most of my students would walk out of the room if I tried to start them there. Without modifications, newcomers might be intimidated by many of the poses in this book.

I feel like final relaxation (Savasana) gets sort of missed in this book. I understand how hard it would be to fit in since there are so many mini-routines and you might not need relaxation after only a few poses, but for me it's a critical piece of the puzzle. I often tell students that if they are doing Asanas without doing a relaxation at the end, I would consider them to be doing Yoga-based stretching (not Yoga). That might be overstating it but I think the importance of relaxation is often missed by new students.

The One Thing I'd Buy the Book For

At the back of the book is a Yoga Pose Library. I'd buy this book for that alone. It is such a great visual reference of poses along with some of the key benefits of each. I already use it as a quick reference since it's laid out in a much more concise manner than some of my more detailed volumes.

Overall Impression

I do like this book. It's a definite keeper. I would recommend it to any average-sized, flexible friends without hesitation. For my less-flexible or fuller-figured friends, I'd recommend it as long as you look at the book knowing not every pose in it is for you. It's probably more ideal for someone with a bit of Yoga experience (who has an idea how to modify poses and knows to include a relaxation) than for beginners.